Casablanca [Special Edition] [2 Discs]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Michael Curtiz's Casablanca (1943) had been issued on DVD twice before, but neither of those releases were remotely in the same league as this two-disc special edition, and that's just where the basic movie is concerned. When you throw in the extras, this set exists on a whole new level altogether. For starters, every one of the little flaws in the film materials that were evident in the earlier transfers have been fixed so that, from the opening credits, the presentation is visually flawless. What's more, this transfer looks as though the contrast, density, and brightness were adjusted almost on a frame-by-frame basis. Mastering engineers probably spent a lot of hours getting the movie to look this good, and the result is the most perfect presentation that the movie has ever received, rivaling and, in some ways, even surpassing the DVD release of Citizen Kane. The smoke rising from Richard Blaine's (Humphrey Bogart) cigarette in his opening scene and during his conversation with Peter Lorre's Ugarte looks as if it could float into the room with the viewer; you can see the sweat on Lorre's brow in the wider two-shots; every pore on the faces of Bogart, Lorre, Claude Rains, and Sydney Greenstreet is visible in their close-ups; and every strand of Ingrid Bergman's hair is in sharp relief in her first appearance. Few theatrical showings and no prior home viewing of Casablanca (with the possible exception of Criterion's laserdisc) have looked this good. The sound is a little more problematic, having been mastered at a very low level -- perhaps half of the volume that anyone would expect. Almost certainly a result of the sheer amount of audio material contained on the disc, it was probably unavoidable, as well as easily fixed. Volume adjustments, however, render the sound loud and clear, including the music and all of its internal detail, whether it's Dooley Wilson's piano or Max Steiner's complex orchestral score. All of the dialogue is mastered in sharp relief, and even if it requires a serious volume boost between the sound and the picture, this is a demonstration-quality disc from beginning to end, and that's just referring to the actual movie. The main bonus feature on the first disc, which contains the complete film, is a pair of full-length commentary tracks, one by historian Rudy Behlmer and the other by critic Roger Ebert. The two narrations don't overlap at all. Behlmer sticks to the back story of the production and the day-to-day development of the original play, the various drafts of the screen version, and the creative personalities behind the movie, particularly director Michael Curtiz and cinematographer Arthur Edeson. Behlmer's knowledge of the personnel is overpowering, and his narration is spellbinding. Ebert is more concerned with explaining the appeal of the film and its characters, analyzing what we see on the screen; he's interesting and entertaining. The other special features on disc one include biographical sketches of most of the players (with the notable exception of Conrad Veidt -- the odd-man-out in the cast in terms of recognition here), the original trailer, and the reissue trailer from 1992. Lauren Bacall's introduction from the old Warner Bros. single-disc issue is also included. Disc two is loaded up with lots of extras that are just as enjoyable, if not always as tightly focused. "The Children Remember" is a featurette in which Ingrid Bergman's daughter Pia Lindström and Bogart's son Stephen discuss what their parents thought of the movie in their own time and in the years that followed. Bergman, in particular, never thought much of the film and could not understand why people still told her how much they loved Casablanca 30 and 40 years later. Warner Bros. has also retrieved outtakes and additional scenes (alas, all silent) from the original shoot that are interesting as visions of a work-in-progress, which Casablanca very much was for most of its production, even on a script level. For music fans, the real highlights of this release are the eight recordings from the scoring stage sessions, which offer the raw, unmixed performances of Dooley Wilson on "Knock on Wood" and "As Time Goes By," as well as several instrumental highlights from the score. Also included is Bacall on Bogart, which, coincidentally, was the first place where most of the public viewed scenes from the alternate cut of The Big Sleep. And "You Must Remember This: A Tribute to Casablanca" is almost worth the price of the package by itself. Every surviving creative participant, in addition to some scholars who didn't live long enough to be involved directly (most notably the late Ronald Haver), give as full a background of the production as possible. All of the contributions are valuable, but original play co-author Murray Burnett gives the most personal and touching account. A second layer of bonus materials include what is presumably one of the better episodes of the mid-'50s TV version of the classic movie. Entitled "Who Holds Tomorrow," it isn't much of anything except a showcase for Clarence Muse in the role of Sam, which the actor had nearly won for the original movie. Finally, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig have the final word in Carrotblanca, a Warner Bros. cartoon parody. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Screen: Black and White
• Subtitle: French, English, Spanish
• Features:
  • cc All-new digital transfer
  • 2 feature-length audio commentaries: one by film critic Roger Ebert, the other by film historian Rudy Behlmer
  • Introduction by Lauren Bacall
  • Interactive menus
  • Original and reissue theatrical trailers
  • Scene access
  • Languages: English & Français
  • Subtitles: English, Français & Español
  • Lauren Bacall hosts You Must Remember This: A Tribute to Casablanca, a spellbinding backstage tour
  • Bacall on Bogart features the award-winning actress's candid and moving reminiscences about her husband's life and career
  • Newly discovered additional scenes and outtakes
  • Homage cartoon Carrotblanca, starring Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes gang
  • Premiere episode Who Holds Tomorrow? from the 1955 TV series adaptation of Casablanca
  • Screen Guild Players radio production of Casablanca featuring the film's 3 top-billed stars
  • Scoring session outtakes gallery
  • Production history gallery includes photos, press materials, studio correspondence, memorabilia and more
  • Enhanced features for your DVD-ROM PC: script to screen, website links and more

