Casablanca: 70th Anniversary Edition

Director: Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz

Overview

One of the most beloved American films, this captivating wartime adventure of romance and intrigue from director Michael Curtiz defies standard categorization. Simply put, it is the story of Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a world-weary ex-freedom fighter who runs a nightclub in Casablanca during the early part of WWII. Despite pressure from the local authorities, notably the crafty Capt. Renault (Claude Rains), Rick's café has become a haven for refugees looking to purchase illicit letters of transit which will allow them to escape to America. One day, to Rick's great surprise, he is approached by the famed rebel Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) and his wife Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), Rick's true love who deserted him when the Nazis invaded Paris. She still wants Victor to escape to America, but now that she's renewed her love for Rick, she wants to stay behind in Casablanca. "You must do the thinking for both of us," she says to Rick. He does, and his plan brings the story to its satisfyingly logical, if not entirely happy, conclusion.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/01/2012
UPC:	0883929243723
Original Release:	1942
Source:	Warner Home Video
Time:	1:42:00
Sales rank:	55

Special Features

Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of; Casablanca: An Unlikely Classic; Introduction by Lauren Bacall; 2 Separate Commentaries: Roger Ebert and Film Historian Rudy Behlmer; Warner Night at the Movies; Great Performances: Bacall on Bogart; ; You Must Remember This: A Tribute to Casablanca; As Time Goes By: The Children Remember; Deleted Scenes; Outtakes; Cartoons; Audio Scoring Stage Sessions; 11/19/47 Vox Pop Radio Broadcast; Theatrical Trailers

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Humphrey Bogart	Rick Blaine
Ingrid Bergman	Ilsa
Paul Henreid	Victor Laszlo
Claude Rains	Capt. Louis Renault
Conrad Veidt	Maj. Heinrich Strasser
Peter Lorre	Ugarte
Sydney Greenstreet	Senor Ferrari
S.Z. Sakall	Carl, Headwaiter
Madeleine Le Beau	Yvonne
Dooley Wilson	Sam
Joy Page	Annina Brandel
John Qualen	Berger
Leonid Kinskey	Sascha
Helmut Dantine	Jan Brandel
Curt Bois	Dark European
Marcel Dalio	Emil, the Croupier
Corinna Mura	Singer
Ludwig Stossel	Mr. Leuchtag
Ilka Gruning	Mrs. Leuchtag
Charles La Torre	Senor Martinez
Frank Puglia	Arab Vendor
Dan Seymour	Abdul
Lou Marcelle	Narrator
Leon Belasco	Dealer
Oliver Blake	German Banker
Monte Blue	American
Gino Corrado	Waiter
George Dee	Casselle
William Edmunds	Contact
Martin Garralaga	Headwaiter
Gregory Gaye	German Banker
Creighton Hale	Customer
Olaf Hytten	Prosperous Man
Michael Mark	Vendor
George Meeker	Friend
Louis Mercier	Smuggler
Torben Meyer	Banker
Alberto Morin	French Officer
Leo Mostovoy	Fydor
Paul Porcasi	Native
Henry Rowland	German Officer
Richard Ryen	Heinz
Norma Varden	Englishwoman
Hans Heinrich Von Twardowski	German Officer
Mischa Auer	Bartender
Wolfgang Zilzer	Man with Expired Papers (Shot)

Technical Credits

Julius J. Epstein

Philip G. Epstein

Peter Howard

Michael Curtiz	Director
Robert Aisner	Consultant/advisor
Lawrence W. Butler	Special Effects
Arthur Edeson	Cinematographer
Julius J. Epstein	Screenwriter
Philip G. Epstein	Screenwriter
Leo F. Forbstein	Musical Direction/Supervision
Hugo W. Friedhofer	Score Composer
George James Hopkins	Set Decoration/Design
Herman Hupfield	Songwriter
M. K. Jerome	Songwriter
Peter Howard	Screenwriter
James Leicester	Special Effects
Owen Marks	Editor
Orry-Kelly	Costumes/Costume Designer
Francis J. Scheid	Sound/Sound Designer
Jack Scholl	Songwriter
Don Siegel	Special Effects
Max Steiner	Score Composer
Richard Van Enger	Special Effects
Willard Van Enger	Special Effects
Hal B. Wallis	Producer
Jack L. Warner	Executive Producer
Perc Westmore	Makeup
Carl Jules Weyl	Art Director

Editorial Reviews

Star-crossed lovers meet during wartime under the Moorish arches of Rick's Café Americain in Casablanca. This legendary melodrama is one of the most perfectly realized movies to come out of the Hollywood studio system. Directed by Hungarian émigré Michael Curtiz, it stars Humphrey Bogart in his iconic role as the fiercely independent but ultimately honorable Rick, an American expatriate running a swanky nightclub on the French North African coast. An embittered romantic, Rick has never forgotten the beautiful and enigmatic Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), who left him waiting at the train station in Paris as Nazi tanks rolled in. Their secret love, unexpectedly rekindled at Rick's, drives a charged narrative set against an exotic backdrop. Bogart and Bergman supply enormous star power, to be sure. But Casablanca's witty script, brisk pacing, lush atmosphere, and bittersweet romance -- not to mention a splendid performance by Claude Rains as the morally flexible French official, Inspector Renault -- all help make it the classic that it is.

Barnes & Noble - Monica McIntyre

There are many people for whom Casablanca is the greatest Hollywood movie ever made, and, while that may be going a bit far, one would be hard-pressed to think of another film in which the pieces fell together with such serendipity. It's hard to imagine a movie in which the leads are better cast: Humphrey Bogart's tough, effortless cool gives Rick the ideal balance of honor and cynicism, Ingrid Bergman's luminous beauty makes it seem reasonable that men would fight for Ilsa's affections, and Paul Henreid's Victor is cold enough that you can imagine Ilsa's being tempted by her old flame. The supporting cast is superb down the line; Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Dooley Wilson, and S.Z. Sakall are all so memorable that one tends to forget that none is onscreen for very long. The screenplay often walks the border of cliché, but the story has just enough twists, and the dialogue so much snap, that it stays compelling throughout. And Michael Curtiz knew just when to turn on the schmaltz and when to cut it off. Casablanca blends romance, suspense, humor, and patriotic drama with such skill that one imagines it must have happened by accident, and the movie looks better with each passing year. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll cheer, and the good guys strike a blow against fascism -- what more could you want from a movie?

All Movie Guide - Mark Deming