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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
directed
by Michael Curtiz
U.S. 1942
The
4K UHD of Casablanca is reviewed HERE
Once a movie becomes as adulated as Casablanca, it is difficult to know how to begin to approach it, except by saying that at least 70 per cent of its cult reputation is deserved. This was Bogart's greatest type role, as the battered, laconic owner of a nightclub who meets a girl (Bergman) he left behind in Paris and still loves. The whole thing has an intense wartime nostalgia that tempts one to describe it as the sophisticated American version of Britain's naοve Brief Encounter, but it has dated far less than Lean's film and is altogether a much more accomplished piece of cinema. There are some great supporting performances, and much of the dialogue has become history. |
Posters (CLICK to enlarge)
Theatrical Release: November 26th, 1942 - USA
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Comparison:
Warner - Region 2/4 (UK) - PAL vs. Warner - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Warner (SE) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Warner (2 disc) - Region FREE Blu-ray |
Big thanks to Ole of DVD-Basen for the PAL Screen Caps!
1) Warner - Region 2/4 - PAL - TOP LEFT 2) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP MIDDLE 3) Warner (SE) Region 1 - NTSC - TOP RIGHT 4) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM CENTER
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DVD Box Covers |
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The Ultimate Collector's Edition is available in 3-disc SD-DVD package: |
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Distribution |
Warner (UK) Region 2/4 - PAL |
Warner Region 1 - NTSC |
Warner Region 1 - NTSC |
Blu-ray Cover |
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Distribution | Warner Home Video - Region FREE - Blu-ray |
The original Blu-ray transfer eventually became available as a single-disc release in September 2009 (or earlier outside of North America) |
Runtime | 1:38:27 (4% PAL Speedup) | 1:42:32 | 1:42:28 | 1:42:34.565 |
Video | 1.33:1/4:3
FullScreen Average Bitrate: 5.50 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s |
1.33:1/4:3
FullScreen |
1.33:1/4:3
FullScreen Average Bitrate: 6.10 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
Disc Size: 24,274,306,884 bytes Feature Size: 15,497,975,808 bytes Video Bitrate: 17.91 Mbps Single-layered Blu-ray VC-1 encode
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate:
Warner R2/4
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Bitrate:
Warner R1 |
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Bitrate:
Warner R1 (SE) |
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Bitrate:
Warner Blu-ray |
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Audio | English (Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono), French (Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono), Italian (Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono) |
English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono) |
English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono) |
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps
1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps |
Subtitles | English, English for the hearing impaired, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Dutch or none | English, French or none | English, Spanish, French or none | English (SDH), English, Spanish, French or none |
Features | Release
Information: Studio: Warner (UK) Aspect Ratio: Edition Details: DVD
Release Date: 13st March 2000 |
Release
Information: Studio: Warner Aspect Ratio: Edition Details: DVD
Release Date: 15 February 2000 |
Release
Information: Studio: Warner Aspect Ratio: DVD
Release Date: 5 August 2003 |
Release
Information: Studio: Warner Aspect Ratio:
Disc Size: 24,274,306,884 bytes
Edition Details: Disc 2 (SD) 1993 documentary "Jack L. Warner: the Last Mogul" (57 minute) Additions:
Blu-ray
Release Date: December 2nd, 2008 |
Comments: |
The 4K UHD of Casablanca is reviewed HERE
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc. 70th ANNIVERSARY Blu-ray is compared to original Blu-ray HERE "... I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." ADDITION: Warner Blu-ray - Region FREE: With the HD version in mothballs along with that player of the now defunct format, we have been patiently awaiting this Blu-ray release... which we were sure could only improve upon the previous 1080P edition. But does it? I suspect the VC-1 encode to b the same - the feature is only 15 1/2 Gig - the disc single-layered at 24 Gig and the bitrate hovers around 20 megabits per second. How does it look? Marvelous - the comparison captures show two of the most noticeable attributes are the contrast (now the SE looks a shade sepia) and the detail which we expected to be superior. The Blu-ray image is brighter and has depth (look at the upper left corner of the cheque Rick is signing). It is not totally noise-free but still this is another area of dramatic improvement over the SD editions. Finally, also black levels are more pure. This looks as strong as the HD edition. Audio - Warner's new commitment to original formats gives us only mono (where the HD offered HD as an option.) I can't defend the option of HD audio but I can't see the harm in including for some. Anyway... Extras from the Special Edition are all housed on the
single-layered feature
Blu-ray first disc. New
is the second disc (a standard definition DVD) with a 57-minute 1993
documentary "Jack L. Warner: the Last Mogul". I've never been one for the big packages with the accouterments although I love the book I can't see much use for the other additions - surprisingly though the wallet is not of poor quality. Ohhh ... it comes in a bulky box with 48-page, hardbound photo book, Leatherette passport holder and matching luggage tag, 10 reproduction lobby cards, 4 X archival studio correspondence (replica) and a mail-in offer for a 27" x 40" movie poster This is one of the premium films to own in high-definition but I can't say I'm 100% content with the large package (how does this fit on my Blu-ray shelf Warner?) and dual-layering might have improved the image somewhat (higher bitrate may have given us even less noise and brought up detail a notch.) The 2-disc'ing of this seems a waste as they could have put everything on one dual-layered Blu-ray. Still, there is no way not to recommend this - one of the greatest films of all time looking brilliant for digital home theaters. It's a must own... a perfect Christmas gift - but for those who own a Blu-ray player - they must surely have pre-ordered, no? **** ON THE SPECIAL EDITION SD-DVD: Robert Harris says about the 2003 SE release:
"Someone has handled
digital cleanup properly as while the grain structure is still very
much intact and similar to that of the previous release, the dupe
sections now look appreciatively better, with a better rendition of
gray scale and better contrast values. It is quite evident from the screen captures that the new SE Warner version is the sharpest and has the most beautiful contrast levels. It is also cropped on all 4 sides, enough to make me question why. I can live with it, but I wonder if (as in many Criterions) the clean-up process requires information to be removed from the sides. The full disc of extras and Ebert commentary speak for themselves. The sound is also top-notch even to my uninformed hearing. the image is brighter, with slightly less film grain. Yes, buy the new set... I question whether this film has ever looked this good. I will investigate with Mr. Harris the possible reasons for the cropping. I will post my answers here. |
DVD Menus
(Warner - Region 2/4 - PAL - LEFT
vs. Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. Warner (SE) Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Screen Captures
1) Warner - Region 2/4 - PAL - TOP 2) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - SECOND 3) Warner (SE) Region 1 - NTSC - THIRD 4) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Warner - Region 2/4 - PAL - TOP 2) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - SECOND 3) Warner (SE) Region 1 - NTSC - THIRD 4) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Warner - Region 2/4 - PAL - TOP 2) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - SECOND 3) Warner (SE) Region 1 - NTSC - THIRD 4) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Warner - Region 2/4 - PAL - TOP 2) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - SECOND 3) Warner (SE) Region 1 - NTSC - THIRD 4) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Warner - Region 2/4 - PAL - TOP 2) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - SECOND 3) Warner (SE) Region 1 - NTSC - THIRD 4) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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