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Director - 1943 (Michael Curtiz)
•     Won Best Picture - 1943
•     Won Best Screenplay - 1943 (Julius J. Epstein, Howard W. Koch, Philip G. Epstein)
•     Nominated Best Actor - 1943 (Humphrey Bogart)
•     Nominated Best Black and White Cinematography - 1943 (Arthur Edeson)
•     Nominated Best Editing - 1943 (Owen Marks)
•     Nominated Best Score - Drama or Comedy - 1943 (Max Steiner)
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actor - 1943 (Claude Rains)

• American Film Institute

•     Won 100 Greatest American Movies - 1998

• Film Daily

•     Won 10 Best Films - 1942

• Library of Congress

•     Won U.S. National Film Registry - 1988

• National Board of Review

•     Nominated Best Picture - 1943

• New York Times

•     Won 10 Best Films - 1942

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Humphrey Bogart - Rick Blaine
       Ingrid Bergman - Ilsa
       Paul Henreid - Victor Laszlo
       Claude Rains - Capt. Louis Renault
       Conrad Veidt - Maj. Heinrich Strasser
       Peter Lorre - Ugarte

• Director:

  Michael Curtiz

• Producer:

  Hal B. Wallis

• Play Author:

  Joan Alison, Murray Burnett

• Screenwriter:

  Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch

• Cinematographer:

  Arthur Edeson

• Composer (Music Score):

  Hugo W. Friedhofer, Max Steiner

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Leo F. Forbstein

• Songwriter:

  Herman Hupfeld, M. K. Jerome, Jack Scholl

• Editor:

  Owen Marks

• Art Director:

  Carl Jules Weyl

REVIEWS:

• There are many people for whom Casablanca is the greatest Hollywood movie ever made, and, while that may be going a bit far, one would be hard-pressed to think of another film in which the pieces fell together with such serendipity. It's hard to imagine a movie in which the leads are better cast: Humphrey Bogart's tough, effortless cool gives Rick the ideal balance of honor and cynicism, Ingrid Bergman's luminous beauty makes it seem reasonable that men would fight for Ilsa's affections, and Paul Henreid's Victor is cold enough that you can imagine Ilsa's being tempted by her old flame. The supporting cast is superb down the line; Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Dooley Wilson, and S.Z. Sakall are all so memorable that one tends to forget that none is onscreen for very long. The screenplay often walks the border of cliché, but the story has just enough twists, and the dialogue so much snap, that it stays compelling throughout. And Michael Curtiz knew just when to turn on the schmaltz and when to cut it off. Casablanca blends romance, suspense, humor, and patriotic drama with such skill that one imagines it must have happened by accident, and the movie looks better with each passing year. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll cheer, and the good guys strike a blow against fascism -- what more could you want from a movie? ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
• There are many people for whom {#Casablanca} is the greatest Hollywood movie ever made, and, while that may be going a bit far, one would be hard-pressed to think of another film in which the pieces fell together with such serendipity. It's hard to imagine a movie in which the leads are better cast: {$Humphrey Bogart}'s tough, effortless cool gives {%Rick} the ideal balance of honor and cynicism, {$Ingrid Bergman}'s luminous beauty makes it seem reasonable that men would fight for {%Ilsa}'s affections, and {$Paul Henreid}'s {%Victor} is cold enough that you can imagine {%Ilsa}'s being tempted by her old flame. The supporting cast is superb down the line; {$Claude Rains}, {$Peter Lorre}, {$Conrad Veidt}, {$Sydney Greenstreet}, {$Dooley Wilson}, and {$S.Z. Sakall} are all so memorable that one tends to forget that none is onscreen for very long. The screenplay often walks the border of cliché, but the story has just enough twists, and the dialogue so much snap, that it stays compelling throughout. And {$Michael Curtiz} knew just when to turn on the schmaltz and when to cut it off. {#Casablanca} blends {\romance}, {\suspense}, {\humor}, and patriotic {\drama} with such skill that one imagines it must have happened by accident, and the movie looks better with each passing year. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll cheer, and the good guys strike a blow against fascism -- what more could you want from a movie? ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

CUSTOMER REVIEWS: