...a movie for the ages.
lsa: "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By.'"
*************************
Rick: "Here's looking at you, kid."
*************************
Captain Renault: "What in heaven's name brought you to Casablanca?"
Rick: "My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters."
Renault: "The waters? What waters? We're in the desert."
Rick: "I was misinformed."
(Never mind that Casablanca is a major seaport; Hollywood was never big on geography.)
*************************
Rick: "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.... You know what I want to hear."
Sam: "No, I don't."
Rick: "You played it for her, you can play it for me!"
Sam: "Well, I don't think I can remember...."
Rick: "If she can stand it, I can! Play it!"
*************************
Rick: "Not so fast, Louie. ...And remember, this gun is pointed right at your heart."
Renault: "That is my least vulnerable spot."
*************************
Rick: "I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Now, now... Here's looking at you, kid."
*************************
Renault: "Major Strasser has been shot. Round up the usual suspects."
*************************
Rick: "Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
I could go on, easily, but you get the idea. Remarkable, considering that writers Julius and Philip Epstein, Howard Koch, and Casey Robinson were handing the cast new material on a daily basis.
Finally, there's the song "As Time Goes On," so indelibly associated with the picture. Originally written a decade earlier in 1931, it was almost excised from the film because of music director Max Steiner's objections to it. Fortunately, circumstances prevented its exclusion and the world was saved.
"Casablanca" holds up as well today as it did sixty-odd years ago, its antihero eventually everyone's ultimate hero, its dialogue some of the best ever written, its cast superb, its atmosphere and ambiance extraordinary, its romance mesmerizing. The combination is irresistible, and the film is perfect.
Video:
In what Warner Brothers announce as an "All-new digital transfer," the picture is reproduced as closely as possible to its original size, cropping it from 1.37:1 to 1.33:1 to fit a standard TV screen. In this second or third DVD incarnation, though, the image is marginally better than on the previous MGM disc I reviewed, the bit rate consistently higher for slightly stronger black-and-white contrasts, sharper definition, and even less grain or shimmering effects. Moreover, I found no noticeable traces of print wear, no lines or specks or fades whatever. This new transfer is, in fact, as nearly faultless as it probably can be until the introduction of high definition, and even then I can't see how it might be dramatically improved upon.
Audio:
The monaural sound again comes up well, and if anything WB's single, center-channel Dolby Digital playback provides even greater focus and clarity than MGM's older two-channel mono. One cannot fault WB for doing their best to give us a movie presentation that's as close as possible to looking and sounding like the one that premiered in November of 1942. The mono voice tracks are especially clean and clear, but they are perhaps a little brighter than on the older MGM disc. Not having access to identical DVD players hooked up to the same receiver for instant comparisons of the MGM and WB discs, it's hard to make absolute judgments. Dynamics seem marginally improved on the newer disc, too, but that may also be an illusion brought on by the difference of several decibels in the playback of the two discs. In any case, WB's mono sound is quite good and mercifully free of extraneous background noise unless the gain is turned up excessively high.
Extras:
Warner Brothers' Special Editions continue their tradition of excellence with this scrupulously appointed two-disc set. The studio has crammed the discs with about as much material as I would imagine exists on the subject. Disc one contains a two-minute introduction by Lauren Bacall, plus two separate audio commentaries, the first with film critic Roger Ebert and the second with film historian Rudy Behlmer. If you want to know practically everything there is to know about the film, listen to both commentaries. Then, there are cast and crew listings, awards listings, theatrical and re-release trailers, and thirty-two scene selections. English and French are provided for spoken languages, with
English, French, and Spanish for subtitles.
Disc two, of course, contains the bulk of the supplements. The first and most important is a terrific, eighty-three minute documentary on the life and films of Humphrey Bogart, "Bacall on Bogart," narrated by Lauren Bacall. It was produced in 1988 and is conveniently divided into chapters for easy reference to Bogart's history. A second documentary, made in 1998, "You Must Remember This: A Tribute to Casablanca," is about thirty-five minutes long and contains loads of information on the movie's production as remembered by many of the writers and filmmakers who were actually there. After that is a six-minute featurette, "As Time Goes By: The Children Remember," containing reminiscences by the stars' children. Then, there are deleted scenes, about two minutes worth, without sound, and outtakes, about five minutes worth, again without sound but containing some cute goofs. One of my favorite bonus items is a Bug Bunny cartoon, "Carrotblanca," that features the whole stable of WB animated characters in a sidesplitting send-up of the movie. Additionally, you'll find from 1943 a Screen Guild Theater Radio Show production of "Casablanca" featuring Bogart, Bergman, and Henreid in their original roles; from 1956 an eighteen-minute television adaptation, "Who Holds Tomorrow?," based on the movie; a series of scoring stage sessions of music from the picture; and a fascinating collection of production research notes, memos, photos, schedules, and documents pertaining to the filmmaking. The whole set is a "Casablanca" lover's dream.
Parting Thoughts:
As Bacall says, "The lure of 'Casablanca' lies in its romance, intrigue, and mystery." But mostly, I think, its appeal is in its romance; not only the love story, but the romance of adventure, exotic places, colorful characters, and clever repartee. "Casablanca" is a movie for the ages, and its newest digital remastering should keep it that way for a long, long time.
