My All Time Favorite Movie: 8. Casablanca (1942)

I have been toying with the idea of doing a series of posts on my all time favorite movies for a little while now. Working at a movie theater again has started all of these conversations about movies and I always love to hear what people have on their lists of favorite movies. I decided I would take my 20 favorite movies of all time and write a blog entry about each of them. There are no set qualifications for a movie to be on this list. These are simply my 20 favorite movies of all time. They will not be numbered. Do not assume that I am going in order from 20-1. I will probably do that starting at 10, but honestly 11-20 are not numbered. They kind of exist right outside of the top 10. A few things you will realize as the list goes on are how recent so many of them are, and how Americanized the list is. I make no apologies for this. I know most people who are deep into film as I am often have many movies from the pre-1970s on their lists, but you will only find 2 or 3 of those here. I do not dislike "classic" movies in any way, but they have never stuck with me as much. I respect the craft, but I am rarely left feeling like they are my favorite movies. I cannot really explain it further than that. I am not xenophobic, but when it comes to cinema, I just prefer the American Aesthetic. I have roughly 10 foreign films that I love, but they do not make it into this list. Again, it is just my personal taste. Each post will be labeled as "favorite ever" so you can easily find them as I go on. As always, I love to hear feedback, if not on my choices, on your choices for some of your favorite movies of all time. Okay, onto this week's post. Oh and there will probably be spoilers about each title on the list.



We have reached the most classic film on my list. There are many old Hollywood films that I enjoy, but when thinking about my all time favorites, most of them just do not do it for me in the long run. Casablanca has always been the exception. If you have not seen this film, chances are your life has been unfulfilled. Ultimately quotable, featuring one of the best casts ever, Casablanca is the ultimate story of love, loss and sacrifice for the greater good. It is shot gorgeously, it is emotionally outstanding and Humphrey Bogart, who has an entire list of amazing performances, gives his best performance (if you want to say The Treasure of Sierra Madre, that is okay with me, too). What makes this movie so great though, is the story. During World War II, Europeans who were fleeing from the Germans, sought refuge in America. But to get there they would first have to go Casablanca and once they get there, they have to obtain exit visas which people are killing for. Now the hottest spot in all of Casablanca is Rick's Cafe which is operated by Rick Blaine (Bogart), an extremely cynical American expatriate, who for some reason can't return to America. Now it seems that two German couriers were killed and the documents they were carrying were taken. Now one of Rick's regulars, Ugarte (Peter Lorre) entrusts to Rick two letters of transit, which he intends to sell. However,before he does he is arrested for killing the couriers. Captain Renault (Claude Rains), the Chief of Police, who is neutral in his political views, informs Rick that Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), a resistance leader from Czechoslovakia, is in Casablanca and will do anything to get an exit visa but Renault has been "told" by Major Strasser of the Gestapo, to keep Laszlo in Casablanca. Laszlo goes to Rick's to meet Ugarte, because he was the one Ugarte was going to sell the letters to, but since Ugarte was arrested he has to find another way. Accompanying Lazlo is Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), who knew Rick when he was in Paris, and when they meet some of Rick's old wounds reopen. It is obvious that Rick's cynical nature was caused by something Llsa did to him in the past. Eventually Laszlo and Llsa learn that Rick has the letters, but he refuses to give them to him, because "he doesn't stick his neck out for anyone".

Casablanca is the kind of film that gets more emotionally gripping after you have already seen it once. That way you have a better understanding of Rick and Llsa and the past love they once shared. You start to see their emotions unfolding in the way their faces are framed in each scene together. The resentment coming out of Rick's mouth bites even harder when you understand how he felt that Llsa left him. Their first few scenes together when the meet again crackle with feeling. Bogart has always been better when playing the wounded anti-hero. Yes, he played some great heroic characters in his day, but Bogart as a vulnerable man just plays so much better. Rick declares his nationality as "I'm a drunkard" in an early scene and Bogart is not afraid to look unlikable in the film. it served him well in his career to every once in a while play character who has some bad in him. That is what makes every character in this film so interesting. They all have good and bad. They are real people with real emotional depth. Even the more minor characters feel flushed out, which is shocking considering there are rumors of writers writing down dialog as they were filming and just handing it to actors to say. I guess, if you have a great feel for characters, and you have amazing actors, the writing will come eventually. Writing in this film was clearly more than just dialog, which is pretty minimal and deeply cynical. However, these characters are all redeemed in some way. They make giant sweeping sacrifices for the greater good of trying to rid the world of Nazi Germany. That is why this film still resonates on an emotional level. We can all relate to making personal sacrifices to help someone we love, or to help a bigger cause.

The black and white cinematography is stunning. It looks better than any black and white film in my opinion. The lighting is exceptional in every scene, but the way the film lights Bergman makes her even more stunning a presence. It is not difficult to understand why Rick is so bitter at everything. it is not difficult to see why he keeps everything inside and why he refuses to help anyone. He got left by this gorgeous woman. The sound design and the crisp sound editing are both executed perfectly throughout the film. That may seem like a smaller detail, but those small details are what make a movie better than it otherwise would have been. They are important to tell this story and they get everything right throughout. Michael Curitz, who directed 173 movies, was working at a master level in this one. The pacing of the film is excellent and each slow reveal is delivered to get the most emotionally resonant response. He understands the importance of actor's faces, especially the actors he has. He never misses the perfect reaction shot, or a quick glance between Rick and Llsa. He captures their complicated chemistry in such a perfect manner, my heart breaks every time I watch the film.

let's be honest though, none of that would be possible if Bogart, Bergman, etc. were not so unbelievable in every single frame of Casablanca. If there is a film out there more perfectly cast than this one, I would have a hard time believing it. Bogart gives a layered, wrenching performance of a man who has been broken by life and is unsure of what to do next. Bergman is gorgeous yes, but she is also fiery and strong and vulnerable in a role that could have easily been nothing but arm candy. Then you have a whole host of supporting roles that are all wonderful Peter Lorre adds a nice touch in his role and Claude Rains gives one of my all time favorite supporting performances. Had Renault been in the hands of a lesser actor, who knows what I would think of the character, but Rains gives him just the right touch of good and evil. They had no idea they were making a classic piece of cinema at the time and they had no idea how many lines from this film would be quoted for decades, but they all acted like they knew exactly what they were making, and it feels like they knew this would be on of the masterpieces of cinema.