Amazing directing, script, acting

Rating: 10/10 (19 November 2013)

It's been a few years since I last watched Casablanca, but it is as good as I remember. Curtiz's direction is remarkable. The beginning scenes set the movie up beautifully, and everything moves at an almost breathless pace. It is a movie that moves fast yet never exhausts, always able to slow down for a moment and let the audience breath.
The script is one of the most quotable in Hollywood history, full of memorable lines and sharp, witty dialog. The plot is engaging, constantly moving and turning.
The acting is uniformly excellent. Bogart is the center of the movie, offering that classic jaded white knight Bogie. Bergman gives one of her best performances as well. Even small roles are beautifully done; Peter Lorre makes every second of his time on screen count. As for Claude Raines, he is so utterly perfect that he would have stolen the movie entirely if he hadn't been up against Bogie.
All that being said, I love some parts of Casablanca more than others. The early scenes are incredible, the finale is genius, but the Paris scenes, while necessary, feel a little slack, and Paul Henreid is a little bland for a charismatic resistance fighter.
But those are minor quibbles. This is still one of the greatest movies of a great decade for movies.