.
Quote Originally Posted by Graham Breeze View Post
Casablanca (1942 dir Michael Curtiz)

The Daily Telegraph suggests that this will be the best film to be shown on TV during the holiday. Well as a timeless, flawless masterpiece it will be.

Like the Mona Lisa or the Taj Mahal it suffers from an apparent over-familiarity but, like them, it needs unjaundiced eyes (and ears) to appreciate its wonders. People may remember the perfect performances of a stellar cast-Bergman, Bogart, Lorre, Veight, Greenstreet- or As Time Goes By- but a great film starts with a great script and in this case Warner Brothers paid 75% of the total fees paid to all the actors for the original play and to the script writers.

And what they got in return is one of the most quoted film scripts in cinema history and a film of perfection.
Graham I saw it a long time ago and have forgotten most of it. Like most films though I keep a mental note of my conclusion so I can return to them later to see if I feel differently. After all the hype about Casablanca being one of the greatest films ever I was left feeling that it was just above average. Yes there are aspects of greatness in there but if the story doesn't ingnite one's passions then it just doesn't work. 'The African Queen' was a much more enjoyable film from my perspective. The lead roles starting out with contempt for one another fall in love through a difficult struggle. The expression on Bogart's face when he had to manoeuvre through the leeches was memorable. I'd give Casablanca 6/10 and The African Queen 9/10.