I’ve seen Casablanca more than a few times, and it’s become one of my favorite films. For this review I got to experience it in 35mm at the wonderful nearby Stanford Theatre.

But that’s not how I first experienced it. I first watched it at home and half paid attention to it. A lot of the movie was lost on me and I thought it was overrated, just ok, and not that great. My views have changed, in case you haven’t guessed.

It does seem to be a film that takes repeated viewings to “get”. The script is brilliant, every line has its place. If you look away for a few scenes you may miss some clever back and forth that’s worth watching again to catch.

The pacing is mostly great and still holds up well for modern audiences. I struggled to find a scene that I could get up for popcorn for. Every scene had classic lines that I didn’t want to miss.

This film is chock full of classic one-liners that have become part of our culture in their own rite really. It’s through the love of this film that that’s even made possible.