It's so renowned due to the top cast, the noir production, the classic romance, and the film's iconic moment in time.

@bradsell2019 said:

It's a shame that Casablanca is talked about a lot more than actual exceptional films. To give an example, I've heard far more about Casablanca than I have about the visual masterpiece that is Goodfellas.

Please. Goodfellas gets its fair share of adoration.

The movie is known to be exceptional because of some great acting skills, shoot locations, story and an ending with a line that is considered to be one of the best movie quotes.

Casablanca is adored for several reasons but I believe the main reason is the fact that it was a perfect pro-war, anti-Nazi propaganda vehicle. As we get further and further away from those times it is harder and harder to see just how effective it was. Pepper in some great one-liners, decent music, and a host of stars and you have the phenomenon known as the popularity of Casablanca . I remember growing up in the 80s and my dad making me watch this film because it was "so great" and I thought it was boring too. However, over the years I have come to really appreciate it as well. A quote from Ingrid Bergman has always stuck with me when she was asked about how does it feel to be in one of the greatest films of all time and she said something to the effect of, "I don't understand why people love such a silly insignificant movie" . I was like, hmm, OK. LOL

Casablanca (1942) - 9 outta 10 stars

I disagree - I think that this is one of those established classics which deserves every bit of its lofty reputation. Casablanca is, for me, as close to perfect as movies get. But no film is for everyone!

A number of films considered the best today were not adored so much when they first came out. Casablanca is one of them, thought of as acceptable war time entertainment not much more. The high regard for Bogie over the years is one of the reason it is held in high esteem. Even for the folks involved it wasn't so loved. Along with the Ingrid Bergman quote movie_nazi mentioned above, Julius Epstein one of the principle writers called it "phony" and "slick shit". To them it was just another picture made on a back lot. A film, song, book play, etc made in a long past time isn't made to please anther time. I like it well enough. Even the other films mentioned above (Tootsie, The Graduate, Goodfellas)aren't loved by all. To each their own is all one can say.

@znexyish said:

A number of films considered the best today were not adored so much when they first came out. Casablanca is one of them, thought of as acceptable war time entertainment not much more. The high regard for Bogie over the years is one of the reason it is held in high esteem. Even for the folks involved it wasn't so loved. Along with the Ingrid Bergman quote movie_nazi mentioned above, Julius Epstein one of the principle writers called it "phony" and "slick shit". To them it was just another picture made on a back lot. A film, song, book play, etc made in a long past time isn't made to please anther time. I like it well enough. Even the other films mentioned above (Tootsie, The Graduate, Goodfellas)aren't loved by all. To each their own is all one can say.

Well said. I do like Casablanca but more for the jilted lover storyline which hits close to home. I, for one, also adore Goodfellas but I have always been partial to gangster films. Tootsie did nothing for me and I thought The Graduate was OK. Liked the music in it better than the film.

I've seen the film. Like the original poster, I had some trouble following it as the film went on. He made a point that the action feels "dragged out," which I agree with.

It wouldn't be a truly great film if some people didn't think it was overrated. 😁

I'm a south american person (neutral countries in WW2) and I loved it. The cinematography is very charming (that's the thing I like the most)... I can't imagine this movie in colours. The actuations are very good, and the cast is very appropiate for every role. The storyline is maybe too simple, but emotional and effective. I liked it a lot. I find the beginning a little boring because there is a lot of politics talk.

Two of my past roommates don't like it.

One roommate loves Bogart, but doesn't like love stories. He also has a tendency to dislike something that he views as overly popular. I can remind him of Peter Lorre's tenuous friendship with Bogart and the resulting laughs. "I forgot Peter Lorre was even in the movie. Damn. Now I remember. Those two are great when they work together." I can remind him of Claude Rains and his amusingly cynical take on life. "Yeah. That part's good. He's one of the greats when it comes to acting." But it always comes down to, "I &$%#ing hate love stories."

Another roommate adores love stories. She can't get enough of them. But they need to follow the formula. Boy meets girl. Boy almost loses girl. Boy wins girl back. "Yeah. That's the best kind of love story. How come Humphrey Bogart doesn't end up with the woman. Booo. Sucks."

Me. I like the love story that doesn't follow the formula. Bogart decides to do what is noble and right. Gets me in the feels every time.

Now that I'm old, I like movies with solidly evolving character arcs over movies with mindless action.

This movie is almost perfect.

@sukhisoo said:

Two of my past roommates don't like it.

One roommate loves Bogart, but doesn't like love stories. He also has a tendency to dislike something that he views as overly popular. I can remind him of Peter Lorre's tenuous friendship with Bogart and the resulting laughs. "I forgot Peter Lorre was even in the movie. Damn. Now I remember. Those two are great when they work together." I can remind him of Claude Rains and his amusingly cynical take on life. "Yeah. That part's good. He's one of the greats when it comes to acting." But it always comes down to, "I &$%#ing hate love stories."

