THE Standard

Rating: 10/10 (29 September 2000)

I can honestly say I know what makes a good movie because I have a standard by which to compare it: CASABLANCA. Adapted from a play entitled "Everyone Comes to Rick's", CASABLANCA tells the story of American Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart in the role that made his legend), a cynical saloon owner. His motto: "I stick my neck out for nobody. I'M the only cause worth fighting for." We learn that, in the past, Rick was once an idealistic man who would fight the good fight for just causes. As his "friend" Louie (Claude Rains) reminds him as he ticks off the underdog causes that Rick has championed "The winning side would have paid MUCH more." Just when we are convinced that Rick truly is an insular hard-case . . . into his life returns Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), the woman who killed the idealism in him. She is on the arm of freedom fighter Victor Laslo (Paul Heinreid). The sight of Ilsa sparks a flashback that shows Rick, Ilsa and Rick's piano-playing friend Sam (Dooley Wilson) in Paris before the arrival of the Nazis. As Rick and Sam wait for Ilsa, she sends him a note at the train station saying that she can never see him again. That is, until their paths cross again in Casablanca. To add to the stress, the Nazis, led by the pinch-faced Major Strasser (Conrad Veidt), decide to march into Casablanca as well. Their intent: To capture Laslo and prevent him from stirring up strength against the Nazis on the other side of the world. CASABLANCA benefits greatly from a dynamite script, great directing and, for once, the perfect union of casting and character. By now, most people know how the film ends. This is even more impressive since the ending to the film was being written even as the cameras began rolling to shoot it. Two endings had been written, but when the producers saw the ending that was shot (the one used in the film), they saw no need to shoot the other ending. Needless to say, CASABLANCA is a part of my film library. If it's not in your's, you're only depriving yourself.