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.
CASABLANCA was an original selection to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1989.
"As Time Goes By," the song that became this film's anthem, not to mention theme song, was originally written for the Broadway musical EVERYBODY'S WELCOME, which opened on October 13, 1931 and ran for 139 performances. The composer, Herman Hupfeld, was also known for the song "When Yuba Plays the Rumba on the Tuba."
The film's producer, Hal B. Wallis, was awarded the Academy's Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1943.
In his 1995 memoir MY AMERICAN JOURNEY, General Colin Powell lists CASABLANCA as one of his favorite films.
Additional credits: Hugh MacMullan (dialogue director), Robert Aisner (technical adviser).
Copyright 1943 Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Excerpt: "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
HD-DVD Features:
Elite Red HD Case
Widescreen - 1.37
Audio:
Dolby Digital Surround Sound Plus 1.0 - English, French, Spanish
Subtitles - English SDH, English, French, Spanish - Optional
Closed Captioned - English - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Trailers - 1. Theatrical Trailers
Introductions - 1. Lauren Bacall - Star
Commentaries - 1. Roger Ebert - Film Critic
2. Rudy Behlmer - Historian
Featurettes - 1. Additional Scenes and Outtakes
2. "Bacall on Bogart" - Documentary
3. "You Must Remember This: A Tribute to CASABLANCA" - Documentary
4. "As Time Goes By: The Children Remember" with Pia Lindstrom and Stephen Bogart
5. "Homage Cartoon 'Carrotblanca'"
6. "Who Holds Tomorrow?: Premiere Episode from 1955 WARNER BROS. PRESENTS TV Series Adaptation of CASABLANCA"
7. Scoring Session Outtakes
8. "Audio-Only Bonus: Radio Production with the Movie's 3 Key Stars"
Text and Photo Galleries
"Production Research Gallery"
"
Stars
Humphrey Bogart: Oscar winning american actor, CASABLANCA, THE AFRICAN QUEEN
Ingrid Bergman: Oscar winning Swedish actress, GASLIGHT
Claude Rains: British actor, CASABLANCA, NOTORIOUS, MR. SKEFFINGTON
Paul Henreid: Austrian Actor/Director
Dooley Wilson: African American actor/musician, CASABLANCA
Conrad Veidt: Actor, director, producer
Sydney Greenstreet: British Character Actor
Peter Lorre: Slovakian actor, CASABLANCA, ARSENIC AND OLD LACE
S.Z. Sakall: Hungarian actor
Madeline LeBeau: French actress, CASABLANCA
Joy Page: Actress, FIGHTER ATTACK, CASABLANCA
John Qualen: Character Actor
Leonid Kinskey: Actor
Curt Bois: German actor, WINGS OF DESIRE
Leon Belasco: Comic Actor
Monte Blue: American Actor
Gino Corrado: Character Actor, CITIZEN KANE
Marcel Dalio: French Actor
Helmut Dantine: Actor/Producer/Executive
Martin Garralaga: Supporting Actor/1940s
Creighton Hale: Irish Character Actor
Olaf Hytten: Actor
George Meeker: Actor
Torben Meyer: Danish silent actor
Alberto Morin:
Paul Porcasi:
Frank Puglia: Character Actor/In USA
Dan Seymour: American Character Actor
Ludwig Stossel: Austrian Character Actor
Norma Varden: British Character Actress
Hans Von Twardowski:
Director
Michael Curtiz: Director, CASABLANCA (1942)
Producer
Hal B. Wallis: Producer of over 400 Hollywood movies
Jack L. Warner: Warner Brothers Movie Mogul
Screenwriter
Julius J. Epstein: American Screenwriter, CASABLANCA (1942)
Philip G. Epstein: American Screenwriter
Howard Koch: Screenwiter, CASABLANCA (1942, THE SEA HAWK (1940)
Composer
Max Steiner: Score composer
Editor
Owen Marks: Editor
Art Director
Carl Jules Weyl: Art Director\1940s
Director of Photography
Arthur Edeson:
Costume Designer
Orry-Kelly:
Review 1:
"...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..."
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
p.5 09/15/1996
Review 2:
"...One of the most perfect Hollywood movies ever made..."
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.57 08/08/2003
Review 3:
"Possibly the most famous film ever made, CASABLANCA has everything..."
Source: Total Film
p.118 07/01/2000
Review 4:
"...Here Humphrey Bogart transformed himself into a romantic hero..."
Source: Premiere
p.5 12/01/2003
Review 5:
"Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart provide the chemistry that sets this apart from countless other tales of doomed wartime love affairs."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.75 03/01/2004