 What a classic. I'm so glad they're releasing a worthy older movie on the high definition format. Its absolutely impossible not to adore this movie and enjoy every single second of it. I've probably seen it about twenty times and I never tire of it. So many classic scenes and lines of dialogue from that film have become a part of the American consciousness that even if you have not seen this movie you can still spit out its quotes. "Play it, Sam", "We'll always have Paris", "Here's looking at you, kid", "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she had to walk into mine", "Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world."
The most amazing thing about this movie is that it was released in 1942, in the midst of the Second World War. The Nazis were on the march, and no one was sure what would happen. Would evil prevail, or would the American way take down the Germans. When Victor Laszlo tells Rick "Welcome back to the fight, this time I know our side will win", no one was even sure if the Allies would reign victorious. At that point, it appeared nearly hopeless.
The plot is definitely well-known. Casablanca, Morocco is the last stop for European refugees attempting to escape the harsh rule and persecution of the Nazis. The town is filled with the French, Jews, Italians, basically all kinds. Humphrey Bogart plays Rick, an American who owns a nightclub in the city. Rick is basically just sitting back. He doesn't take sides in the war. He's minding his own. Yet he does have a history of fighting for the resistance. But that was before his heart was broken by a young girl named Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) early in the war. He is now basically a shell of a man, caring for no one but himself. One day, Ilsa arrives at his bar in Casablanca, in tow with her new husband, a famous resistance fighter named Victor Laszlo. Rick is now in a precarious position, since the Nazis in the town want to kill Laszlo, and Rick wants to protect his former love. I won't go into any more of the plot, but its just incredible.
Finally, a truly incredible transfer. No, its not the strongest that has been released, but this is definitely my favorite disc. It is presented in 1.33:1 fullscreen and encoded at 1080p. Its absolutely glorious. Never has this film looked so incredible, even though the earlier dvd transfer was incredibly well done. Its black-and-white, of course, so the shadow detail is absolutely out of this world. Its simply beautiful, and you must see it.
The audio. I love that this movie is presented in mono. If Warner did a 5.1 surround remaster of this, I would be angry to no end. It was recorded in mono, so it should be presented in that manner. I don't care if it doesn't sound enveloping. Dolby Digital 1.0 mono, that's what I'm talking about. |
