Rating: 
Summary: Not good, just popular
Review: I think this film is a sentimental favorite with audiences because it's just a great party: a beautifully photographed assemblage of fascinating people in a glamorous setting. It's fun to spend two hours in Casablanca with Rick and Sam and Ilsa and all their far-flung friends. But when you come down to it it's not much of a story; whether it doesn't make logical sense or is just too boring to follow is something I've never decided, and lines like "Play it, Sam" and "I stick my neck out for no one" are famous because of who said them in a gorgeous white linen jacket, not what's being said. Like "Dracula" or "Titanic," it's appealing as entertainment. But to label it "great" is to give this little fluffy war romance more weight than it was ever meant to bear.
Rating: 
Summary: Bogey at his best
Review: A film of striking emotion that's scatheing as well as entertaing. Bogey at his best. A great film.
Rating:
Summary: If you've been in love, see Casablanca
Review: I remember seeing Casablanca for the first time when I was a kid. My reaction? "Hmmm...okay, it's a nice movie." The ending did make me a bit sad, but I couldn't exactly understand why this film captivated so many--after all, I was just a kid.Fast-foward to a couple of years later. Casablanca was playing on TV on a Saturday night, and since I had nothing else to do I decided to watch it again. This time it left me in tears. What a story! For those who don't like Casablanca--I totally understand if you think this is some schmaltzy old flick. I've recently spoken to a friend who watched Casablanca and simply dismissed it as a "B-movie." I was a bit irritated with him at first, but later began to understand that you truly CANNOT appreciate this film if you've never really loved someone. (My friend is pretty young--I'll give him time.) But even though Casablanca is a bit "Hollywoodish" by today's standards (ahh...I'm one of the most cynical people out there!), I think that this is a really beautiful film about love, heartbreak, and sacrifice. Go see it. This is a good film for those who have truly loved.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely the best movie of all time
Review: As many times as I've seen this movie, I just cannot imagine what could have been done to improve it. Romance. Mystery. Political intrigue. Quotable lines ("You despise me, don't you, Rick?" "If I gave you any thought I would.") A bittersweet ending. This is the movie to watch when you want to fall in love, or wonder if you'd ever get a second chance at lost love. No matter what movies get made in the future, this will be among the greatest, as time goes by.
Rating:
Summary: Suspend Your Disbelief
Review: If you suspend your disbelief, Casablanca is truly one of the best films ever made. It succeeds because the most improbable thing that the Bogart character could do was to give the letters of transit to the most beautiful woman of all time and her husband the resistance singer. It's simply out of character, don't you agree? And yet, for a moment at the end, we believe it! And this is a tribute to the way the movie was constructed from the very opening shot. But if you look at it in its context of 1943, the suspension of disbelief was in fact rather prevalant. I'm talking about the war movies. The war movies of that era showed unbelievable self-lessness: soldiers throwing themselves on hand grenades, etc. How could "war" motivate people to do such things? Well, people were swept by the patriotism of the time--and it was an extremely justifiable patriotism, given the evil of Hitler. So, what I'm saying (and I don't know if it's been said before) is that Casablanca is, preeminently, a war film. It's a film about doing the right thing, not in combat, but in an occupied territory, with nasty Nazis around. What was the opening shot? Well, it was exactly the opening shot of a war movie! We saw Casablanca on a map. So we are set up to think in terms of a war movie. Could the idea of Casablanca ever work in a non-war context? Woody Allen's "Play it Again, Sam," is of course a mild--and affectionate--spoof of Casablanca. Allen is "our hero" at the end of the film. We don't quite buy it, and "Sam" doesn't quite come off. It's an interesting movie, badly edited, but I cite it because it reinforces my main point: that to understand Casablanca, you have to have seen some of the war films that came out at the same time.
Rating:
Summary: The greatest movie ever made
Review: Here's a dumb review: how could you not already know how incredibly perfect this movie is? Why are you still reading this? Go watch Casablanca! Now, go watch it again! And again! I sure have: I'm over thirty viewings now, and life is too short to waste time reading something so obvious as this review. Go watch Casablanca! If you're still here, thanks for listening. In case you haven't figured it out, it's my favorite movie. It's my mother's favorite movie. It's my wife's favorite movie. It's my best friend's favorite movie. Heck, I've even ended a friendship with someone who said they hated this movie; anybody with taste that bad can't be a good person to have as a friend. Go watch it with someone you love -- even better, go watch it with someone you'd like to love you. Trust me. It works.
Rating:
Summary: The best.
Review: I really can't add anything new to what has been said about this film. But I can watch it over and over, something affects me like no other film. Everytime I watch it I get another level of visual and moral meaning. I think its because the movie is about the giving of self to someother greater good in the face of love, money and indifference. Good versus Evil in Black and White.
Rating: 
Summary: Casablanca - Good but not the top of the stack.
Review: If I were suddenly transported back to 1940's America I'm sure Casablanca would strike many resonating issues with me. But as the situation exists I am too young to have even a memory of fifty years ago. Even so I can clearly see that Director Michael Curtiz found many ways to tie the originally B track movie into hearts of and eventually the culture of Americans. It was probably difficult to find Americans that were not somehow personally involved in the greater European war efforts. I would think it was easy for the public to identify with the American vs. Nazi propaganda and I'm sure most Americans sympathized with travelers that had to journey through the hazardous gateway town of Casablanca. Most of the film revolves around Rick Blane's(Humphrey Bogart) night club. Rick is mostly detached from the troubles surrounding him saying many times "I stick my neck out for no one." But his façade is pierced when his forgotten love Ilsa Lund Laszlo(Ingrid Bergman) visits his club accompanied by her husband, Victor Laszlo(Paul Henreid) an American propaganda leader. I was amazed at the impact Casablanca has visibly had on our society. For example Bogart inserted many lines into our culture such as "Here's looking at you, kid," and "play it again Sam." I was interested to learn where these lines were first made widely public. I suppose it's these elements that sink into society and make a film like this a classic. I had a difficult time following the film for about the first half hour and then things started making more sense. I would give a higher score if the opening had set the stage a little better. I also feel like the movie is not targeted at my general demographic characteristics but it does a good job of letting us look into the attitudes that were prevalent in the 1940's. An extra point goes to Curtiz for using a juggler in the opening scenes long enough to enjoy and get recognized in the Juggling Information Service's Juggling in Movies list. (I checked) So, Casablanca ends up with a final score of 3 stars-a good classic movie but not on the top of the stack.
Rating:
Summary: I agree with all on this page that says this is the best
Review: this is the definitive classic. To me, it is the very essence of the word "classic." Casablanca defines that word. The actors are two of the best that America ever produced. How can you not like Bogie? This movie is flawless. Remember that rumor that Ronald Reagen was originally cast as Rick? Man, that would of destroyed this movie. There has been a re-make made and a colorized version made, but all Casablanca fans know to ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES. What eles can I say about a film rated no. 2 on the AFI's 100 greatest movies of all time, and rates about a ten out of five stars.
Rating:
Summary: What are you waiting for?
Review: If you are hesitating to buy this DVD, and are relying on the reviews, then maybe you have missed the point. It is undeniably one of the greatest movies of all time, and it is the first DVD I ever bought two years ago. I have seen it four times since then. Any questions?
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