Casablanca (1942) (Uncut | Region Free Blu-ray | UK Import) – Restored & Remastered

Must have collection
Restoration is top notch. I am happy with the Bluray.

Romanticism and espionage
In one of the most romantic movies of the 40s, Humphrey Bogart stars as Rick, owner of a night club at Casablanca, Morocco. Rick is a sentimentalist who assist refugees and fugitives escape from French-occupied Morocco. His sentimentalist values are questioned by police after he sees his lost love Elsa at his club who will do everything to help her husband escape to neutral Portugal. The DVD consist of a bonus feature portraying the cinematic life of Humphrey Bogart and narrated by his wife Lauren Bacall.

Does one need to add anything more to this classic …
Does one need to add anything more to this classic ? Just be aware that it is in Black & White…..

Four Stars
One of the greatest romantic film.

“You must remember this, a kiss is still a kiss…”
Rick Blaine runs the Café Americain in Casablanca. He has escaped from Nazi-occupied France to Vichy-controlled Morocco which is a hotbed of intrigue. He now poses as a friendly publican, a simple man of business.
At first it seems that Rick, reflecting the views of most Americans prior to December 7, 1941, is a committed isolationist. He seems to be a selfish man who repeatedly says “I stick my neck out for nobody.” When the authorities inquire about his nationality he replies, “I’m a drunkard.”
Ilsa, played by the luminous Bergman, and her noble husband Victor Laszlo, both anxious to flee to the United States, arrive in Casablanca disrupting Rick’s slow self-destruction. “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.”
We ultimately learn that there is much more to Rick than what first appears. He has run guns to the Ethiopian rebels who were resisting Mussolini’s invasion of their homeland. In 1935-36 Mussolini, perhaps much like Syria’s Assad, did not hesitate to use several hundred tons of mustard gas on the Ethiopians. Italian General Graziani said, “The Duce will have Ethiopia, with or without the Ethiopians.”
Rick has also volunteered to fight on the Loyalist side in the Spanish Civil war. Was he perhaps in the Abraham Lincoln brigade? Did he meet Hemingway, Orwell (Homage to Catalonia, or even Errol Flynn (My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Autobiography of Errol Flynn)while in Spain fighting against Franco? The screenplay does not tell us.
In spite of his personal heartbreak, it turns out that Rick has a heart after all; he is a humanitarian. He rescues a Bulgarian beauty who is considering selling herself to the lecherous Captain Renault by letting her husband win at roulette. “Boss, you’ve done a beautiful thing.”
Rick’s response is, “Get outta here, you crazy Russian!” Was he thinking of…Putin?
The Bulgarian newlyweds had fled their country in 1942 hoping to make their way to America. She explains to Rick that in her country, “Things are very bad there. The devil has the people by the throat…We do not want our children to grow up in such a country.” Today about 2 million people, including many children, have fled Syria looking for safety from their civil war. The devil surely has Syria by the throat today; such a pity that the Syrian rebels do not seem to be led by Victor Laszlo!
In the summer of 1941 most Americans had doubts about sending American boys to die in a “European” civil war. Sending arms to Stalin who had made a pact with Hitler, invaded Poland in 1939 from the east, annexed the Baltic Republics, attacked neutral Finland in 1940 and slaughtered his own people seemed to be a crazy notion. Hitler and Stalin seemed that summer to be like two scorpions in a bottle that America had no business touching. FDR, with a generosity of spirit similar to Rick Blaine, supported Soviet Russia with lend lease anyway.
The question of the hour is, “Which way does the wind blow now in the Café Americain of 2014/2015?” Many Americans are weary of war. Rick felt deceived by Ilsa in Paris, but viewers learn that it is a bit more complicated than that. Many Americans, mistakenly in my view, believe that we were lied into intervention in the Iraq war (forgetting, for example, the tons of enriched Uranium sold to the Canadians). Many Americans are, quite justifiably, sceptical about their own government.
Given our own frayed emotions over divisive issues of war and peace, “Who is going to do the thinking for us on with regard to Syria ISIS and the middle east?” The U.S. Congress? It seems rather doubtful that the 535 Solons in Congress will match Humphrey Bogart’s understated heroism? Most members of Congress bear a greater resemblance to opportunists such as Sidney Greenstreet (Signor Ferrari) or Peter Lorre (Ugarte). Do Americans really have a coherent plan to “do a beautiful thing” in the middle east or anywhere in the world for that matter? Is that, in any sense, even possible?
An answer begins, perhaps, to form. If Obama and Putin, working together, could remove WMD from Syria without resort to violence that would indeed be a “beautiful thing.” If the US could bomb Tehran with DVDs of Homeland: Season 3 that led to a peaceful coup and regime change. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. One can only hope.
Will we follow neo-Isolationists (libertarians) in our determination not to “stick our neck out for nobody”? Or will we follow a policy of engagement with all the risks that this can entail (shooting major Strasser always has consequences)?
Do the fundamental American things (love of freedom, compassion for suffering humanity and willingness to act) “still apply” in our decisions about foreign policy?
At the conclusion of Casablanca, Rick and Captain Renault walk off into the distance saying “Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” One of the few bits of good news to emerge from the Syrian conundrum is that the United States and her oldest ally, France, seem to have re-established a “beautiful friendship” that was sorely tested by Chirac’s intransigence over Iraq. Francois Hollande has now become Obama’s poodle and best friend.
Christopher Kelly, author, with Stuart Laycock, of America Invades: How We’ve Invaded or been Militarily Involved with almost Every Country on Earth and Italy Invades and An Adventure in 1914: An American Family’s Journey on the Brink of WWI

