Moving, sensational - a triumph of the written word

Rating: 10/10 (25 November 2015)

In the 80s, Casablanca's script was sent to a number of studios under the title "Everybody Comes to Rick's". It was almost unanimously rejected for being boring, dated, wordy and lacking sex.
What a boring, cheap world we live in.
Casablanca is a masterpiece of what can be achieved with the written word. It is no surprise that this won the Oscar for Adapted Screenplay, or that six of its lines are among the most memorable of all time. The words woven by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch from Murray Burnett and Joan Alison's glorious play are hypnotic in their beauty. That Casablanca is considered one of the greatest films of all time gives hope that dialogue driven films can be great once again.
Humphrey Bogart is Rick Blaine, a man driven to cynicism by heartbreak when he opened his heart to a woman for the first and last time. When the same woman (Ingrid Bergman) returns to his life with her husband in tow, complications arise - especially when he learns that the husband is a famed Czech resistance leader. Rick finds himself in a position to help them, exact revenge on the woman who broke his heart, or steal her away for himself. The word romance has been denigrated to the "rom" in "romcom" or to cover crap like 50 Shades of Grey these days, but Casablanca is a standing tribute to the word and what it means. Rick, Ilsa and Victor are all extremely relatable for the roles they play in this tale.
We believe every moment of Blaine's cynicism thanks to Bogart's commanding performance, and yet it feels completely natural when he shows himself to be a fine moral character. Paul Henreid is excellent as well - in one scene where a defiant Victor leads the room in patriotic French song to drown out drunken Nazi singing, it is impossible not to want to follow him. Bergman has little to do with her character but she does it well, while Claude Renains was my personal favourite as the unscrupulously corrupt Moroccan official Captain Renault. Each character has become an icon in their own right, and upon watching this film it is impossible not to see why.
The film is glorious in no small part thanks to Michael Curtiz's skilled direction. His swells the music where needed, the camera swims around effortlessly and the scenes are crafted to perfection. The recurring song "As Time Goes By" fits the film perfectly, and as we watch the final scene roll to a close its impossible not to be moved.