What is your favorite movie?

A perfect ensemble cast with the best dialogue in movie history.
Nothing comes close to Bogart as Rick, the self-sacrificing hero who redeems himself by getting back “into the fight”. Claude Rains is a perfect foil as Renault, the charming cynic.

There are two moments in the movie where the hairs on the back of my neck still stand up regardless of the number of times I see it:
The singing of the Marseillaise - the little nod to the band, Yvonne (who was played by an actual refugee) crying. Stirring stuff. How can you not be touched by it….

The scene where Rick lets the young Bulgarian couple win at the roulette table. It breaks my heart when he tells her that “no-one ever loved me that much”.
Whenever I pass a roulette table, I always put a small amount on number 22 as homage. If I ever win I’m going to leave it there

Romance and intrigue… classic love triangle plot line… shot in a great shadows and light style… great actors… great lines and scenes abound. Set against a backdrop of war and dispair. Simply the best. By the way, how was this not the number 1 Romantic Comedy in the most recent Top 10 of 10?

If one really wants to take a deep look into the American character, these two films are indeed the heart and soul of the American mind.

In both films the characters come to life and share their individual aspirations as well as their individual demons.

Dennis M.

ah.. CASABLANCA … Most Beautiful movie of all time …
What can I say …. No words…. A movie that you can watch several times …. and will fall in love with it more and more as time goes by …

It is simply a great film — Bogey at his best paired with an alluring young Ingrid Bergman. Crisply written, with excellent acting from all involved, and a timeless storyline told against the backdrop of war torn North Africa. And who could ever forget Dooley Wilson’s rendition of “As Time Goes By.” A romance for the ages! So — here’s looking at you, kid!

It had a great cast,great story, and some of the best actors,and actress. A great love story of the way it could have happen during war time. I could watch it over and over

Amazing cast, strong story, great director. Quite simply the best movie of all time. The more I read the story of how the script was not completed and none of the actors new how it was going to end, the more I like it. The fact that many of the actors were refugees from Nazi occupied Europe makes the movie that much more realistic. Play it again!

INGRED BERGMAN

Without a double the best. Great Cast, Great Lines that will live forever, Great Acting and of course a very moving story! Got beat by Citizen Kane last time…I don’t know how!

In my humble opinion, the best movie of all time is Casablanca. The amount of wonderful character actors (Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Claude Raines) add so much color to an already incredibly compelling story. The stakes couldn’t be higher and the action moves along briskly as Rick (a metaphor for the US in the early days of WW II) finds himself drawn in further and further until he realizes that the allies’ fight is his fight as well. The performances by the leads, Paul Heidreid and especially Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart as a world weary bar owner and spot on. The lines are immortal and to site five of them here would be to leave fifteen more of them behind. It is the most satisfying movie-going experience of my life. BTW, if the singing of Les Marsailles doesn’t make you tear up, you don’t have human emotions.

Zoey

The dialogs

This story blends fiction and real life (for its time) into a great film. The economy of the dialogue and scene editing, as well as the portrayals of its actors is superb. I can’t think of any other actors switching with that cast and making the film work as well.
All this, while WWII was underway and the outcome still up in the air. In retrospect, knowing what we know today, this is truly a remarkable piece of work. Casablanca got all the pieces right.

This is the ultimate film of all time, it has a great story, fantastic leading actors, Bogard and Bergman have never been better, and even the smallest roles were so perfectly cast.
I am 70 and seemed to have watched it most of my life, have the script of the film, and now have it on DVD,
What other film has a song like “As time goes by” and has so many memorable lines?

I am aged 70 and seemed to grow up with this movie. It is the greatest love story of all time, and Bogart and Bergman have never been better, even the smallest roles were so perfectly casted.
The dialogue is out of this worl, everyone knows the most polular lines. Why dont they make movies like this any more

Casablanca has great humor, a great story, and an ending that is not a perfect ending, although no red blooded male would ever let Ingrid Bergman fly away. The best romantic comedy ever!

Without a doubt the best movie of the 20th century. Great cast, great story, beautifully done. Last night I saw it for the first time in a theater, on a big screen. WOW!

