The Best American Film Ever?

Rating: 10/10 (23 November 2007)

I have watched this film so many times that I thought I knew it inside out, back to front, top to bottom, etc. There is barely a line I can not quote when watching it, and I never tire of the relationships between Rick, Lisa, and the rest. I have wallowed in some of the finest performances ever captured on film, from Bogart's world weariness through to Claude Rains pragmatism, via the slimmy character of Peter Lorre and the largeness of Sydney Greenstreet. There is hardly a foot put wrong by any cast member, and the film is as near perfect as any film can possibly be.
I used the term 'thought I knew it' above quite deliberately, because I was recently privilege to see a brand new digital print version of this classic movie. As the camera moved around the interior of Rick's Cafe American for the first time I thought something was wrong, the scene seemed 'foggy', then it clicked, what I was seeing was the smoke from the cigarettes! The print was so crisp and clear that it was like watching the film for the very first time. The exterior shots were incredibly bright, the dialogue clear and wonderfully full of crack and cackle, exactly as you would expect in a busy place as Casablanca! I have no need hear to go into the narrative, if you have seen the film you will know it backwards, and if you haven't, then why have you never watched this masterpiece? If you fear the digital age of cinema, fear not, if the digital version of this film, which I will always maintain is the best American film ever made, and amongst the best world wide, then I have seen the future, and it works!