This movie gave the people involved immortality.

Rating: Null/10 (11 July 2011)

You cannot talk about all-time greatest movies without having "Casablanca" somewhere in the top 10. At least, until enough time goes by that the fundamental things don't apply! (Sorry.) In all seriousness, it pains me to think that there may come a time when this movie, shot in black-and-white and with nary a special effect and with all the limitations of the technology of its time (1942), will seem so primitive and unnatural that instead of being a classic, it will be considered a curiosity. That will be a very sad time indeed.
Bogie and Bergman are immortal, not just because of this film, but I cannot imagine a time when people who see "Casablanca" will fail to be affected by their story in the film. Bergman is indelibly and incredibly beautiful, completely believable as the woman caught between two men that she loves equally in very different ways. Bogie is the man that women want to be with, the man that men want to be: smart, suave, completely cool, admired and respected by everyone and feared by those who have a reason to fear him. And in this place called "Casablanca," with the world crashing into war around them, they play out a story that's both intensely personal and yet universal.
The mythology that's sprung up about this movie is a story unto itself, and maybe some day someone will write a movie about that. Suffice it to say that the way the pieces came together, you have to believe that this was as movie that was meant to be.
"Casablanca" was made back in the days when movies and live plays were pretty much the "only games in town" when it came to entertainment (other than sports), and since every small town had a movie theater but only big cities had live plays, EVERYONE went to the movies. I don't think young people who have so many options for entertainment now can quite understand what a big deal a movie like this was, and how beloved and what a stir it created. I hope that because so much of the dialogue in the movie is so well-known, maybe they'll get a feel for just how large this movie looms in American culture.
I love it. It was on TCM yesterday, and I watched it for what must be the twentieth time, and I still love it and can watch it without getting tired of it. Bogie and Bergman, forever luminous and forever saying good-bye there at the airport in a place called Casablanca. It never gets old and I never get tired of it.