La mejor historia de amor hecha película…nunca me cansaré de verla aparte de la gran actuación de Humphrey Boggart. La canción As time goes by es también a mi criterio la mejor canción en una película.
Un verdadero clásico.
Ana I. Salas

THE STORY. THE TIME IT TOOK PLACE. THE INTRIGUE OF WHAT THE DAILY LIFE IN CASABLANCA WAS LIKE. AND OF COURSE THE ACTORS PLAYING OUT THERE CHARACTERS SO PERFECTLY MAKES THIS FILM MY FAVORITE OF ALL TIME.

The story, the picture, the characters, the color (black and white) and the actors, make us say: “play it again”. This movie is wonderfull!

This is my favorite movie because it tells a great story with a not so typical happy ending, but the movie is so much better for it. The soundtrack too is wonderful. Anyone who doesnt love “As time goes by” is crazy. This is a movie that will last through the ages and that is what makes it the best movie.

bravo captain Renault..the scenario was simple. Enjoyful movie with beautiful soundtrack..

Humphrey Bogart at his best, Ingrid Bergman at her most alluring, Conrad Veidt at his most sinister, Claude Rains at his most entertaining. And a courtly Paul Henreid graciously taking second billing. Great direction by Micharl Curtiz, especially as the script was written the night before for the next day’s shooting. What dialogue and continuity under those circumstances! I cannot say enough in praise of this film. Damn good love story and one of sacrifice as well.

I would like to mention my favorite early talkie, as it does not appear on your list at right. ‘Hell’s Angels’, directed by Howard Hughes…twice. Once as a silent and once as a sound film. Great story, action packed, and the gorgeous Jean Harlow.

You have Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Nazis. You can not go wrong. Besides, this movie changed my life. I saw it; thus began my love for old movies.

One of the many things that makes Casablanca the best film ever is that it is historically correct. Besides the great acting, great plot and cinematography the movie very accurately depicts the plight of Europeans at the begaining of WWII. Many of the minor actors and extras were refugees of the second world war. I can only imagine the emotions stirred at its deput in 1943 when the result of the war was far from decided.

I have a love for a lot of movies, but Casablanca stands out as my all time favorite. Classic lines and classic acting pull this ‘Everyone wants out’ movie together. Although not Humpry Boggart’s all time best role(I’m still debating as to rather or not ‘To Have or Have Not’ or ‘The African Queen’ was his best) he was simply steller in Casablanca. He had me from the line, ‘I came to Casablanca for the water’. After all the times of seeing Casablanca, I still tear up at the end.

There are many films that deserve to be described as great but for me, Casablanca heads the list. This movie has it all. The story is terrific. It has action, great characters, and exotic setting that happened to be balanced right in the middle ground of the greatest war in history. It had a love story in which the main hero did not get the girl but somehow the viewer knows it had to be that way. It had great acting, not only by Bogie and Bergman but by a whole supporting cast including Claude Rains as the corrupt French prefect, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet, and especially Conrad Veidt as the very believable Major Strasser. The music is timeless and its quotes have become part of our culture. It also has the best bad guys in film history: the Nazis. Evil personified. Even the story about how it was made is worth telling. It is no wonder that a film of this magnitude had so many talented people behind the camera. Then it all came together with a chemistry that is still magical.

Most of all, however, is when it was made and the impact that it must have had. It was a time when the world was at war and things were not going well for our side. Casablanca offered hope when it was needed most. And it did so brilliantly.

I am a fan of many great films but none has had it all like Casablanca. Here’s looking at you, kid.

This is the quintessential love story, told within the context of a world at war, and perfectly cast and acted.

The perfect movie…Humphrey Bogart was flawless in his portrayal of the flawed hero, Ingrid Bergman could not have been more beautiful–the whole cast was incredible. When Victor Laszlo demands that the band play “Le Marseillaise,” and Rick gives them the almost imperceptible nod so that they know it’s okay, then they play it and drown out the Germans, it never fails to make me cry, it’s so inspiring. It has the most memorable, most profoundly moving last scene in the whole history of movies. It is without a single flaw.

Best story, best cinematography, best cast…enough said.

Everytime I watch it, I get something more out of it. One time it was just the shadows, another time the use of close ups.