This volume contains insightful essays analyzing the reasons for this film classic's acclaim, as well as its influences on the film industry as we know it today. Essays are 5,000 words in length and offer analyses of Casablanca based on cultural and historical contexts, close viewings from particular critical standpoints (from traditional to postmodern), comparisons in the light of other films, and critical receptions over time. All essays are written by renowned film scholars of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, providing in-depth, academic coverage of all key issues and interpretations.