Casablanca is a classic film that actually does live up to the hype. This really is one of the greatest films of all time. It has a compelling story, interesting characters and superb acting. Plus, it has stood the test of time and will continue to be endlessly quoted, referenced and parodied.

A cynical nightclub owner protects an old flame and her husband from Nazis in Morocco. Casablanca is a film that has received alot of love and support over the decades and i'm sorry but i don't buy it cause the movie was totally just awful and really boring and the only good thing i can probably say it's the fact that it doesn't have a big running time cause i just couldn't face that another time like with other movies. Back in 42' this movie might have been great but now is to tame and flat that makes it look like a forgettable 10's movie that didn't make it in the awards..

A classic. Terrific actors, without exception (I wished Peter Lorre's part were longer). Great production. Incredible direction (look out for the head profile shots at the end, at the airport - that still remains striking). Unsurpassed screenplay. I could have taken a star off though because plot developments are glossed over too quickly. Bogart holds it all together and was never better. Movie captures the tension, desperation, romance and sacrifice of wartime magnificently. Only other criticism is over-use of music to manipulate viewer's response. Too noticeable. SPOILER ALERT. As examples of rushed developments: Rick's change of conviction and Ilsa's acceptance of Rick's decision that he is staying and she has to leave with Laszlo. Hard to believe she would be comfortable leaving it up to Rick to tell her husband she was leaving him. And her decision not to meet him at the train station in Paris (after she learns Laszlo is still alive) because she thought Rick wouldn't leave Paris without her - well, to be kind to her I guess she believed that Rick would get over her in time and didn't need to know she was married (I realise Laszlo wanted to keep their marriage a secret to protect her but I think in the circumstances Rick could have been told). Because the movie never loses tension any of its shortfalls are masterfully hidden. It all passes in a whirl and the movie is over before you know it! Trivia: Hitler is never mentioned. Only a portrait in Strasser's office. An interesting approach to the film is to look at it as Rick's ultimate revenge on Ilsa for deserting him in Paris. He really deserts her at the end. She has no choice but to go with Laszlo. Rick could have got a letter of transit from Ferrari at the Blue Parrott. Ferrari had offered one to Laszlo and Ilsa but they had turned it down because they wanted to leave together. It seems incredible looking back that Ilsa was willing to leave her husband behind in Casablanca to fly off to Lisbon with Rick. It was really only Rick who forced her hand to leave with her husband.

In December 1941, American expatriate Rick Blaine owns an upscale nightclub and gambling den in Casablanca. "Rick's Café Américain" attracts a varied clientele, including Vichy French and German officials, refugees desperate to reach the still-neutral United States, and those who prey on them. Although Rick professes to be neutral in all matters, he ran guns to Ethiopia during its war with Italy and fought on the Loyalist side in the Spanish Civil War.Petty crook Ugarte boasts to Rick of "letters of transit" obtained by murdering two German couriers. The papers allow the bearers to travel freely around German-controlled Europe and to neutral Portugal, and are priceless to the refugees stranded in Casablanca. Ugarte plans to sell them at the club, and asks Rick to hold them. Before he can meet his contact, Ugarte is arrested by the local police under the command of Captain Louis Renault, the unabashedly corrupt Vichy prefect of police. Ugarte dies in custody without revealing that he entrusted the letters to Rick.Now let's clear up some rumors. Muh has been written about "Casablanca" but a few rumors often get repeated. One of them is Ingrid Bergman saying "The screenplay was not completed when they started shooting". That is not true. Warner Brothers never put a film into production unless they had a complete screenplay. Now they kept a few things secret from Ingrid Bergman. She did not have a complete screenplay. The director and Warners thought they would get a better performance out of her if she did not know a few things. However it was not uncommon for "things to change" while a film was in production. "Casablanca was no exception! Another rumor was that Ronald Reagan was cast to play Ric! He was only "thought of" but for only a few seconds. Almost everyone in Hollywood was until Bogart was cast! Rumor #3 The film was an out of control production! This is not true! This was shot in 18 days. Another things people don't quit notice is how fast people talk in this film! The film runs 102 minutes. The screenplay is 125+ minutes. The average screenplay is one minute of screen time per written page! If this film was made by today's standards it would run almost 45 minutes longer.Now if you never seen the film you are lucky. The film is exciting as it is romantic. Not one minute of screen time is squandered. Today's filmmakers would not know how to make a film like this unless "Batman" plays Ric!