Casablanca

1942.

#2 / #3

Winner of 3 Academy Awards.

CASABLANCA is a love story, following the cold Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), his love Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), and her activist husband Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid).

Sarah: Humphrey Bogart is not an attractive man, but every woman or gay man who watches this film will want to stand by his side and not get on that plane! No one plays tortured like he does. To me, this is the best love story told on film. The first time you see it, you might be a little confused, but it's brilliance is that it gets better every time you watch it. Every gesture, glance, and line is suddenly filled with meaning.

This film is also hilarious. There are so many great one-liners, it is no wonder it dominates the AFI quote list.

Eddie: Sarah hit it right on the head when she said that this is the best love story on film. The supporting cast in this flick is quite underrated; Claude Reins, Peter Lorre, and
(even) Louis Armstrong
Dooley Wilson put in solid work. But the main cast, Jesus Christ. Bogart's sardonic deliberation is the genesis for every awesome hero ever since. Rick Blaine is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Jake Gittes, Indiana Jones, and Billy Costigan. Bogart is such an awesome badass, you're pulling for him through and through. Yet Lazlo is such a decent dude, you spend the whole movie wishing that they could just split Ilsa in half, Solomon-style.

Why You Should See It: We really struggled with which scene or moment from the film is our favorite. Rick and Ilsa's reunion scene, "La Marseillaise" scene, and the tarmac scene are great, but Rick's lonesome scene at the bar takes the cake. After Sam the piano player refuses to play "As Time Goes By," Rick complains, "If she can stand it, I can. Play it!"

Update: Sam was played by Dooley Wilson, not Louis Armstrong. My bad.