*************************
Rick: "Here's looking at you, kid."
*************************
Captain Renault: "What in heaven's name brought you to Casablanca?"
Rick: "My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters."
Renault: "The waters? What waters? We're in the desert."
Rick: "I was misinformed."
(Never mind that Casablanca is a major seaport; Hollywood was never big on geography.)
*************************
Rick: "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.... You know what I want to hear."
Sam: "No, I don't."
Rick: "You played it for her, you can play it for me!"
Sam: "Well, I don't think I can remember...."
Rick: "If she can stand it, I can! Play it!"
*************************
Rick: "Not so fast, Louie. ...And remember, this gun is pointed right at your heart."
Renault: "That is my least vulnerable spot."
*************************
Rick: "I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Now, now... Here's looking at you, kid."
*************************
Renault: "Major Strasser has been shot. Round up the usual suspects."
*************************
Rick: "Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
I could go on, easily, but you get the idea. Remarkable, considering that writers Julius and Philip Epstein, Howard Koch, and Casey Robinson were handing the cast new material on a daily basis.
Finally, there's the song "As Time Goes On," so indelibly associated with the picture. Originally written a decade earlier in 1931, it was almost excised from the film because of music director Max Steiner's objections to it. Fortunately, circumstances prevented its exclusion and the world was saved.
"Casablanca" holds up as well today as it did sixty-odd years ago, its antihero eventually everyone's ultimate hero, its dialogue some of the best ever written, its cast superb, its atmosphere and ambiance extraordinary, its romance mesmerizing. The combination is irresistible, and the film is perfect.
Video:
In what Warner Brothers announce as an "All-new digital transfer," the picture is reproduced as closely as possible to its original size, cropping it from 1.37:1 to 1.33:1 to fit a standard TV screen. In this second or third DVD incarnation, though, the image is marginally better than on the previous MGM disc I reviewed, the bit rate consistently higher for slightly stronger black-and-white contrasts, sharper definition, and even less grain or shimmering effects. Moreover, I found no noticeable traces of print wear, no lines or specks or fades whatever. This new transfer is, in fact, as nearly faultless as it probably can be until the introduction of high definition, and even then I can't see how it might be dramatically improved upon.
Audio:
The monaural sound again comes up well, and if anything WB's single, center-channel Dolby Digital playback provides even greater focus and clarity than MGM's older two-channel mono. One cannot fault WB for doing their best to give us a movie presentation that's as close as possible to looking and sounding like the one that premiered in November of 1942. The mono voice tracks are especially clean and clear, but they are perhaps a little brighter than on the older MGM disc. Not having access to identical DVD players hooked up to the same receiver for instant comparisons of the MGM and WB discs, it's hard to make absolute judgments. Dynamics seem marginally improved on the newer disc, too, but that may also be an illusion brought on by the difference of several decibels in the playback of the two discs. In any case, WB's mono sound is quite good and mercifully free of extraneous background noise unless the gain is turned up excessively high.
Extras:
Warner Brothers' Special Editions continue their tradition of excellence with this scrupulously appointed two-disc set. The studio has crammed the discs with about as much material as I would imagine exists on the subject. Disc one contains a two-minute introduction by Lauren Bacall, plus two separate audio commentaries, the first with film critic Roger Ebert and the second with film historian Rudy Behlmer. If you want to know practically everything there is to know about the film, listen to both commentaries. Then, there are cast and crew listings, awards listings, theatrical and re-release trailers, and thirty-two scene selections. English and French are provided for spoken languages, with
English, French, and Spanish for subtitles.
Disc two, of course, contains the bulk of the supplements. The first and most important is a terrific, eighty-three minute documentary on the life and films of Humphrey Bogart, "Bacall on Bogart," narrated by Lauren Bacall. It was produced in 1988 and is conveniently divided into chapters for easy reference to Bogart's history. A second documentary, made in 1998, "You Must Remember This: A Tribute to Casablanca," is about thirty-five minutes long and contains loads of information on the movie's production as remembered by many of the writers and filmmakers who were actually there. After that is a six-minute featurette, "As Time Goes By: The Children Remember," containing reminiscences by the stars' children. Then, there are deleted scenes, about two minutes worth, without sound, and outtakes, about five minutes worth, again without sound but containing some cute goofs. One of my favorite bonus items is a Bug Bunny cartoon, "Carrotblanca," that features the whole stable of WB animated characters in a sidesplitting send-up of the movie. Additionally, you'll find from 1943 a Screen Guild Theater Radio Show production of "Casablanca" featuring Bogart, Bergman, and Henreid in their original roles; from 1956 an eighteen-minute television adaptation, "Who Holds Tomorrow?," based on the movie; a series of scoring stage sessions of music from the picture; and a fascinating collection of production research notes, memos, photos, schedules, and documents pertaining to the filmmaking. The whole set is a "Casablanca" lover's dream.
Parting Thoughts:
As Bacall says, "The lure of 'Casablanca' lies in its romance, intrigue, and mystery." But mostly, I think, its appeal is in its romance; not only the love story, but the romance of adventure, exotic places, colorful characters, and clever repartee. "Casablanca" is a movie for the ages, and its newest digital remastering should keep it that way for a long, long time.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]10976[/release]