Movie Review - Casablanca

Until a few days ago, I've never seen the 1942 classic film Casablanca. Seventy-one years after it's creation, Casablanca is still widely considered the greatest Hollywood film of all time. The movie has an unexplained aura about it that captivates you right from the start. I couldn't help but picture what it was like to be on set of this film back in the heyday of Hollywood. Whether or not they knew it at the time, Casablanca became an instant hit winning the Oscar for best picture, director, and screenplay that year and still garnering the respect and admiration it deserves.

Set in the early days of World War II in the Moroccan city of Casablanca, many have escaped the path of Hitler and the Nazis and found refuge in Africa. There we find American Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), exiled from his home country he know runs the most popular night spot in the city. All is business as usual until Rick is informed that Victor Laszlo , an underground leader of Czechoslovakia, has arrived in Casablanca with his wife. The captain of police will do anything to please the Nazis - including handing Laszlo over to them. When Laszlo and his wife enter Rick's night club, Rick is surprised that laszlo's wife is his one time lover Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman).

So begins the epic and dramatic love triangle between them as Rick still loves Ilsa but can't forgive the fact that she left him without any notice. Rick soon finds out the true reason why she left and the two plan to run away together. Circumstances arise and the story for Rick and Ilsa becomes far more complex than they imagined. If you've never seen the classic film Casablanca, it's a must see for any fan of great film making.