Cheap Casablanca (Video) (Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman) (Michael Curtiz) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Casablanca

"You must remember this"....
It's hard to believe that when Casablanca was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in 1942 it was "just another" of the 50 or so films that the studio was producing every year, as Lauren Bacall points out in the documentary about the film included in the special features. The movie was an instant success with audiences everywhere, and won three Academy Awards including Best Picture. Called "America's most popular and beloved movie- and rightly so" by The Motion Picture Guide, and "The best Hollywood movie of all time" by Leonard Maltin, Casablanca was voted the #2 film in a list of the top 100 films of this century by the American Film Institute.
Set in refugee strewn French North Africa in 1942, Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a night club owner, and his friend Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains), Prefect of Police, enter into a wager as to whether or not Resistance Leader Victor Laslo (Paul Henreid) will be able to escape Casablanca and reach the Free World. When Laslo arrives in Casablanca, Rick is stunned to find him accompanied by his ex-lover, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman). Filled with mystery, suspense, intrigue and romance, Casablanca will remain a favorite of classic movie lovers for years to come.
The supporting cast include Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson as Rick's piano playing confidant, Sam. The entire cast are superb, the settings are excellent, and the cinematogrophy is wonderful.
The song "As Time Goes By" was made famous by Casablanca, as it's melody is entwined throughout the film, and it too is now a classic, filled with romance and nostalgia.
This is one film that absolutely MUST be in your DVD library!

---

The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship....
Because I've been reading Michael Walsh's novel As Time Goes By, I recently decided to watch Casablanca again on DVD. I was amazed to see how this 1943 Oscar-winning film remains powerful and moving 60 years after its release.

Almost everybody knows its plot of of wartime intrigue and its doomed romantic triangle of bitter American saloonkeeper Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), the beautiful Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), and her idealistic husband, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). This trio is supported by a wonderful and varied cast of characters, including Police Prefect Louis Renault (Claude Rains), Rick's faithful friend and piano player Sam Waters (Arthur "Dooley" Wilson), the conniving Ugarte (Peter Lorre), the Russian bartender Sacha (Leonid Kinsky), and the loveable maitre d' Carl (S. Z. Sakall).

The heart of the movie revolves around the conflict created in Rick's heart by World War II. When his former flame Ilsa arrives in Casablanca, does he help her and her husband Victor escape to Lisbon, or does he allow German Major Strasser (Conrad Veldt) to capture the fugitive Czech resistance leader so Rick can take Ilsa to America himself? Or do his natural good instincts surface and get Rick to do the honorable thing?

This movie has a little bit of everything: suspense, drama, comedy, an exotic setting, and lots of music, including renditions of "It Had To Be You," "The Very Thought Of You," and a thrilling duel between Germans singing the "Watch On The Rhine" and the Allies belting out "The Marsellaise." Other songs heard in the film include "Knock On Wood," and the unforgettable "As Time Goes By."

Another crucial element is the snappy and memorable dialog written by the Epstein twins and Hal B. Wallis for this movie:

Rick: I came here for the waters.
Louis: Waters? What waters? We're in the desert.
Rick: Obviously, I was misinformed.

Ilsa: (to Sam) Play it. Play "As Time Goes By."

Rick: (to Sam) Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.

Louis: (pretending to be surprised) I'm shocked, shocked to find gambling in here!
Casino Dealer: (handing Louis some money) Your winnings, sir.
Louis: (takes the money) Thank you.

Rick: (to Ilsa) Now, now...here's looking at you, kid.

With all these ingredients, director Michael Curtiz and producer Jack Warner came up with a recipe for a movie that became a beloved classic, a status recognized when the Library of Congress named Casablanca as one of the most important American films.

---

"As Time Goes By" This Is The Best Film You'll Ever See
From the first frame of "Casablanca" you know you are about to watch something special. There is not a moment in the film where you will find yourself bored or overwhelmed. It is perfect in every way. I have seen many films in my time and I am only 17. I have an extensive collection of over 180 DVDs and this is by far my most prized. I saw this film for the first time exactly one year ago and purchased this Two-Disc Special Edition the day it came out. Not a day goes by when this film does not pop into my mind.

There are many movies but very few great films. The few include Gone With the Wind, Wizard of Oz, Lawrence of Arabia, Schindler's List, The Godfather, and, of course, the rarely seen Imitation of Life. This is at the head of those. It is at the head of all films.

"Casablanca" is about Rick (Humphrey Bogart), the owner of an American bar in Morroco, who is visited by Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), the object of a love affair in Paris a few years earlier. She is accompanied by her husband (Paul Heinreid) who knows nothing of this but is only interested in acheiving two exit visas because they are both wanted. What follows is the most romantic and thrilling film of all time.

The DVD transfer is nothing short of miraculous. The film looks like it had been filmed today in B & W. Even the mono soundtrack sounds breathtaking. The DVD does not shy away from some amazing special features. I don't want to spoil them but anyone will find them interesting. I promise you this is one of the finest DVD packages on the market.

So go out now and buy the film that recieved three Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay; the film that was called the Second Greatest Film of All Time on the AFI's 100 Best List (it's second to Citizen Kane); and also called the Most Romantic Film of All Time by the AFI's 100 Most Romantic Films.

"Play it again, Sam."