This is indeed the Hollywood classic film of all time. It has one of the most amazing and witty dialogues of any film ever produced and an amazing story line. All the actors are superb apart from the fact that they tend to smoke all the time, except Ingrid Bergman, who is really the star of the show. One of the most elegant women ever presented on the big screen and at the same time an amazing actress.
The 4K presentation does give a crystal clear black and white picture, especially for a film of its age. The only draw back, in my opinion, is that this results in a very high contrast print which somewhat spoils the softness of the previous prints.
Even if you own previous versions of this film it is worth upgrading for such an incredible picture.

After having watched “Casablanca” for the first time, it has become quite clear to me why the period from the 1940’s through the 1950’s was considered Hollywood’s ‘Golden Era’. I suspect that is was still the relative newness of the medium that enabled movies of this period to be of such high quality, a quality lacking in almost all of today’s films. During that period, gratuitous sex and violence were not permissible and there were no special effects to distract the audience from a poor story. As a result, the way directors were able to engross the audiences in their films was by telling compelling stories and developing their characters with great depth and care. These movies also involved some of quickest, sharpest, wittiest dialogue ever committed to the big screen. The only director today who shows any understanding of the importance of clever and intelligent dialogue is Quentin Tarantino, but he makes overly violent movies and only makes about one film every 5 years.
“Casablanca” may be the pantheon of the ‘Golden Era’. It is easily one of the most quoted movies in cinematic history and it has some the most memorable scenes. For anyone who has not actually seen the movie, the plot centers on French Morocco during World War II in the city of Casablanca. The fear of the German war machine drives people to Casablanca to seek any form of passage to the United States. Business is fertile for men possessing the exit visas to get people across the Atlantic. Much of the business takes place at Rick’s Cafe Americain, run by a jaded Rick Blaine (played masterfully by the legendary Humphrey Bogart). He was idealistic in his younger days, but now is a cynic and only helps people when it benefits him. His world gets turned upside down when the former love of his life Isla (played by the luminous Ingrid Bergman) enters the Cafe with her husband, the revolutionary leader Victor Lazlo, looking for passage to the States. It evokes one of the greatest lines in cinematic history and sets in motion series of events involving intrigue, passion, and suspense.
The wordplay between Bogart’s Rick and any one of the other characters is true treat to behold. It is sharp and witty and seems so perfectly timed. The only other movie I have ever seen that comes close to this level of dialogue is the old Cary Grant film “His Girl Friday”. Rick’s enigmatic moods always leave the viewer wondering what path he’ll choose. Will it be the one of selfish interest or the one of greater good? The viewer never knows until the very end. Bergman’s Ilsa is one of the most beautiful female characters in the history of film. Bergman’s beauty would be just as captivating today as it was back in the 1940’s. The passion of lost love between Ilsa and Rick is largely unspoken, but it’s very palpable. Unlike today’s films, which feel the need show too much, “Casablanca” uses subtlety to convey the emotion and passion.
“Casablanca” is considered a violent movie without ever being too violent. The threat of the German ‘Gestapo’ hanging over every action and every scene creates a tension, a fear, and a suspense that few movies can match.
There is not one single wasted motion, scene, or character in this film. There is purpose in everything that happens. Characters from the shifty street vendor all the way to the shady Captain Renault have purpose and meaning. “Casablanca” has been termed by some to be the ‘perfect film’. That’s a lofty claim as some of the movies that were thought to be great in their time, now prove to be dated and almost a parody of themselves (“2001” and “The Graduate”) are classic examples. “Casablanca”, however, earns that praise and proves to be a timeless classic that is as moving today as it was in 1942.