Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Casablanca Blu-ray Movie Review

"Play it once, Sam, for old times' sake." Play it twice, cinephiles, for Warner's new AV presentation...

"They don't make movies like Casablanca anymore." So opened our 2008 review of one of the greatest screen romances -- and arguably one of the greatest films -- of all time. It was true four years ago, and it will be true four years from now; it was true in the decades following its modestly successful theatrical debut, and it will be true decades from now, when fewer and fewer moviegoers are familiar with director Michael Curtiz's classic wartime drama. Say what you will about Warner's habit of remastering, repackaging and re-releasing the same films again and again, but it's this practice that grants films like Casablanca a fighting chance at immortality. Thankfully, the studio's 70th Anniversary Limited Edition release is no mere repackaging, and certainly nothing I'd call a double dip. Minted from an all-new 4K scan, presented with a magnificent new video transfer and, for the first time, backed by a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio track, Warner's LE Giftset is officially the definitive version of Casablanca on the market. Here's looking at you, indeed.

Casablanca Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

I expect nothing short of high definition perfection when dealing with new theatrical releases. But catalog titles? So much can go wrong, so much can be misunderstood about the process, and so much can be taken for granted that anything can (and sometimes does) go wrong. Whatever criticisms videophiles occasionally launch at Warner, though, let one thing be known: the studio that helped sire the modern film industry knows how to treat a catalog classic. Casablanca joins a growing list of remarkable catalog releases thanks to a fresh 4K scan, a meticulous frame by frame restoration, and a stunning 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer that orbits perfection. You don't even have to be a film preservationist to appreciate everything the film's dazzling new presentation offers. Faithful to whatever few faults there are and revealing in every sense of the word, it left me quite speechless. Oh, there's some inherited softness here, a bit of negligible print damage there, but all of it traces back to the film's original source elements (which look about as pristine as they come). Detail is excellent (insofar as Arthur Edeson's early '40s black and white photography allows) and grain, refined and unobtrusive as it is, rarely falters. Moreover, edge definition is crisp and clean (without any significant halos or ringing to report), shadow delineation is sound, and finer textures, when apparent, deliver.

Contrast is dialed in more beautifully than ever before too, with rich black levels, striking whites, vastly improved midrange tones, absorbing shadows and more natural gradation. Yes, the film's grain field drifts off course every so often, and yes, a few shots are a bit worse for the wear (chief among them portions of Isla's iconic departure), but there's simply nothing to suggest any of these exceptions could look any better than they do here. The presentation even strolls past its 2008 Blu-ray counterpart, which earned accolades and high marks when it arrived four years ago (even though, in hindsight, it's now clearly the inferior transfer). Suffice it to say, Warner's restoration and new encode are nothing short of extraordinary. Those who answer Casablanca second call to high definition arms will be glad they did.

Casablanca Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While the 2008 Blu-ray release of Casablanca didn't offer a lossless audio option, the new 70th Anniversary Limited Edition release breezes into Rick's Café Américain with a strong, steady DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (1.0) track. Just don't let the word "mono" set your expectations unnecessarily low. For every purist who whispers "original mono" as if he were in the presence of the Almighty, there's someone muttering "that's it?" But I'd take an authentic, carefully restored single-channel mix over a stocky, innately artificial 5.1 remix any day, and tracks like Casablanca's only solidify my stance on the matter. Dialogue is clear, impeccably prioritized and well-grounded, and hardly ever sounds as if it were captured in a studio. (As even the film's final scenes were.) Effects, though a tad thin, are in keeping with the age and era of the production; Max Steiner's score, though confined to the front of the soundstage, follows suit without any major mishaps or missteps to speak of; and there isn't any distracting noise floor, prevailing hiss, or other debilitating oddities worth mentioning. Casablanca still sounds like a film released in 1942, of course, but it also sounds restored and rejuvenated, just as it should. Could LFE support and rear speaker involvement improve the experience? Perhaps. Would two lossless tracks -- one being a mono track, the other being a 5.1 remix -- amounted to a best-of-both-worlds dream come true? Sure. Should anyone avoid Casablanca because it lacks multi-channel audio? Absolutely not. Lifelong fans will be thoroughly pleased with its humble but hefty swing.

Casablanca Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Similar to the recently released Ben-Hur and Willy Wonka box sets before it, the 70th Anniversary Limited Edition Blu-ray release of Casablanca comes packaged in an attractive but oversized rectangular box (11½ w x 8 h x 2 d) loaded with bonus collectibles. Inside, you'll find a 3-disc Digipak that contains two BD-50s and a standard DVD, a 62-page hardcover book with production notes and behind-the-scenes photos and drawings (11 w x 7½ h), a faux-leather keepsake box (4½ w x 4½ h x ½ d) with four drink coasters (4 inches in diameter), and a 21 x 15-inch 1942 French theatrical mini movie poster. More importantly, you'll find more than thirteen hours of special features spread across the set's two Blu-ray discs, including a variety of content making its Blu-ray debut. The only downside? Most of the extras (all but three documentaries and one Merrie Melodies short actually) are presented in standard definition. Other than HD video and lossless audio all around, though, I'm not sure what more anyone could ask for.

