| | | "Winner of 3 Academy Awards, Including Best Picture."
Features: DVD, Slip Sleeve
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.
"Bergman is understated, yet overwhelming...The supporting cast is superb..." Brian Webster, Apollo Movie Guide
"The script and direction are crisp and clear, the story is compelling and the casting is first-rate." Chris Hicks, Deseret News
"An entertaining film that is as timeless as great art." Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
"One of the best movies ever. The romantic pain still holds up, and political intrigue still compels." Fred Topel, About.com
"...a movie for the ages." John J. Puccio, DVD Town
"Everything is right in this WW2 classic...the best Hollywood movie of all time." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"A brilliant film that merits inclusion in every self-respecting film critic's top three." William Mager, BBC Online
Editor's Note
World War II Morocco springs to life in Michael Curtiz's (THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, YANKEE DOODLE DANDY) classic love story. Colorful characters abound in Casablanca, a waiting room for Europeans trying to escape Hitler's war-torn Europe. Humphrey Bogart plays Richard "Rick" Blaine, a cynical but good-hearted American whose café is the gathering place for everyone from the French Police to the black market to the Nazis. When his long-lost love, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), surfaces in Casablanca with her Resistance leader husband, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), Rick is pulled into both a love triangle and a web of political intrigue. Ilsa and Victor need to escape from Casablanca, and Rick may be the only one who can help them. The question is, will he? Top-notch performances include Claude Rains as the chief of the French police and the major authority figure in Unoccupied France, Peter Lorre as the doomed Senor Ugarte, Sydney Greenstreet as Senor Ferrari, and Dooley Wilson as Rick's loyal friend and the café's pianist, Sam. The mesmerizing musical score, by Max Steiner, along with the well-structured plot, flawless acting, and unforgettable dialogue makes this one of the best films of all time.
| Features | Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo | | Exclusive O-Sleeve Packaging! | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Warner |
| Release Date: 1/8/2008 |
| Running Time: 102 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1942 | | Catalog ID: 1000018994 | | UPC: 00012569797710 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: B&W |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Winner (1944) | | | Oscar, Michael Curtiz, Best Director | | | Oscar, Casablanca, Best Picture | | | Oscar, Julius J. Epstein, et. al., Best Writing, Screenplay | |
Nominee (1944) | | | Oscar, Humphrey Bogart, Best Actor in a Leading Role | | | Oscar, Arthur Edeson, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White | | | Oscar, Owen Marks, Best Film Editing | | | Oscar, Max Steiner, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | | | Oscar, Claude Rains, Best Actor in a Supporting Role |
| Memorable Quotes| "Here's looking at you, kid."----Humphrey Bogart (Rick) to Ingrid Bergman (Ilsa) at least three times during the course of the film | | "Only one answer can take care of all our questions."----Ilsa just before kissing Rick | | "But of course, that was the day the Germans marched into Paris." "Not an easy day to forget. I remember every detail----the Germans wore gray, you wore blue."----Interchange between Rick and Ilsa at his cafe after seeing each other for the first time in years | | "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."----Rick about Ilsa |
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| | Professional Reviews | Chicago Sun-Times
"...Absolutely sound, rock-solid in its use of Hollywood studio craftsmanship....The black-and-white cinematography has not aged as color would. The dialogue is so spare and cynical it has not grown old-fashioned..." 09/15/1996 p.5Entertainment Weekly
"...One of the most perfect Hollywood movies ever made..." 08/08/2003 p.57 Total Film
"Possibly the most famous film ever made, CASABLANCA has everything..." 07/01/2000 p.118 Premiere
"...Here Humphrey Bogart transformed himself into a romantic hero..." 12/01/2003 p.5 Sight and Sound
"Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart provide the chemistry that sets this apart from countless other tales of doomed wartime love affairs." 03/01/2004 p.75 ReelViews 10 of 10
It's probably no stretch to say that Casablanca, arguably America's best-loved movie, has had more words written about it than any other motion picture. Over the years since its 1943 release, the legends and rumors surrounding the making of the film have generated almost as much attention as the finished product. Some of the best-known and most often repeated anecdotes include producer Hal B. Wallis' near-casting of Ronald Reagan and Ann Sheridan as Rick and Ilsa, the existence of two scripts for the last day of shooting (one version had the ending as filmed; the other, unproduced version kept Rick and Ilsa together), and the reported backstage tension between several of the principal actors...Ultimately, however, while it's fascinating to examine and dissect all that went into the making of Casablanca, the greatest pleasure anyone can derive from this movie comes through simply watching it. Aside from some basic knowledge of recent world history, little background is needed to appreciate the strength and power of the film. Casablanca accomplishes that which only a truly great film can: enveloping the viewer in the story, forging an unbreakable link with the characters, and only letting go with the end credits. - James Berardinelli
Chicago Sun-Times 10 of 10
If we identify strongly with the characters in some movies, then it is no mystery that ``Casablanca'' is one of the most popular films ever made. It is about a man and a woman who are in love, and who sacrifice love for a higher purpose. This is immensely appealing; the viewer is not only able to imagine winning the love of Humphrey Bogart or Ingrid Bergman, but unselfishly renouncing it, as a contribution to the great cause of defeating the Nazis...What is intriguing is that none of the major characters is bad. Some are cynical, some lie, some kill, but all are redeemed...Seeing the film over and over again, year after year, I find it never grows over-familiar. It plays like a favorite musical album; the more I know it, the more I like it. The black-and-white cinematography has not aged as color would. The dialogue is so spare and cynical it has not grown old-fashioned. Much of the emotional effect of ``Casablanca'' is achieved by indirection; as we leave the theater, we are absolutely convinced that the only thing keeping the world from going crazy is that the problems of three little people do after all amount to more than a hill of beans. - Roger Ebert
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