Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9105 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2008-12-02
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
• Formats: Black & White, Collector's Edition, Dubbed, Full Screen, Subtitled
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 102 minutes

Features

• Casablanca: easy to enter, but much harder to leave, especially if you're wanted by the Nazis. Such a man is Resistance leader Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), whose only hope is Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a cynical American who sticks his neck out for no one - especially Victor's wife Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), the ex-lover who broke his heart. Ilsa offers herself in exchange for Laszlo's transport

Studio description
Casablanca: easy to enter, but much harder to leave, especially if you're wanted by the Nazis. Such a man is Resistance leader Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), whose only hope is Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a cynical American who sticks his neck out for no one - especially Victor's wife Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), the ex-lover who broke his heart. Ilsa offers herself in exchange for Laszlo's transport out of the country and bitter Rick must decide what counts more - personal happiness or countless lives hanging in the balance.

Winner of three Academy Awards including Best Picture, the Casablanca Ultimate Collector's Edition marks nearly 70 years as a beloved favorite with many bonuses that no matter how often you've viewed the film itself - this gift set provides a most compelling reason to foster a whole new beginning of our continuing friendship with this unforgettable classic.

Included in this very special edition of Hollywood's most unforgettable classic is a bonus disc of the featurette "Jack Warner: The Last Mogul" - a rare glimpse into the public and private life of one of the most respected names in the entertainment industry.

Amazon.com
A truly perfect movie, the 1942 Casablanca still wows viewers today, and for good reason. Its unique story of a love triangle set against terribly high stakes in the war against a monster is sophisticated instead of outlandish, intriguing instead of garish. Humphrey Bogart plays the allegedly apolitical club owner in unoccupied French territory that is nevertheless crawling with Nazis; Ingrid Bergman is the lover who mysteriously deserted him in Paris; and Paul Heinreid is her heroic, slightly bewildered husband. Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Conrad Veidt are among what may be the best supporting cast in the history of Hollywood films. This is certainly among the most spirited and ennobling movies ever made. --Tom Keogh

On the Blu-ray disc
If you think that an old film can't benefit from Blu-ray, take a look at Casablanca. Already remastered and looking great through Warner's Ultra-Resolution process back in 2003, the film on Blu-ray is even more sharp and vivid, from the creases on Humphrey Bogart's world-weary face to the delicate wisps of hair around Ingrid Bergman's. The excellent bonus features are retained from the two-disc DVD (and the HD DVD): commentary tracks by Roger Ebert and Rudy Behlmer, documentaries on Bogart and the film's anniversary, brief outtakes, production notes, memories from the stars' children, and the premiere episode from the short-lived 1955 television show.

New to this edition on a standard DVD, not a Blu-ray disc (presumably so it can be in the Ultimate Collector's Edition DVD as well) is Jack L. Warner: The Last Movie Mogul, an hourlong documentary from 1993 about the youngest and most powerful Warner brother, partly about the rise of the studio and partly how Jack took control of it. The history of Warner Brothers mirrors the history of film, from its silent days to WB's introduction of The Jazz Singer as the first talkie. The studio then developed its own style over the years, with gritty pictures and gritty stars--Cagney, Robinson, Bogart--that seemed to reflect Jack himself, then faced the crises of World War II and Communist blacklisting. Interviews with family members, industry insiders, and actors provide insight into a man who played a tremendous role in shaping the industry and also into an era of that industry that will never be duplicated.

The rest of the Ultimate Collector's Edition is less important than the film and features, but still beautifully presented: 10 postcards of original poster art, reproductions of studio letters pitching Bogart as the ideal romantic hero for the project, a photo book with stills and more art (and text from Behlmer, presumably from his book), a passport holder, and a luggage tag. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

"You must remember this"....
It's hard to believe that when Casablanca was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in 1942 it was "just another" of the 50 or so films that the studio was producing every year, as Lauren Bacall points out in the documentary about the film included in the special features. The movie was an instant success with audiences everywhere, and won three Academy Awards including Best Picture. Called "America's most popular and beloved movie- and rightly so" by The Motion Picture Guide, and "The best Hollywood movie of all time" by Leonard Maltin, Casablanca was voted the #2 film in a list of the top 100 films of this century by the American Film Institute.
Set in refugee strewn French North Africa in 1942, Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a night club owner, and his friend Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains), Prefect of Police, enter into a wager as to whether or not Resistance Leader Victor Laslo (Paul Henreid) will be able to escape Casablanca and reach the Free World. When Laslo arrives in Casablanca, Rick is stunned to find him accompanied by his ex-lover, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman). Filled with mystery, suspense, intrigue and romance, Casablanca will remain a favorite of classic movie lovers for years to come.
The supporting cast include Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson as Rick's piano playing confidant, Sam. The entire cast are superb, the settings are excellent, and the cinematogrophy is wonderful.
The song "As Time Goes By" was made famous by Casablanca, as it's melody is entwined throughout the film, and it too is now a classic, filled with romance and nostalgia.
This is one film that absolutely MUST be in your DVD library!

Casablanca HD DVD technical quality
I agree that any review of an HD DVD disk should include an opinion as to its technical quality, if possible comparing it to the regular DVD release. For the Casablanca HD DVD, I found the following opinion in the online magazine Perfect Vision, a high end technologically oriented magazine: "Casablanca is the film to see as the black-and-white showcase of hi-def. The setting of Morocco and Rick's Café Americain jump from the screen in breathtaking crystal clarity."

Special Edition? Nothing Special
I was also peeved by the lack of details about this "Collector's Set", so I went hunting.

Bottom line: Unles you want lobby cards, 8X10 stills, and a few other "collectables", save your money. The DVD itself in the "Collector's Set" appears to be identical to the DVD in the original release. Based on other vendors' sites, here's what you get for the extra money:

- Lobby Cards: 8 Original limited edition lobby card prints.
- Senitype: Exclusive limited edition senitype® image from movie with 35mm film frame.
- Theatrical Poster: Original one sheet movie poster (27 x 40 ).
- Exclusive Collection: 6 Original Limited Edition B & W Photograph Stills.

Information regarding the DVD in the "Collector's Set" is:
DVD CONTAINS:
- Digitally restored image and cleaned soundtrack.
- Theatrical trailers.
- YOU MUST REMEBER THIS, a 36-minute documentary newly updated with recently discovered, unseen outakes and screen tests.
- Special introduction by screen legend Lauren Bacall, wife of Humphrey Bogart.

I didn't see any new DVD features on any site.

This is one of the greatest films ever made, but the "extras" aren't worth the extra $... to me. I'll gladly take the original release, which should be in everyone's DVD library!!