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Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid

Classic film set in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II. Rick Blaine, who owns a nightclub in Casablanca, discovers his old flame Ilsa is in town with her husband, Victor Laszlo. L...( read more  read more... )aszlo is a resistance leader, and with Germans on his tail, Ilsa knows Rick can help them get out of the country - but will he? Brothers Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein along with Howard Koch won the Oscar for writing this screenplay.

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94% liked it

319,465 ratings

Unrated, 145 min.

Directed by: Michael Curtiz

Release Date: June 1, 1943

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DVD Release Date: February 15, 2000

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Flixster Reviews (23,773)

  • AgentLexi2132
    November 14, 2009
    AgentLexi2132
    ''Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time.''

    Set in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II: An American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.

    Humphrey Bogart: Rick Blaine

    Casablanca, what o

    ...( read more)ther film can evoke such powerful feelings of nostalgia, can exemplify so completely the golden period of Hollywood film-making? The year was 1942, and the world found itself in the midst of the bloodiest conflict in modern history. Unlike anything our generation could possibly imagine, citizens were faced with an incredible uncertainty about their future. The Nazis marched across Europe, an astonishing, seemingly-unstoppable enemy, and the United States watched with bated breath from across the Atlantic. Most Hollywood productions responded to such ambiguity with fully-fledged, unabashed patriotism, and war-time filmmakers became obsessed with validating audiences' beliefs that the Allied forces would inevitably win out against Germany, and, indeed, many often concluded their pictures with unnecessary epilogues in which we've apparently already won. Such propaganda, while no doubt ensuring commercial success from war-weary cinema-goers, has regularly tarnished and outdated even the most otherwise impressive contemporary WWII pictures, as the directors' willingness to simulate a happy ending strikes distinctly false from an era in which the overwhelming atmosphere was that of uncertainty and insecurity(see Billy Wilder's Five Graves to Cairo(1943).

    ''Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.''

    This is not to say that Casablanca(1942) is not a work of American patriotism; indeed, it might just be the greatest example. The film owes its enduring legacy to how seamlessly director Michael Curtiz, and his troupe of writers and actors, was able to encapsulate the sentiment of the time in which the picture was made. The story ends with Rick and Renault strolling resolutely into the thick mist, their futures obscured by the fog of uncertainty that hovers before their faces. What will the next few turbulent years have in store for these heroes? Will they be overwhelmed by the enemy, or continue their noble fight for freedom? Following Operation Torch, the 1942 Allied invasion of North Africa, there were plans to film one of those dreaded propagandistic epilogues, showing Rick, Renault and a detachment of Free French soldiers on a ship. Owing to Claude Rains' fortuitous unavailability for filming, the original ending was left intact, and producer David O. Selznick was never more correct than when he concluded "it would be a terrible mistake to change the ending."

    When Casablanca was first conceived, the filmmakers apparently had little idea they were about to produce one of cinema's best-loved pictures. A prime example of the studio-bound exotica that was popular at the time, and obviously a war-time off-shoot of Howard Hawks' Colombian aviation adventure Only Angels Have Wings(1939), perhaps also John Cromwell's Algiers(1938), which I unfortunately haven't seen. The film reproduced the stuffy, humid climate and seedy, corrupt personalities of Morocco on the Warner Bros. sets, which ironically communicate more romantic charm than the real location could ever have provided. The film was shot by veteran cinematographer Arthur Edeson, who had previously worked on the wonderfully-atmospheric All Quiet on the Western Front(1930), Frankenstein(1931) and The Maltese Falcon(1941). His perfectly-framed photography suggests a mixture of stuffy melodrama, glamorous adventure and shadowy noir, though, interestingly, he avoids the sordidness of the latter style's successors, despite the wealth of suitably-seedy characters to be found in Casablanca. Framed through Edeson's lens, it seems that even the most squalid and repulsive of personalities can take on a curious facade of nobility.

    ''I love you so much. I hate war so much.''

    No less than six people had a hand in the film's justly-celebrated screenplay. The story was based on a then unproduced play by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison, ''Everybody Comes to Rick's'', and was adapted for the screen by Julius and Philip Epstein and Howard Koch, with uncredited input by Casey Robinson. The Epstein twins were initially keen to give the film a few comedic elements; this would, no doubt, have made for entertaining viewing, not unlike a Howard Hawks picture, but might have detracted from the story's core themes of love, loyalty, regret, moral responsibility and self-sacrifice. Koch had perhaps a clearer understanding of the director's preferences from another wonderful film from Curtiz, Angels with Dirty Faces(1938), also poses a vital moral dilemma, and chose to focus largely on the politics and melodrama of Burnett and Alison's play. That so many conflicting artistic ideas somehow melded together, not only into a cohesive narrative, but also into history's greatest screenplay, is a miracle to be credited only to the cinema gods, particularly in view of the fact that Curtiz commenced filming with an incomplete script that was updated daily.
    The screenplay, in a word results in being excellent, and it also compliments the whole directing. It progresses with scenes that are just so phenomenal, so legendary and so nostalgic. It includes one of the most legendary quotes in the history of motion pictures, for example; "Play it once, Sam", "We'll always have Paris" and "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship". Even when I had never seen the movie, I just immediately recognized those sentences with a wry smile, as they are among the sentences everybody knows even if they've never seen Casablanca before. The whole plot is also surprisingly exciting, comparing to the plots nowadays it would definitely work in any movie, as it is just so thrilling from the beginning till the end and you just can't know how it ends before the last minute of the movie. The final climax is simply genius and it's actually so satisfying that I had to start clapping my hands in appreciation for the climax.

