Mesmerizing

Rating: Null/10 (23 June 2004)

There are a lot of things that make this movie stand out in my mind. The first is the cast. Humphrey Bogart was never as cool as he was in this movie. Even stinking drunk and feeling sorry for himself, he oozes a kind of cool that not too many other people can match. Add to that a radiant Ingrid Bergman, and a great performance by Peter Lorre also.
The second thing here is the script. A great story -- a man rediscovers his conscience by putting an old hatred to bed. Sure, Ilsa betrayed Rick in Paris, and comes to Casablanca with another man. But when Rick finally realizes that they would die for each other, he becomes a changed man, inspired by their love and willing to "stick his neck out" to help them.
The third thing, which actually is the most important thing to me, is the look of the film. The lighting is so good, and you know when you watch it that proper film lighting is a lost art. When Sam appears on screen for the first time, and the spotlight goes on him, and everybody else in the room disappears...it's just magic. It is probably one of the best-looking films I've ever seen, and even in black-and-white it is as gorgeous a film as, say, American Beauty.