Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #665 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-06-01
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Black & White, Dubbed, Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English, French, Italian
• Subtitled in: Arabic, Bulgarian, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Italian
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 98 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
A truly perfect movie, the 1942 Casablanca still wows viewers today, and for good reason. Its unique story of a love triangle set against terribly high stakes in the war against a monster is sophisticated instead of outlandish, intriguing instead of garish. Humphrey Bogart plays the allegedly apolitical club owner in unoccupied French territory that is nevertheless crawling with Nazis; Ingrid Bergman is the lover who mysteriously deserted him in Paris; and Paul Heinreid is her heroic, slightly bewildered husband. Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Conrad Veidt are among what may be the best supporting cast in the history of Hollywood films. This is certainly among the most spirited and ennobling movies ever made.--Tom Keogh

Synopsis
Perennially at the top of every all-time-greats list, and indisputably one of the landmarks of cinema. Bogart is Rick Blaine, an American expatriate and war profiteer in WW II Morocco. He's content to merely run the Cafe Americain until love in the form of a Ilsa, the luminous Bergman, returns to his life after breaking his heart years before. Ilsa's husband Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) is the Czech Resistance leader whose only hope of safe transport, and Ilsa's, from Morocco is Rick Blaine. Ilsa offers herself as a bargaining tool to encourage Rick to transport her husband, but he must choose between his own happiness and the lives of others. An accidental Hollywood masterpiece, this spine-tingling tear-jerker just gets better and better - as time goes by.

From the Back Cover
Casablanca: easy to enter, but much harder to leave, especially if your name is on the Nazis' most-wanted list. A top that list is Czech 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. So when Ilsa offers herself in exchange for Laszlo's safe transport out of the country, the bitter Rick must decide what's more important - his own happiness or the countless lives that hang in the balance.

Customer Reviews

Not what it was
This used to be my favourite. I went to see it at a cinema in the 70s, when it was distinctly arthouse. Times change, though. Now the racism grates too much. When it was made I'm sure it was meant to be radical. Rick saying he does not sell human beings when offered a price for Sam might have been cutting edge in '42. Not now.

It does not matter how captivating Ms Bergman is, I cannot see past her using that American racist insult, 'boy'.

Sam, of course, does not even have two dimensions to his character.

As Time Goes By . . .
. . . This film simply gets better and better. How can it miss with such a cast? Not only Humphrey Bogart as Rick and Ingrid Bergman as Ilse, but also the ensemble group of minor characters. Who can forget oily-voiced Peter Lorre smuggling the letters of transit? Or rotund Sidney Greenstreet swatting flies at the Blue Parrot? My very favorite, however, is Claude Raines as Louis, the (lovably) corrupt Prefect of Police, whose heart is his "least vulnerable spot," and whose lines, which include "Round up the usual suspects!" are among the best and the most humorous in the movie. His shock, as he stuffs his pockets with his winnings, that gambling is going on at Rick's place, has to be one of the classic moments in cinema.

And, of course, one of the most brilliant scenes--my very favorite "three-handkerchief-blubbering" moment, in fact--is when Nazi Colonel Strasser (Conrad Veidt) and his officers are standing around the piano, belting out "Watch on the Rhine," and Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) orders the band to play the "Marseilleise"; although the two pieces of music blend perfectly at first, the "Marseilleise" triumphs in the end. Vive la France!!!

I think that one of the secrets of this movie's greatness is that in addition to the outstanding actors, the writers and the director have combined the right mixture of romance, adventure, and patriotism with a huge dollop of humor. A time-tested recipe that seems to have been forgotten in so many films made today.

A Genuine Special Film and Special Edition DVD
This is a truly unique edition is the size of an old bible, with more treasures inside that an Aladdin's cave, well at least for classic movie fans. One of the greatest and most iconic films ever, winner of 3 Academy Awards, Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay, it surely show us how they used to make them in the "good old days". No wonder at the time I wrote this, out of 33 review there were 31 five star rating and two four star rating, maybe the four star raters were having an off day!.

Still you probably know all about the film so what is "Special" about this edition?

This set comes not only with many DD special features but also some fantastic and collectable other treats:

DVD Special Features
* Digitally Restored Image and cleaned soundtrack
* Theatrical trailers
* Aspect ratio: Full screen - 1.33:1
* "You Must Remember This", a 36-minute documentary newly updated
with recently discovered, unseen outtakes and screen tests
* Special introduction by screen legend Lauren Bacell, wife of
Humphrey Bogart
* Black and White, 98 Minutes

DVD Special Edition Collectors Set Includes
* Lobby Cards: 8 Original Limited Edition lobby card prints
* SENITYPE: Exclusive Limited Edition Senitype image from movie
with 35mm films frame
* Theatrical Poster: Original one sheet movie poster (27"x40")
* Exclusive Collection: 6 original Limited Edition black and white
photograph stills
* Box 29.5cm x 23cm x 7cm

Could you want for more!!! In a world of special edition this really is a rare and special genuine special edition worth keeping.