    Perhaps another possible explanation for the film's unlikely legacy lies with the distinguished cast, borrowed from all over Europe. Humphrey Bogart, Dooley Wilson and Joy Page were the sole American imports, and assorted supporting talents were plundered from the United Kingdom (Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet), Sweden (Ingrid Bergman), Austria (Paul Henreid), Hungary (Peter Lorre) and even Germany (Conrad Veidt). Bogart, who had been typecast throughout the 1930s as a lowlife gangster, had been given the opportunity to show some humanity in Raoul Walsh' film noir High Sierra(1941), but it was Casablanca that proved his first genuinely romantic role, and, with several notable exceptions, the remainder of his acting career would comprise of similarly-noble yet flawed heroes. Bergman, despite having a rather passive role, was never more enchanting than as Ilsa Lund, and, photographed with a softening gauze filter and catch lights, positively sparkles with gentle compassion and a tragic sadness. Perhaps it's just the romantic in me, but Casablanca represents one of Hollywood's most unforgettable accomplishments. Even as the film draws to a majestic close, and two men forge a lifelong friendship in the fog-ridden uncertainty of War, we immediately feel like asking Sam to play it again...just for old time's sake.

    ''I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.''
  • SirPant
    September 30, 2009
    SirPant
    Fantastic film. For me the best thing about it by far is the script (even if it is misquoted all the time). Sure it?s a classic romance but for me the relationship between Rick and Captain Renault (Humphrey Bogart & Claude Rains) is its greatest strength. It?s just imposable to k...( read more)nock this film, its perfect!
  • garyX
    July 28, 2009
    garyX
    Wartime cafe owner Humphrey Bogart's life is turned upside down when the woman who broke his heart walks into his bar with her husband, a fugitive from the Nazis, looking for an escape to America. This is one of those films the phrase "they don't make 'em like that anymore" was i...( read more)nvented for. At its core it is a propaganda film made to encourage the American public to join the fight against the Nazis, but it is far from the usual heavy handed flag waver. It skillfully interweaves the patriotic message with political intrigue, wartime heroics and romance with a script full of wit and sophistication. The cast are all pretty much faultless, but it is the uneasy friendship between Bogart and the brilliant Claude Rains which makes the film, and their cynical interplay and banter is a joy to behold. Beautifully shot with so many unforgettable lines, this film consistently features in lists of the top 10 of greatest movies ever made, and rightly so.
  • RiderOfTheStorms
    July 22, 2009
    RiderOfTheStorms
    Watched it high annd found extremely intriguing and interesting
  • 76Majikat
    March 28, 2009
    76Majikat
    Through the first half of this film, I couldn?t help wondering what the appeal really was and was beginning to think that it was a very overrated movie, the ending however, changed my whole opinion on the film and was really quite enjoyable.

    It was fun to hear all the famous q...( read more)uotes put into context at long last.
  • AnnieBrujita
    November 24, 2009
    AnnieBrujita
    awww me ha gustado pero...jooo :( no me gustan las historias de amores imposibles :S
  • toxxicgoddess
    November 21, 2009
    toxxicgoddess
    This is the BEST! love story ever written but love story ever put on film. When you want to see how a man should love a women just watch it. OMG when Bogie says "of all the gin joints....." You feel the pain then he lets Ilsa go tear tear.. Yes Rick and Ilsa will live forever al...( read more)oong with the memories of Ricks Americana Cafe!!!! Dooley Wilson , Ingrid Bergman and Bogart pulled off a cinematic masterpiece.
  • Zack437885
    November 20, 2009
    Zack437885
    This is the best,Bogart and Bergman that a love store...We'll always have Paris.
  • Ladiva4
    November 19, 2009
    Ladiva4
    Who am I to say whats good when I havn't seen Casablanca
  • agentjade
    November 15, 2009
    agentjade
    Beautiful classic, but a little longwinded. I somehow still cannot appreciate B/W films...

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Comments

  • kolorida13
    August 17, 2008
    kolorida13
    THE-BEST-MOVIE-EVER-MADE. Period.
  • hawkssens
    August 14, 2008
    hawkssens
    "Go ahead and shoot, you'd be doing me a favor."
    I love that line so much!
  • ashfaqshaikh1
    July 19, 2008
    ashfaqshaikh1
    U HAVE NEVER SEEN LIKE THIS ???
    JUST PRESS THIS LINK AND ENJOY IT
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  • greenpenguin13
    April 26, 2007
    greenpenguin13
    It is a clasic i is the best romance of all time i could watch over and over again.just to here Borgart say heres to looking at you kid or you may not regret it today or not ever tomorow but soon and for the rest of you life.this is just so romantic.
  • ashleyannl
    February 26, 2007
    ashleyannl
    this movie is sooo AWSOME. oh i love the romactic <3
  • yoshikosfilm
    February 14, 2007
    yoshikosfilm
    Rick is my hero and Rick’s American Cafe is my good sample.
    Music “ As Time goes By” is especially remarkable.
  • Seikan
    June 22, 2006
    Seikan
    The two individuals who gave thumbs down to the suggestion "The English Patient" are fucking morons that can't compare a film for their life.

    You don't need to thank me for such a blatantly obvious reminder.
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Casablanca Trivia

  • The line, "Play it again, Sam," never actually appears in the movie Casablanca. It does, however, appear in which Marx Brothers movie?  Answer »
  • What classic movie has this quote as a final line : "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."?  Answer »
  • "Major Strasser has been shot. Round up the usual suspects." From which movie?  Answer »
  • "Here's looking at you kid." Famous line from which movie classic?  Answer »
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