Casablanca (1943)

If you don't like this movie go see "Dumb & Dumberer"- you'll like it

You are a complete tool if you did not like this film. I read Julia S.'s one-star review about how the characters don't have chemistry. Hmm, well, if I'm guessing correctly chemistry to you means John Travolta and Barry Pepper in "Battlefield Earth", right? Not a chance by the way. This film is Bogey at his best, a landmark achievement to say the least. And on HD-DVD? A must-own needs to be purchased again folks. September 23, 2008

You must remember this ...

Aaaahhh ... Bogey. AFI's No. 1 film star of the 20th century. Hollywood's original noir anti-hero, epitome of the handsome, cynical and oh-so lonesome wolf (with "Casablanca"'s Rick Blaine alone, one of the Top 5 guys on the AFI's list of greatest 20th century film heroes); looking unbeatably cool in white dinner jacket or trenchcoat and fedora alike, a glass of whiskey in his hand and a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. Endowed with a legendary aura several times larger than his real life stature, and still admired by scores of women wishing they had been born 50+ years earlier, preferably somewhere in California and to parents connected with the movie business, so as to have at least a marginal chance of meeting him.

Triple-Oscar-winning "Casablanca," directed by Michael Curtiz, was and still is without question Bogart's greatest career-defining moment, the movie on which his legendary status is grounded more than on any other of his multiple successes. The film's story is based on Murray Burnett and Joan Alison's play "Everybody Comes to Rick's," renamed by Warner Brothers in order to tag onto the success of the studio's 1938 hit "Algiers" (starring Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr). Building on the success of 1941's "The Maltese Falcon" and further expanding Bogart's increasingly complex on-screen personality, it added a romantic quality which had heretofore been missing; eventually making this the AFI's Top 20th century love story (even before the No. 2 "Gone With the Wind"), while second only to "Citizen Kane" on the AFI's overall list of Top 100 20th century movies; with a unique, inimitable blend of drama, passion, humor, exotic North African atmosphere, patriotism, unforgettable score (courtesy of Herman Hupfeld's "As Time Goes By," Max Steiner and Louis Kaufman's violin) and an all-star cast, consisting besides Bogart of Ingrid Bergman (Ilsa), Paul Henreid (Victor Laszlo), Claude Rains (Captain Renault), Dooley Wilson (who, a drummer by trade, had to fake his piano playing as Rick's friend Sam), Conrad Veidt (Major Strasser), Sydney Greenstreet (Ferrari) and Peter Lorre (Ugarte). And the movie's countless famous one-liners have long attained legendary status in their own right ...

Looking at this movie's and its stars' almost mythical fame, it is difficult to imagine that, produced at the height of the studio system era, it was originally just one of the roughly 50 movies released over the course of one year. But mass production didn't equal low quality; on the contrary, the great care given to all production values, from script-writing to camera work, editing, score and the stars' presentation in the movies themselves and in their trailers, was at least partly responsible for its lasting success. In fact, the screenplay for "Casablanca" was constantly rewritten even throughout the filming process, to the point that particularly Ingrid Bergman was extremely worried because she was unsure whether at the end she (Ilsa) would leave Casablanca with Henreid's Victor Laszlo or stay there with Humphrey Bogart (Rick).

Little needs to be said about the movie's story. After the onset of WWII, Casablanca has become a point of refuge for Jews and other desperate souls from all corners of Europe, fleeing the old world with the hope of building a new life in America. Unofficial center of Casablanca's society is Rick's "Café Americain," where gamblers, refugees, French police, Nazi troops, thieves, swindlers and soldiers of fortune come together on a nightly basis, to make connections, conduct their shady business, or simply forget the uncertainty of their fate for a few precious hours. And presiding over this mixed and colorful society is Rick Blaine, expatriate American without any hope of returning to the United States himself (for reasons never fully explained), officially not interested in politics but only the flourishing of his business, but soft-hearted underneath the hard shell of his cynicism. From Rick's perspective, everything is going just swell and the way it is meant to be: he is reasonably well-respected, has a good working relationship with Captain Renault, the local representative of the Vichy government (based on mutual respect as much as on the fact that Renault is a guaranteed winner at Rick's gambling tables and, by way of reciprocation, turns a blind eye to whatever less-than-squeaky-clean transactions Rick may be tolerating in his café, always ready to have his police round up "the usual suspects" instead of the truly guilty party of a crime if that person's continued freedom promises to be more profitable); and although aware of Rick's not quite so apolitical past, the Germans are leaving him alone as well, as long as he stays out of politics now. Until ... well, until famous underground resistance leader and recent concentration camp-escapee Victor Laszlo and his wife Ilsa walk into Rick's café, into his place "of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world" - and with one blow, administered to the melancholy tunes of "As Time Goes By," the carefully maintained equilibrium of his little world comes crashing down around him.

