25 Definitively Best Movies EVER (According To Critics AND Fans)
6. Casablanca (1942)
Score: 93
As already qualified, Michael Curtiz's Casablanca is one of those films that exists almost outside of the usual rankings of films, such is its universally accepted importance and quality. That can means it gets over-looked for flashier, newer films, but ignorance of this glorious war story is a major disservice.
Fans are less enthusiastic about it when compared to critics, but there's no question of the film's intoxicating blend of pathos, humour and smart writing. It's a less cynical film than would have been made in the decades following its release and it's a curious release to come out during World War II, but it's so eminently quotable (and impressively MISquotable) because of its enduring quality, which is underpinned massively by Humphrey Bogart's powerhouse performance.
Sure, it's a little saccarine in its romantic, but since when's that always a problem?
Rotten Tomatoes: 97 Audience: 95 IMDB: 85 Letterboxd: 86 Metascore: 100