The Best of the Best

Rating: 10/10 (28 December 2013)

I never get tired of this film - no matter how many times I've seen it. And every player in this film - from S.Z. Sakall and Dooley Wilson to Bogart, Claude Rains, Paul Henreid and Ingrid Bergman - is absolutely brilliant. More emotion you'll never see in a film - for my money. These actors are fully vested in this film and more complex and nuanced performances you'll never see. Every aspect of this film is genius - from the story to the cinematography (and...I'm not sure...but could one argue that this was the very first and very best example of the film noire genre - does this qualify? It certainly sets the standard.) The tension is palpable, the dialog crackles with wit and intensity...for my money this is impossible to top. And it stays taught right to the very end...and who could argue that the very last line isn't the very best and most memorable in film history (in a film replete with memorable lines)? It's a great romance, a great thriller, a great War movie...it succeeds on so many levels - most EVERY level. And it is so riveting! It thrills from start to finish. And these are characters that not only love people and truly love each other, which makes you care all the more about their fates. These are characters you fall in love with and come to admire deeply, for the heroism they display in the face of almost insurmountable odds. (Can anyone not be moved by Sam's devotion to his bristly boss, Rick? That relationship defines the word "true friend." I had a friend like that once - they do exist - but they are a rare breed...and how moving is it to see this kind of thing in action in Casablanca?!) These characters are examples for us all - and though imaginary, they are recreations of real heroes who existed at the time and defeated the forces of evil in World War II. Bogie fans, of course, will love this film (it is arguably his finest...which is saying a lot, since his performances in The Treasure of Sierra Madre, Key Largo and many other films were brilliant too), as will Ingrid Bergman fans (her performance here rivals her performance in Notorious)...but you don't have to be a fan of any of them to recognize their greatness in Casablanca. (Peter Lorre deserves a mention too - his work here is memorable and noteworthy; it's a shame he wasted his great talent in too many lesser films afterward - except, of course, for The Maltese Falcon, his re-pairing with Bogie - which made for a wonderful chemistry.) Wow!