Like a fine wine, the movie has only improved with age. One of the grand Hollywood pictures made during WWII, its a case study in classic studio filmmaking. With a flawless technique and visual flair, it keeps up a cynical tone, playing antihero Bogart against opportunistic French prefect of police Claude Raines, while it envelopes us in ultra-glossy romance (those delicious close-ups of Ingrid Bergman at her most luminous can curl your toes) and a definite good-vs.-bad moral universe (freedom fighters vs. Nazis). Fleshed out with a heralded cast of atmospheric characters (Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Dooley Wilson), the movies so vibrant and so much fun, it cant possibly be 70 years old. 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Rice University, 6100 Main. For information, call 713-348-4882 or visit www.ricecinema.rice.edu. Free.
Fri., Jan. 21, 7 p.m.; Sat., Jan. 22, 7 p.m., 2011