Casablanca: Collector’s Edition – Blu-ray Disc Review

November 27, 2008 – 1:13 PM - Posted by: Brendan Surpless

Tags: Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Joan Alison, Michael Curtiz, Murray Burnett, Paul Henreid, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Warner

has an average rating of 8.8 on IMDb
1080p in VC-1 on a 50gb disc
Dolby Digital Mono 1.0
are quite extensive
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– 1942
– 102 minutes
– Warner
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Overall Verdict – A Disc You Can’t Refuse

Buy it for $41.49 @ Amazon.com

— Review written by: Brendan Surpless —

Trailer:



The Movie Itself is directed by Michael Curtiz. Instead of going into plot detail we’re going to do something as a first here on our site, I will now mention exactly what makes “Casablanca” work on the levels it does. Let’s not just speak on the style of filming, the acting, the direction, the photography, the story, what else is there to say folks? There is a reason why this movie is viewed as one of the best. It’s not simply because it’s an excellent movie, but rather because the film transcends what a movie can become over time as more and more people experience its power.

So what is it about this style of filming that works? It’s more that “Casablanca” isn’t just a film per se but an actual definition of everything cinema is about. Love, heart and emotion all mixed into one whole product. It’s extremely rare that movies that like this are made today. Surely some are excellent but what was the last one you saw that you think people will be speaking about come 60 years from now? There are numerous reasons that people still talk about and label (even though I don’t FULLY agree with that statement) “Casablanca” as one of the best films ever made. It’s not just the overall product but rather the connection the actors make with us drawing us into their story.

The acting is also quite exceptional. Everyone from Bogart, Bergman, Henreid all the way down to Rains and Greenstreet help to really make this film what it has become over time. It’s the famous lines like ‘here’s looking at you kid’ and ‘We’ll always have Paris’ that are delivered by these actors. Certainly films have lines that we all remember, whether it be from our favorites comedies or action movies. But lines like these are more than just jibs you can quote at a party and have everyone laugh. These lines define what “Casablanca” is about. In particular the two leads Bogart and Bergman have defined what a love story is about. But what makes these actors shine is the type of sequences they were shot in thanks to Arthur Edeson.

The film’s photography, according to Wikipedia, was shot using a certain style by Edeson. In particular he always shot Bergman with low light so as to make her look as if she was “sad and tender” throughout the shoot. Of most interest to myself was the various “bars of shadows” across the actors, which were meant to be crosses and symbols of imprisonment. Now stop and think about this for a minute. I’m fully aware that photographers today do sometimes incorporate messages into these shoots, but keep in mind that a majority of the styles Edeson used were meant to be political messages (ie the images of the Free French).

In the end you can clearly see that “Casablanca” has become more than a film. It has become a sentimental movement of everything that defines cinema. I will say that I just recently experienced the movie for the first time this week, but it reminded of the first time I saw Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List“. By this I mean “Casablanca” is one of these pieces of history of film that you literally watch once and are simply blown away by the overall product.

Video Quality on this release is in full 1080p using the VC-1 codec on a BD-50 (50 gigabyte dual-layered Blu-ray Disc) in the 1:33:1 Fullscreen aspect ratio. Having recently been completely re-mastered for the DVD re-issue a few years back, “Casablanca” the same source has been used for this Blu-ray release. There is not a single issue with this transfer here. Having just visited Warner’s restoration facilities last month with the folks over at (we saw a few classics they were working on), I can now imagine the amount of pain staking effort that went into literally restoring frame by frame of this film.

With that said let’s get into everything that makes this transfer so damn good. First off there isn’t even the tiniest amount of dirt on this print. Having seen an older tv version of the film, I can easily say that Warner spent some serious money restoring this title. Detail is also quite immaculate from the little fibers on the characters clothes all the way down to being able to make out detail on the background items in scenes. With this being a black and white film, I’ll mention that the black and white levels are perfect. Warner didn’t overly pump up the transfer instead giving the film a very natural look. Nothing is overly glazed or looks ‘fake’.

But what amazes me the most is that with this film being nearly 70 years old, that simply put the film can look this good. This just goes to prove that if a studio truly does care about what they do, which obviously Warner does, just about anything can look as good as “Casablanca” does. This easily earns a “5 Star Rating” as this is hands down (especially for the age) one of THE BEST hi-def transfers I’ve seen.

Audio Quality on this release is presented in Dolby Digital Mono 1.0. With a film like “Casablanca” containing the amount of dialogue that it does, I’m not surprised at all that we don’t have any type of lossless track here. With that said the dialogue is clear and easy to understand. With this being only an 1 channel audio track I don’t really have much to say in terms of dynamics or anything because they don’t exist. With that said I will mention that the provided track is good considering the film. This earns a good “3.5 Star Rating“.

Bonus Materials are presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition (those in SD will be noted) using Dolby Digital 2.0.

• Commentary by Critic Roger Ebert: Having been a huge fan of Ebert for lord knows how long, I went into this track with the utmost interest and respect for the man. Ebert offers an excellent look into the movie showing that he is truly passionate about film as a medium.
• Commentary by Historian Rudy Behlmer: Now this is more of the technical commentary of the two. Behlmer gives us details about every little aspect of the making of the movie making me wonder if he was hiding on set watching the film get made.
• Introduction by Lauren Bacall: Serving as a sort of tearjerker, actor Bacall gives us a introduction that will tug at a few heart strings.
• Bacall on Bogart: What an excellent documentary here folks. In roughly nearly 90 minutes Bacall speaks on what it was like to transform into a huge Hollywood actor.
• You Must Remember This: A Tribute to Casablanca: At 30 minutes in length, we get a sort of look into the film’s impact. This documentary with made by Tuner Classic Movies.
• As Time Goes By: The Children Remember: Here the children of Bogart and Bergman speak on what it was like experiencing the movie growing up.
• Production Research Gallery: This contains memos, photos and other production stills.
• Homage Cartoon Carrotblanca: Classic Looney Toons at its best.
• Who Holds Tomorrow?: This is a sort of modern day look at Casablanca that Warner made. “Casablanca” is set during the Cold War in this tv special.
• Scoring Session Outtakes: Eight audio only sessions are shown.
• Audio-Only: Radio Production: Here the film’s three keys actors in Bogart, Bergman and Henreid reprise their roles for the Screen Guild Theater Radio Show.
• Trailers: The film’s original theatrical trailer and re-release trailers are shown.
• Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul Documentary: This documentary is included on a Bonus DVD and runs 57min33sec.

Blu-ray Disc packaging:

Screenshots:

NOTE: The full-sized 1920×1080 files are in a .PNG file format and uncompressed. Bare with the slow loading times, keep in mind these files are at least 1MB (1 megabyte) in size each.

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