I hate to venture controversial artistic opinions on this blog, of course, but boy, do I love Casablanca. I was just revisiting its quotes page on imdb.com in anticipation of its sixtieth anniversary release, and it's just stunning how much power these lines retain, even after being quoted (and misquoted) so many thousands of times. My favorite moment is still: "I am shocked! shocked!" Also wonderful: "I'll hum it for you. Da-dy-da-dy-da-dum, da-dy-da-dee-da-dum...."

As I'm sure I've mentioned many times before, whenever I watch the first half hour of Casablanca, I get so caught up in the atmosphere of intrigue and the wonderful supporting characters that I actually forget that Ingrid Bergman is in the movie. When she finally appears, it is like seeing an old love at an unexpected moment, because I can never quite remember when her first scene is coming.

This is all prologue to the point that I'm going to be attending the anniversary screening of Casablanca at Lincoln Center this Monday, where Isabella Rossellini herself will introduce the film. I love New York, too.