• Audio Commentaries (Disc 1): Two commentaries are included, albeit without the involvement of any of the principal cast or crew. Both tracks are still well worth listening to, though -- the first with film critic Roger Ebert and the second with historian Rudy Behlmer -- and both are backed by deep passion, thorough research, and insight into Casablanca and its place in cinema history.
• Introduction by Lauren Bacall (Disc 1, SD, 2 minutes): Bacall, rather low on my list of ideal candidates for introductory duties, speaks to Casablanca's enduring appeal in this holdover from the 2003 SE DVD.
• Warner Night at the Movies (Disc 1, SD, 51 minutes): Looking for a more authentic 1940s experience? Watch Casablanca as opened with a Now, Voyager theatrical trailer, a vintage war-effort newsreel (!), "Vaudeville Days" (a history of Vaudeville short), and three Merrie Melodies cartoons ("The Bird Came C.O.D." and "The Squakin' Hawk" in SD, and "The Dover Boys at Pimento University" in HD). As an added touch, the feature film begins automatically at the end of the last cartoon when "Play All" is selected.
• Great Performances: Bacall on Bogart (Disc 1, SD, 83 minutes): Bacall returns to host this solid Bogart documentary, also leftover from the 2003 Special Edition DVD. It boasts a lot of good information on Bogart the the actor and legend, but also on Bogie the man, as told by those who were closest to him, his career and his legacy.
• Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of (Disc 1, HD, 37 minutes): The first of the new Ultimate Edition's exclusive features is this excellent documentary from director Gary Leva, which finds Steven Spielberg, William Friedkin and other notable filmmakers, authors, biographers and experts weighing in on Curtiz, his life and body of work.
• Casablanca: An Unlikely Classic (Disc 1, HD, 35 minutes): Another newly produced documentary from Leva, another must-see look at Warner's indispensable classic. Spielberg, Friedkin, Behlmer and the disc's now-familiar gallery of faces speak at length about the film and its history, production, unexpected popularity, performances, cinematography, music, cinematic innovations, costumes, campaign, timing and more.
• You Must Remember This: A Tribute to Casablanca (Disc 1, SD, 35 minutes): A lesser doc in every way, this decidedly decent overview of the film will nevertheless entertain cinephiles and completists alike. Overlap is unavoidable at this point, of course, but "Tribute" doesn't beat a dead horse, offering several different perspectives on the film instead.
• As Time Goes By: The Children Remember (Disc 1, SD, 7 minutes): Join Stephen Bogart and Pia Lindstrom as they recall their childhoods, family lives and their parents' stardom.
• Audio-Only Content (Disc 1, 75 minutes): Also included is a "Lady Esther Screen Guild Theater Radio Broadcast" from 1943, a "VOX Pop Radio Broadcast" from 1947, and a series of "Scoring Stage Sessions" (featuring an alternate version of "Knock on Wood," an alternate takes of "As Time Goes By, Parts One and Two," a "Dat's What Noah Done" outtake, and performances of "Rick Sees Isla" and "At La Belle Aurore."
• Additional Footage (Disc 1, SD, 33 minutes): A small selection of deleted scenes (with subtitles but no audio), outtakes, "Who Holds Tomorrow" (a chintzy Casablanca television remake), and "Carrotblanca," a Looney Tunes parody of the film, round out the first disc's extras.
• Trailers (Disc 1, SD, 5 minutes): The film's original theatrical trailer and theatrical re-release trailer are available as well.
• You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story (Disc 2, SD, 289 minutes): The Ultimate Edition's second Blu-ray disc kicks off with a sprawling five-hour documentary from director Richard Schickel and narrator Clint Eastwood which charts the course of the rise and... erm, further rise of one of the largest, most successful studios in Hollywood history. Chapters include "A Rising Power (1923-1937)," "War and Peace (1937-1949)," "Age of Anxiety (1950-1969)," "Starting Over (1970-1990)" and "A Living Tradition (1988-2008)"
• The Brothers Warner (Disc 2, HD, 94 minutes): "It is not the challenge of dollars, it is the challenge of ideals and ideas. If the producers of pictures see only the dollar, then I believe those production efforts will fail." Meet Harry Warner and his brothers, the dreamers and businessmen who laid the foundation so many filmmakers and filmfans rest on today. This terrific companion delves further into the building blocks of Warner Brothers and Hollywood as a force of cinematic nature, and highlights how far studios have come and how far they have to go, creatively and financially.
• Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul (Disc 2, SD, 58 minutes): If Harry was the heart of the Warner Bros. machine, Jack was the spirit. Entertainer, stand-up comic, risk-taker, power player and movie mogul, Jack Warner propelled his studio into the future.
• DVD Copy of the Film (Disc 3)

Casablanca Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you've never seen Casablanca, make Warner's 70th Anniversary Limited Edition Giftset the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Between its all-new 4K scan and restoration, fantastic video transfer, fully capable DTS-HD Master Audio mono mix, and bevy of extras (many of which are new to this release), the studio has gone above and beyond with an ultimate edition that makes the 2008 Ultimate Edition look inadequate. Price is really the only roadblock to consider. If that isn't an issue, add the latest release of Casablanca to your cart post haste.