20 Movie Scenes That Are Totally Flawless
6. La Marseillaise - Casablanca (1942)
During the Second World War, Rick Blane (Humphrey Bogart) owns a bar in Morocco that accepts a wide range of customers, from refugees to German officers, and French soldiers to resistance leaders.
After being reunited with his ex Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) and her husband Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), Rick is called upon to help them escape to America. During their meeting, they're interrupted by some German officers who start singing "The Watch on the Rhine," which causes Laszlo to start singing the French national anthem "La Marseillaise."
As the music intensifies, the rest of the patrons in the bar join in with Laszlo, eventually overpowering the German officers with an infectious burst of patriotism and hope.
Casablanca's most important and moving scene features a wide range of powerful performances - particularly from Henreid and the iconic Madeleine Lebeau - and the way the music and lyrics build to a crushing roar is even more powerful when you remember most of the extras used were actually real-life refugees from the war.