One of the Greats, though time goes by.

Rating: 10/10 (24 October 2000)

What to say of Casablanca? It's one of the most beloved films of all time, its romance and immortal lines have brought it into history. It's really an ordinary film, even Ingrid Bergman has so commented. The cinematography is nothing to gawk at, nor does the film possess any godsends of technical achievement, nor was it expected of run-of-the-mill director Michael Curtiz. The play it was based on, Everybody Comes to Rick's, was second-rate even in 1942.
But the acting is something special. At the time, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid were hardly household names. Bogart, then just establishing himself as a serious actor, nearly lost the lead role to actor George Raft. Raft refused to have a nobody like Ingrid Bergman be his costar. While Bogart lost that year's Oscar to Paul Lukas, this is his most famous if not best performance. Bergman was passed over come Oscar night, but she too gives a great performance, bursting with the tangible emotion necessary for her part. However, I must first tip my cap to Claude Rains, who plays Captain Louis Renault. He is one of great character actors, and never have I seen him more in character.
But the true star of Casablanca is the Oscar-winning screenplay, the brainchild of playwrights Julius and Philip Epstein. The screenplay has brought its lines to the lips and minds of even those unfortunate enough to have never seen the film. Lines like `Here's looking at you kid' and `Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship'.
Lastly, there's that song, As Time Goes By. It's never completely played, in fact its almost just squeezed into the film. It's an ordinary song, but it's the song of Rick and Ilsa (Bogart and Bergman) and that makes it incredible; so much that my heart fills with remembrance of this beautiful film whenever I see it.
If you haven't seen it; see it. 10/10 Stars