Another roommate adores love stories. She can't get enough of them. But they need to follow the formula. Boy meets girl. Boy almost loses girl. Boy wins girl back. "Yeah. That's the best kind of love story. How come Humphrey Bogart doesn't end up with the woman. Booo. Sucks."

Me. I like the love story that doesn't follow the formula. Bogart decides to do what is noble and right. Gets me in the feels every time.

Now that I'm old, I like movies with solidly evolving character arcs over movies with mindless action.

This movie is almost perfect.

The longer that as time goes by (no pun intended. Well, maybe a little) the more I feel like it is close to perfect. It is impeccably paced as most films of the time were but I would like to point out that the lines are also impeccably written. I am not a fan of love stories myself but the film is more than that. It is a film about camaraderie against evil. Everyone from Casablanca was from different places and had different goals and flaws but one thing they could all agree on, they all hated the Nazis.

Casablanca (1942) - 9 outta 10 stars

If you look at it from the context of the era it's from, it's a great film. Goodfellas and the other films were mentioned came later.

It has taken me decades to learn that a great movie doesn't necessarily need a great, nail-biting story. In fact, what usually makes a movie great isn't the story but rather, some new artistic approach, new technical trick, or standard-defying innovation that adds to the language of cinema and paves the way for all other films to follow.

Casablanca broke a lot of rules, and its success showed other filmmakers that they could break rules too. At the core of it is one of the 1st anti-heroes that Hollywood dared portray in a major film: a whiskey-swilling, nihilistic, amoral narcissist. Like manfromatlantis said, you have to look at the era it's from. Everything prior to 1940 (and a lot of films after) were still using the classic template of a "heroic" hero, a squeaky clean good guy who always does the right thing and gets the girl, especially since the Hayes Code was now in full force, censoring anything that wasn't a classic morality tale with good Christian values.

The concept of the anti-hero would still take years to solidify. I've heard that Kiss Me Deadly (1955) often claims the trophy for Ralph Meeker's outright sadistic hero. But really I think Bogie paved the way here with the character of Rick. Casablanca shocks us with his amorality right off the bat, when he stands there and does nothing while Ugarte is begging for help, ultimately hauled off and killed. Well I say it shocks "us" but we're no longer shocked the way 1940s audiences were. Bogie's "Rick" basically invented the wheel.

Tons of other broken rules, a lot of technical stuff I won't waste pages talking about. To me it was really the anti-hero approach, resetting the Hollywood formula and paving the way for more human, flawed, or outright malevolent protagonists to give us the truth about the human condition.

So yeah, I get how modern audiences might feel bored. But that's kinda like today's death metal fans being bored by Black Sabbath.

@rooprect said:

It has taken me decades to learn that a great movie doesn't necessarily need a great, nail-biting story. In fact, what usually makes a movie great isn't the story but rather, some new artistic approach, new technical trick, or standard-defying innovation that adds to the language of cinema and paves the way for all other films to follow.

Casablanca broke a lot of rules, and its success showed other filmmakers that they could break rules too. At the core of it is one of the 1st anti-heroes that Hollywood dared portray in a major film: a whiskey-swilling, nihilistic, amoral narcissist. Like manfromatlantis said, you have to look at the era it's from. Everything prior to 1940 (and a lot of films after) were still using the classic template of a "heroic" hero, a squeaky clean good guy who always does the right thing and gets the girl, especially since the Hayes Code was now in full force, censoring anything that wasn't a classic morality tale with good Christian values.

The concept of the anti-hero would still take years to solidify. I've heard that Kiss Me Deadly (1955) often claims the trophy for Ralph Meeker's outright sadistic hero. But really I think Bogie paved the way here with the character of Rick. Casablanca shocks us with his amorality right off the bat, when he stands there and does nothing while Ugarte is begging for help, ultimately hauled off and killed. Well I say it shocks "us" but we're no longer shocked the way 1940s audiences were. Bogie's "Rick" basically invented the wheel.

Tons of other broken rules, a lot of technical stuff I won't waste pages talking about. To me it was really the anti-hero approach, resetting the Hollywood formula and paving the way for more human, flawed, or outright malevolent protagonists to give us the truth about the human condition.

So yeah, I get how modern audiences might feel bored. But that's kinda like today's death metal fans being bored by Black Sabbath.

Indeed! The I stick my neck out for nobody is a line lost but does encapsulate Rick's nihilistic attitude. The love story told in flashback sequences also illustrates why Rick has come to have the crappy attitude on life. Nothing hurts more than to have your heart broken and it can sour a man. I personally think the film is imppecably written and has so many quotable lines that I hear people spout to this day and they have no clue where it came from. The I am shocked, SHOCKED that there is gambling in this establishment! Here are your winnings, sir. I hear ALL the time. I also myself often quite use the line Rick utters when Ugarde states that Rick probably despises him. Well if I ever gave you any thought then I probably would. 🤣 Lots of one line nuggets like that sprinkled throughout the film. Yes, I can truly say I not only understand why Casablanca receieves adoration but it has my utmost adoration as well.

Casablanca (1943) - 9 outta 10 stars