Casablanca

I'm not going to go into the storyline of this film, nor do I really care to regurgitate what other critics and the director's commentary on the DVD say- I figure, if you want to hear what other people say, you can check it out for yourself.

Casablanca is classic cinema at it's best. Even those who haven't seen it say how ashamed they are for never having seen it. It has a reputation; it has set the bar for great movies. It is the #2 movie of all time on the AFI Top 100 list, being beat only by Citizen Kane (which I still haven't seen all of because the DVD I rented from Blockbuster had a skip in it in chapter 15...)

I'm no expert on classic films; in fact, I don't think that I've seen another Bogey movie in my life. But this film is phenomenal. It's funny; it's romantic... and it's not long. It's everything that a good film should be. It has a song which you cannot hear without thinking of the film (unless, that is, you haven't seen it and can only associate it with When Harry Met Sally- another favorite of mine). It has a wonderful leading lady who is so beautiful even angels are envious of the attention she gets.

Mostly, it has the ability to sustain time. The lesson of forsaking the feelings of your heart to best suit the well-being of the one who holds it is timeless. If you haven't seen this movie, see it. If you have, see it again.

It makes me nostalgic for the way movies used to be before CGI was invented.