Casablanca, hands down. I agree MF has many great acting performances and an intriguing plot. It may be a "landmark" noir film and Bogart undoubtedly gives one of his best performances but he performs equally as well in Casablanca.
You have to remember these are different roles with different requirements. Rick has different motives and is in a different context than Sam Spade. Maybe Rick is tired but not Bogart. Bogart is terrific in both roles. That said, Casablanca's story is unmatched. It is easily among the greatest romances ever written and the kind of romance is entirely novel and something which cannot be replicated. Doing so would instantly recall Casablanca.
I have many issues with MF. It definitely deserves multiple viewings. However, there's so much fast talking, names and places mentioned that it's hard to follow the plot. There's nothing wrong with writing scripts which are demanding but, watching MF for the first time, I constantly had to rewind parts to pick up on the dialogue. I would even say there's a lot of unnecessary "fluff" in the dialogue which only serves to mislead the audience, irrespective of the writer's intentions.
I'm not crying because MF is demanding. Rather, I'm saying the goal ought to be clarity. Anyone can write something that's convoluted and hard to follow. It takes genius to write something on par with Casablanca. Perhaps the ending of Casablanca is too "Hollywood" for many people on this thread, but at least the story is clear, convincing, and gives closure. The end of MF leaves me feeling "WTF?" "The stuff that dreams are made of?" I don't know whether that's supposed to reference Shakespeare's "Tempest" or what exactly it's supposed to mean.
I could go on to point out other flaws in MF and the man other merits of Casablanca. Rather I'll say both films are great in their own right. Bogart gives legendary performances in both films, perhaps his best two performances ever. Both films deserve multiple viewings. In the end I have a greater desire to rewatch Casablanca for its story, rather than trying to figure out an overly convoluted plotline.
When it comes down to it I would say Casablanca exceeds MF on every level, unless, of course, you're one of those people who would prefer to rewatch MF over and over because you would like to figure out a plot that is impossible to grasp on a first viewing.
Casablanca: 10/10
The Falcon: 7/10
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