Best for: Feeling optimistic about human nature
Casablanca is the story of Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a hard-drinking, cynical ex-freedom fighter who, in early World War II, is running a bar in Casablanca, Morocco, the gateway out of Europe for refugees willing to sell their souls for an exit visa. Out of the blue, his life is shaken up by the arrival of old flame Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman). who appears in his bar with her Resistance-leader husband, Victor.
Made in 1942 by director Michael Curtiz, it’s clear why the appeal of Casablanca shows no sign of diminishing. This is a film that ticks all the boxes – bittersweet love story, dry comedy, stylish wartime adventure – and is packed with cracking dialogue, with many choice lines still in cultural consciousness today (think, ‘Here’s looking at you, kid’ and ‘We’ll always have Paris’). Not to mention the timeless appeal of Sam on the piano playing ‘As Time Goes By’. Spine-tingling moments come thick and fast, with Bogart thrilling and seductive as Rick, playing opposite the luminous Bergman, who oozes old-school glamour.
The final moments are the most enduring. Faced with a painful dilemma, Rick rises to the challenge and decides that duty must come first and gallantly sacrifices the only woman he’s ever loved for the greater good. It’s impossible not to come away from Casablanca misty-eyed, a little in love with Bogart and with faith in human nature firmly intact.
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