Like most of the more recent editions of this movie, the blueray collectors' edition features not only an improved visual transfer but also, and notably, a new introduction by Lauren Bacall, additional documentaries ("Bacall on Bogart" and "The Children Remember" with Stephen Bogart and Ingrid Bergman's daughters Pia Lindstrom and Isabella Rosselini) besides the excellent "You Must Remember This" already included on the original one-disc edition, newly-discovered deleted scenes, treasures from the production history, commentary tracks with Roger Ebert and historian Rudy Behlmer, as well as several audio documents and fun stuff like web links and the "Looney Tunes" homage "Carrotblanca."

Not only to Bogart and Bergman fans all over the world, "Casablanca" is film history's all-time crowning achievement, a "must" in every movie lover's collection, and one of the few films that truly deserve the title "classic." If you don't already own it, now is the time to remedy that omission!

Also recommended:
Algiers
Notorious - Criterion Collection
Humphrey Bogart - The Signature Collection, Vol. 1 (Casablanca Two-Disc Special Edition / The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Two-Disc Special Edition / They Drive by Night / High Sierra)
Humphrey Bogart - The Signature Collection, Vol. 2 (The Maltese Falcon Three-Disc Special Edition / Across the Pacific / Action in the North Atlantic / All Through the Night / Passage to Marseille)
Bogie and Bacall - The Signature Collection (The Big Sleep / Dark Passage / Key Largo / To Have and Have Not) September 9, 2008

Blu-ray edition mostly paper media and fancy packaging

The Blu-ray edition of Casablanca will be wonderful if you enjoy lots of postcards, booklets, and a fancy box. If, however, you're main interest is in the film itself, you won't be disappointed but neither will you be blown away by BR's enhancements.

The resolution isn't measurably better than a 2006 HD release -- after all there is only so much that can be done with a film made in 1942! But the clarity of picture and sound are worth the hefty price, especially for collectors or people who want to know lots of minute detail about the history of the movie.

My choice is always for the quality of the film and sound, which is why I am going with Blu-ray; but I'm not expecting miracles, just a very high quality, satisfying upgrade of this wonderful movie.

Bogie and Becall...clearly worth the price! Will make a wonderful holiday gift. September 7, 2008

The Movie Guy

Casablanca is undoubtedly one of the greatest films of all time. It is simply a fantastic movie. It holds many prestigious ranks among critics and movie goers. It was awarded the position of number 3 as the greatest movie of all time for the American Film Institute. It is on the top 250 on IMDB.com, it also won the academy award for best picture and probably on the favorite list of anyone who knows what a real movie is. It is the true benchmark film for all love stories with an all star cast. It's about lost love being rekindled in the time of World War II when the Nazi's controlled most of Europe. Rick a popular American night club owner who is not particulary on anyone's side. His former lover comes into his night club with a husband who is a freedom fighter escaping from the nazis. They need passage to get out Casablanca which is not an easy task because most people there are stuck and can't leave because it is hard and dangerous to get a plane to come to Casablanca for aid. Rick just happens to have special transit papers that cannot be recinded and now must decide to let the woman he loved slip through his fingers again or be with her forever. I would recommend this film to anybody because it is just a masterpeice. BUY IT! August 31, 2008

New Ultimate edition for collectors (and gift-givers) coming out for Christmas

Possibly the most popular film around, 1942's Casablanca pairs two iconic actors, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, in a story of lost love and reluctant heroism. Warner Brothers put out an excellent 2-disc Special Edition in 2003. (That older set is going to receive new artwork on December 2nd, but it will otherwise be the same.) This new 2-disc Ultimate Collector's Blu-ray Edition includes the features from the 2003 set and adds a documentary about studio head Jack Warner, along with a bunch of memorabilia. This is the only Blu-ray edition. Here are the announced new features, the ones not included in the 2003 set. All but the first are memorabilia.

-- Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul, a 1993 full-length biographical documentary (104 minutes)
-- 48-page photo book
-- 10 roughly 5x7" cards with color reproductions of poster art and such
-- 3 reproductions of archival correspondence (a memo from producer Hal Wallis changing the title to Casablanca, a memo from Wallis to studio head Jack Warner urging the casting of Bogart over George Raft, and a letter from the publicity head instructing the publicist to shift Bogart's image from tough to romantic lead)
-- reproduction of Victor Laszlo's letter of transit
-- passport holder with Casablanca logo
-- luggage tag with Casablanca logo
-- mail-in offer for 27x40" movie poster
-- all in a pretty collector's box with an intricate laser-cut Moroccan design

The documentary, which comprises the second disc, is also available separately on standard DVD (here). It was written, directed and produced by a grandson of Warner, and is said (by Variety) to be somewhat sentimental but not to overlook Warner's defects. It isn't about Casablanca in particular.

