Casablanca (Ultimate Collector's Edition)

FORMAT: Blu-RayUPC: 8-83929-24372-3RELEASED: 2012-03-27TITLE: Casablanca (1942) • NR • 1:42:37Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude RainsMichael Curtiz (Director)This is the movie that people who say that they don't like "old" movies, will tell you that they like. This is the movie that people who know nothing about Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman or Claude Rains have heard of (and, most likely, have seen). This is the movie that guys who say that they don't like "love" stories, will tell you that they like. This is the movie that most film critics and film historians, for the past SEVEN DECADES, have considered to be one of the BEST two or three movies EVER MADE! Those of you that have seen it know why. And, those amongst you that have never seen this movie (you poor, unfortunate, souls), should do yourselves a BIG favor and buy it (NOW!) and watch it as soon as you can — trust me, even if you claim to NOT like old movies, you will not regret the purchase of THIS movie. This movie is considered by many (myself included) to be amongst the greatest love stories (and, BEST films in general) that have ever been committed to celluloid! It is an excellent example of what happens when a great script, a great director, a great cast, and great film technicians come together as one. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!See the other reviews for more detail and/or other opinions regarding the plot of the movie.VIDEO: 1.37:1 • B&W • 1080p • MPEG-4 (28.4 Mbps)With this transfer of Casablanca, Warner Home Video has reached new levels of excellence in presenting its movies on blu-ray — particularly for its older B&W catalog titles. It is amazing that a film of this age (74 years and counting at the time of this writing) could look this good. This transfer exhibits excellent picture quality throughout — primarily because there are absolutely NO artifacts such as black specks, white dots, hair-lines or dropped frames. In addition, sharpness and detail are, at the very least, VERY-GOOD — and, quite frequently they are excellent (with textures of most clothing and furniture and many faces and hair-styles being readily apparent and natural looking). Also, contrast and gray scale are EXCELLENT overall — with the many dark and low-light scenes looking particularly good. This is probably the best that this movie has EVER looked — even when it was first released.AUDIO: DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0The sound engineers at Warner Home Video have definitely done extensive clean-up work on the film's soundtrack, because there are no pops, bumps or hiss to speak of — and, Dooley Wilson has NEVER sounded better. Also, the dialog is very clear and natural sounding, with all voices being clearly defined and easily understood. However, the transfer's dynamic range is fairly limited, and there isn't any deep bass nor any top-end to speak of (though, the musical numbers and musical score sound MUCH better than one would expect under the circumstances). Otherwise, considering the age of the source elements and the fact that this is a monophonic, dialog-driven movie from the early 1940s, this film's soundtrack has VERY good sound quality.EXTRAS: Film TrailersIntroduction by Lauren BacallTwo separate commentary tracks (Roger Ebert on one, Rudy Behlmer on the other)Documentary: Michael Curtiz the greatest director you never heard ofDeleted scenesOuttakesCartoonsVarious tribute videosNone of the extras were reviewed.

After having watched "Casablanca" for the first time, it has become quite clear to me why the period from the 1940's through the 1950's was considered Hollywood's 'Golden Era'. I suspect that is was still the relative newness of the medium that enabled movies of this period to be of such high quality, a quality lacking in almost all of today's films. During that period, gratuitous sex and violence were not permissible and there were no special effects to distract the audience from a poor story. As a result, the way directors were able to engross the audiences in their films was by telling compelling stories and developing their characters with great depth and care. These movies also involved some of quickest, sharpest, wittiest dialogue ever committed to the big screen. The only director today who shows any understanding of the importance of clever and intelligent dialogue is Quentin Tarantino, but he makes overly violent movies and only makes about one film every 5 years."Casablanca" may be the pantheon of the 'Golden Era'. It is easily one of the most quoted movies in cinematic history and it has some the most memorable scenes. For anyone who has not actually seen the movie, the plot centers on French Morocco during World War II in the city of Casablanca. The fear of the German war machine drives people to Casablanca to seek any form of passage to the United States. Business is fertile for men possessing the exit visas to get people across the Atlantic. Much of the business takes place at Rick's Cafe Americain, run by a jaded Rick Blaine (played masterfully by the legendary Humphrey Bogart). He was idealistic in his younger days, but now is a cynic and only helps people when it benefits him. His world gets turned upside down when the former love of his life Isla (played by the luminous Ingrid Bergman) enters the Cafe with her husband, the revolutionary leader Victor Lazlo, looking for passage to the States. It evokes one of the greatest lines in cinematic history and sets in motion series of events involving intrigue, passion, and suspense.The wordplay between Bogart's Rick and any one of the other characters is true treat to behold. It is sharp and witty and seems so perfectly timed. The only other movie I have ever seen that comes close to this level of dialogue is the old Cary Grant film "His Girl Friday". Rick's enigmatic moods always leave the viewer wondering what path he'll choose. Will it be the one of selfish interest or the one of greater good? The viewer never knows until the very end. Bergman's Ilsa is one of the most beautiful female characters in the history of film. Bergman's beauty would be just as captivating today as it was back in the 1940's. The passion of lost love between Ilsa and Rick is largely unspoken, but it's very palpable. Unlike today's films, which feel the need show too much, "Casablanca" uses subtlety to convey the emotion and passion."Casablanca" is considered a violent movie without ever being too violent. The threat of the German 'Gestapo' hanging over every action and every scene creates a tension, a fear, and a suspense that few movies can match.There is not one single wasted motion, scene, or character in this film. There is purpose in everything that happens. Characters from the shifty street vendor all the way to the shady Captain Renault have purpose and meaning. "Casablanca" has been termed by some to be the 'perfect film'. That's a lofty claim as some of the movies that were thought to be great in their time, now prove to be dated and almost a parody of themselves ("2001" and "The Graduate") are classic examples. "Casablanca", however, earns that praise and proves to be a timeless classic that is as moving today as it was in 1942.