Casablanca, and here is why:
The historical significance alone makes it the greatest film ever. Forget the 'love story angle' of a woman who believes that her husband has been killed by the Nazis, and falls in love with an isolationist American....this is about WW2. It was happening in real time. The Nazis had overrun Europe and taken France. People were fleeing, seeking safety wherever they could find it. The biggie? Nobody knew who was going to win. Many cast members had actually escaped from the Nazis and found refuse in Hollywood, USA.
The back story is indeed fascinating. The great cast, the magic of a single song, the black and white photography....simply the best.
Casablanca is likely the most often quoted and mis-quoted film ever.
The most powerful exchange takes place in the final minutes. Victor is the resistance fighter. Rick represents the US...a nation that was doing business with the Nazis and was not keen to get involved in another foreign war, so soon after the Great War...but after the Pearl Harbor attack, Hitler also declared war on the US.
When Victor tells Rick: "Welcome to the fight. Now I know our side will win."
Now that the US was into the war, like it or not, many in Europe now had hope....hope that the US would aid in ending the world of Hitler and the Axis powers.
That alone, is all you need to know.