There are more than enough extras in the 2-disc standard DVD edition for most people. I'll list them below. The video and sound quality of that set are very good, about as good as could be for a 1942 film on standard DVD. The movie was released in 1080p HD in 2006, and it was acclaimed as looking even better, sharper, smoother, with more detail. The 1080p Blu-ray should look the same as the HD. Whether it's enough better to matter to you is an individual thing.

The movie is set in 1941 Casablanca, Morocco, controlled by the Nazi-collaborating Vichy French government. Bogart plays Rick, a nightclub owner with a past he doesn't talk about and a determination not to get caught up in current events. "I stick my neck out for nobody," he says. He comes into possession of two letters of transit, invaluable items to the many refugees seeking passage out of the grasp of the Nazis. The intended recipients of the letters soon show up, resistance leader Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) and his wife Ilsa (Bergman). Ilsa, it turns out, was once Rick's lover, who broke his heart when she left him with no explanation. Their old flame is rekindled despite themselves, and Rick must decide whether to help his rival for her love, thereby helping the war effort he has claimed no interest in, or help himself.

No one expected this movie to be such a classic, and even though it won three major Academy Awards, including Best Picture, it only gained its place as a classic gradually over the years. Undoubtedly the two stars are a big part of the reason it grew on us. Bogart is perfect as a cynic who has more heart than he lets on. Just by being there, Bergman instantly conveys every reason we need to understand Rick's broken heart and feel the force of his dilemma, and she convincingly portrays her own conflict between two loves. Somehow the movie also gets other things just so. Several of the supporting actors manage to be morally corrupt and still likable; others are just likable. The writing, a fair amount of it done quickly, by committee, with no thought of it being great writing, has panache, and hits on several turns of phrase that just work. Even the music works beyond what was expected, making "As Time Goes By" unforgettable. All of these things lift up the story of love, higher duty, and the triumph of good over evil, and over cynicism.

Here's the list of the features included from the 2003 Special Edition:

-- Introduction by Bogart's wife and frequent co-star Lauren Bacall (2 minutes)
-- Audio commentaries
. . . . . by Roger Ebert
. . . . . by film historian/author Rudy Behlmer
-- Documentaries and featurette
. . . . . Bacall on Bogart, a TCM documentary from 1988 (83 minutes)
. . . . . You Must Remember This: A Tribute to Casablanca, a 1992 documentary narrated by Bacall (35 minutes)
. . . . . As Time Goes By: The Children Remember, with Bogart's son Stephen and Bergman's daughter Pia Lindstrom (7 minutes)
-- Production research gallery, with scads of documents including memos, script pages, and production stills (12 minutes)
-- Deleted scenes, with subtitles but no sound (2 minutes)
. . . . . Rick tells Laszlo he wants to sell the letters of transit for 100,000 francs
. . . . . Rick's bartender Sascha serves a doctored drink to a German soldier
-- Outtakes (goofs), no sound or subtitles (5 minutes)
-- Take-offs on the movie
. . . . . April 26,1943 Screen Guild Players radio broadcast, an abridged Casablanca with Bogart, Bergman and Henreid, audio only (22 minutes)
. . . . . Who Holds Tomorrow?: Premiere Episode excerpts, from the TV serial based on Casablanca, part of the 1955 Warner Bros. Presents series, starring Charles McGraw as Rick (18 minutes)
. . . . . Carrotblanca, Looney Tunes cartoon with Bugs Bunny as Rick (8 minutes)
-- Musical scoring sessions, audio only
. . . . . "Knock on Wood" alternate version, Dooley Wilson and piano
. . . . . "As Time Goes By Part One" alternate take, Wilson and piano
. . . . . "As Time Goes By Part One" film version, Wilson and piano
. . . . . Rick Sees Ilsa instrumental medley
. . . . . "As Time Goes By Part Two" alternate take, Wilson and piano
. . . . . "As Time Goes By Part Two" film version, Wilson and piano
. . . . . At La Belle Aurore instrumental medley
. . . . . "Dat's What Noah Done" outtake, Wilson and piano
-- Trailers
. . . . . original theatrical trailer
. . . . . 1992 re-release trailer
-- Text only
. . . . . A Great Cast is Worth Repeating, on the times the cast played together in other movies
. . . . . cast and crew
. . . . . awards

That's plenty for most fans, though collectors aren't most fans. Whichever edition you get, the movie is the main thing. It's a great one, not to be missed. August 23, 2008

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