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Casablanca

 Director: Michael Curtiz

Year: 1942

Run-time: 1 hr 42 min

- This is perhaps the most beloved American film that I hadn't seen prior to going through the list. If I had seen it out of chronological context, I would have assumed that it hadn't been written at the height of the war that it was set during. To echo the opinions of Eco, it's hard not to wonder if our love for it isn't closely entwined with America's sense of these few years as the greatest in our history - even before D-Day we had a sense of our own destiny.

- That said, the power of the film is in the depths of Ingrid Bergman's face, and that despite the excellent cast around her all playing their roles superbly, she carries the story.

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