Casablanca

“They had a date with fate in Casablanca!”

8.1

1943

1h 38m

DramaRomance

Director: Michael Curtiz

Overview

In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.

Trailer

4K Trailer Official

Cast

Rick Blaine

Humphrey Bogart

Rick Blaine

Ilsa Lund

Ingrid Bergman

Ilsa Lund

Victor Laszlo

Paul Henreid

Victor Laszlo

Captain Louis Renault

Claude Rains

Captain Louis Renault

Major Heinrich Strasser

Conrad Veidt

Major Heinrich Strasser

Signor Ferrari

Sydney Greenstreet

Signor Ferrari

Ugarte

Peter Lorre

Ugarte

Carl

S.Z. Sakall

Carl

Yvonne

Madeleine Lebeau

Yvonne

Sam

Dooley Wilson

Sam

Annina Brandel

Joy Page

Annina Brandel

Berger

John Qualen

Berger

Reviews

barrymost

"Everybody comes to Rick's," or so they say. It's the middle of WWII, and one evening a certain lady walks into Rick Blaine's popular cafe. As the familiar notes of "As Time Goes By" drift through the hazy atmosphere of the cafe, Rick's life begins to get really complicated. The top-notch cast is, I think, a big part of what makes this film so memorable, and much-heralded through the years. The script is truly well-written and moving. My only complaint is, how could they do something so awful as killing off Peter Lorre within the first quarter of the film? Would I recommend? Overall, yes. There's a reason people cite this as one of the best films ever made. Though there are others I like much more, it is very, very good.

Read full review

John Chard

You must remember this... Are my eyes really brown? Casablanca is one of those films that needs no introduction - or in truth - any more in-depth dissection as to its worth. Over the years it has become one of the most quoted ever pictures (sometimes wrongly), and in reality it's arguably more iconic than it is a work of art. Although a truly "A" list production for 1942, fact is nobody in and around the film expected it to be anything other than a good piece that will put bums on the seats in the theatres. Solidly received on release and riding in on the wave of the Allies inroads into North Africa, Casablanca steadily overcame the much discussed production troubles (the script was practically rewritten daily) to be where it is now, one of the most loved film's of all time. I wouldn't mention Paris, it's poor salesmanship! So what is it about Casablanca that makes it so cherished and adored by each and every generation?. I just know that each time I view it (yearly) it's like falling in love again, each viewing brings a new and emotionally driven fulfilment. Tears flow, sad ones and happy ones, an overriding feeling that romantic idealism isn't dead, to which Casablanca becomes my personal myth buster. Thematic redemption brings a joyous reward, even as our daydreams about lost chances and lost loves hangs heavy in and around Rick's Café Américain. Everything about Casablanca is right, from the flawless direction (Michael Curtiz) to the iconic music, and of course the magnificent characters that are brought to life by the incredibly tight and effective cast. It may not be the greatest film of all time, but to me, and those who let it into their lives, it's one of the best friends anyone could ever hope to have. 10/10

Read full review

CinemaSerf

I've just seen this on a big screen for the first time in over thirty years - no enhancements, 4K, HD - just as Michael Curtiz saw it back in 1942 and it's a cracking piece of cinema. "Rick Blaine" (Humphrey Bogart) runs his Casablanca café as a literal oasis in the North African desert - a refuge for all sorts fleeing the oppression of the Nazis in nearby Europe. Enter "Ilsa" (Ingrid Bergman) and her husband, a Czech resistance leader "Hector Lazlo" (Paul Henried) and we discover that "Rick" and her have a past, and when the pursuing "Maj. Strasser" (Conrad Veidt) and local police chief Claude Rains ("Capt. Renault") get involved in this cocktail of deceit and duplicity things gradually come to the boil in a wonderfully evocative, sophisticated fashion. Bogart and Bergman positively smoulder; the chemistry is electric - she, as usual, doesn't actually act - she is just herself, and that's all she needs to do. Rains is great as the conniving policeman as is Veidt delivering the rather sparse, but no less potent, dialogue perfectly. Like most of the best films, the key to this is it's (seemingly effortless) simplicity - and this one also has a wonderful musical score to complement the tensely directed, eerily shot, story augmented by an hugely talented supporting cast with the likes of Peter Lorre and the superbly sleazy Sydney Greenstreet. There was a great deal wrong and inhibiting with the "studio system" that prevailed at the time, but when it did work it could pull together an astonishing collection of people in front of, and behind the camera and create masterpieces like this.

Read full review