Thank God this film was made when smoking was still socially acceptable

Rating: 9/10 (14 July 2000)

I have usually been bored or disappointed with the so-called "timeless classics" I have bothered to watch, but not with this one. It has its flaws, but for some reason it just works anyway. Some of the flaws are: Laszlo's character, which is so totally virtuous you just want to take out a gun and shoot him immediately (it was fine for the 40's, but I think we expect a bit more ambiguity in nice guys nowadays); the ridiculous final scene where we're expected to believe that Renault continues obeying Rick's instructions even though Rick has forgotten all about pointing his gun at him because he's too busy saying sweet nothings to Ilsa; and just generally I'm afraid the film is a bit sappy and full of cliches (and don't tell me this film invented the cliches, it didn't: they're as old as corny love stories, and those go back very far indeed). The reason it just works anyway is, I think, simply Bogart. No one ever incarnated so perfectly the man every man wishes he was and the man every woman wishes she could meet. And he smokes so beautifully... Bergman is great too, but her character isn't nearly as well developed.
A word of advice: if you haven't seen the film before and you happen to get hold of the "special edition" with 1/2 hour of "making of" stuff before the feature, fast-forward to the film and watch it before watching the introductory material, because it is spoiler city.