Casablanca 1943

Critics score:
97 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: Nobody lights a torch like Ingrid Bergman's Ilsa or carries one like Humphrey Bogart's Rick. Read more

Bosley Crowther, New York Times: Yes, indeed, the Warners here have a picture which makes the spine tingle and the heart take a leap. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: Part of what makes this wartime Hollywood drama (1942) about love and political commitment so fondly remembered is its evocation of a time when the sentiment of this country about certain things appeared to be unified. Read more

Hollywood Reporter: Certainly a more accomplished cast of players cannot be imagined, and their direction by Michael Curtiz is inspired. Read more

David Denby, New Yorker: Casablanca is the most sociable, the most companionable film ever made. Life as an endless party. Read more

Kate Cameron, New York Daily News: An entertaining adventure story played against the colorful background of the cosmopolitan city that has become an important stop on the timetable of the European refugee. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: The greatest pleasure anyone can derive from this movie comes through simply watching it. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Seeing the film over and over again, year after year, I find it never grows over-familiar. It plays like a favorite musical album; the more I know it, the more I like it. Read more

TIME Magazine: Nothing short of an invasion could add much to Casablanca. Read more

Wally Hammond, Time Out: Its complex propagandist subtexts and vision of a reluctantly martial America's 'stumbling' morality still intrigue, just as Bogart's cult reputation among younger viewers still obtains. Read more

Variety Staff, Variety: Film should be a solid moneymaker everywhere. Read more