The Best

Rating: 10/10 (11 October 1999)

If someone were to ask me my favorite movie of all time, I would be forced to say Casablanca. I know a lot of people say this, and all the naysayers who have seen it on TV or video may not know what all the hooplah's about. To all of you, let me say: See it on the big screen!!!
It is an experience.
The acting is impeccable. It is the best Bogart ever, the best Bergman ever, and the best Raines ever. The script is part love story, part anti-German sentiment, part film noir. The dialogue is extremely witty; it's comparable to the other film noir, detective films of the time.
The set-up is brilliant. We have an isolationist American (Bogart), and evil Nazi, and a Frenchman who may or may not be on the side of the Germans. Hmmmmm, that sounds like what actually happened during World War II. Do you think that means something? Probably not.
The love story aspect is superb. Bogart is a typical tough-guy (as we like to see), but that is only his exterior. He has been hurt by women in his past (something we can all relate to) and has become hardened to his emotions (again, the isolationist).
For a movie that was filmed without a clue as to how it was going to end, it did pretty well for itself.
In a word: Incredible