ADDITION: Warner 4K UHD (November 2022): Warner's are releasing Michael Curtiz' "Casablanca" to 4K UHD. Modest HDR has been applied. This package includes the 2012 70th Anniversary Limited Collector’s Edition Blu-ray as evidence by the VOB files:

This 2012 Blu-ray was compared to the 2008 Blu-ray HERE. The evolution of the image continues to maintain and support a dark image - with this 2160P have richer, deeper black levels and appropriate brightness in the infrequent outdoor daylight scenes. This looked amazing on my system - superb and consistent grain support. I championed the older-to-newer Blu-rays darker image and do so here. It is accepted that Casablanca has film noir 'darkness' and expressionist lighting was used in many scenes - notably in the closed Rick's Café Américain with Bogie lamented the return of Isla and later in his office 'negotiating' for the transit papers. Always remember different systems will produce different results. 

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

NOTE: 88 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages to date: In the Mood For Love (NO HDR applied to disc), The Werewolf vs. the Vampire Woman  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Blow Out (software uniformly simulated HDR), Night of the Living Dead (NO HDR applied to disc), Lost Highway (software uniformly simulated HDR), Videodrome (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Last Picture Show (software uniformly simulated HDR), It Happened One Night (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Mummy (1932)(software uniformly simulated HDR), Creature From the Black Lagoon (software uniformly simulated HDR), Bride of Frankenstein (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Amityville Horror  (software uniformly simulated HDR), The War of the Worlds (1953) (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Incredible Melting Man  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Event Horizon (software uniformly simulated HDR), Get Carter (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Killing (software uniformly simulated HDR), Killer's Kiss (software uniformly simulated HDR), Out of Sight (software uniformly simulated HDR), Raging Bull (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shaft (1971),  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Double Indemnity (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Untouchables (software uniformly simulated HDR), For a Few Dollars More (no HDR), Saboteur (software uniformly simulated HDR), Marnie (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shadow of a Doubt (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Fistful of Dollars (no HDR), In the Heat of the Night (no HDR), Jack Reacher (software uniformly simulated HDR), Death Wish II (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Apartment (no HDR), The Proposition (software uniformly simulated HDR), Nightmare Alley (2021) (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Godfather (software uniformly simulated HDR), Le Crecle Rouge (software uniformly simulated HDR), An American Werewolf in London (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Hard Day's Night (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Piano (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Great Escape (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Red Shoes (software uniformly simulated HDR), Citizen Kane (software uniformly simulated HDR), Unbreakable (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mulholland Dr. (software uniformly simulated HDR), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Hills Have Eyes (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Servant (software uniformly simulated HDR), Anatomy of a Murder (software uniformly simulated HDR), Taxi Driver  (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Wolf Man (1941) (software uniformly simulated HDR), Frankenstein (1931) (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Deep Red (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Misery (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Silence of the Lambs (software uniformly simulated HDR), John Carpenter's "The Thing" (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Cat' o'Nine Tails (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (software uniformly simulated HDR), Perdita Durango (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Django (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Fanny Lye Deliver'd (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, (NO HDR applied to disc),  Rollerball (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Chernobyl  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Daughters of Darkness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vigilante (software uniformly simulated HDR), Tremors (software uniformly simulated HDR), Cinema Paradiso (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bourne Legacy (software uniformly simulated HDR), Full Metal Jacket (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Psycho (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Birds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Rear Window (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vertigo (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Spartacus (software uniformly simulated HDR), Jaws (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Invisible Man, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucio Fulci's 1979 Zombie  (software uniformly simulated HDR),, 2004's Van Helsing (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Shallows (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bridge on the River Kwai (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Deer Hunter (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Elephant Man (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Quiet Place (software uniformly simulated HDR), Easy Rider (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspiria (software uniformly simulated HDR), Pan's Labyrinth (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Wizard of Oz, (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Shining, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Batman Returns (software uniformly simulated HDR), Don't Look Now (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Killed Killed and then The Bigfoot  (software uniformly simulated HDR),,  Bram Stoker's Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucy (software uniformly simulated HDR), They Live (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shutter Island (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Matrix (software uniformly simulated HDR), Alien (software uniformly simulated HDR), Toy Story (software uniformly simulated HDR),  A Few Good Men (software uniformly simulated HDR),  2001: A Space Odyssey (HDR caps udated), Schindler's List (simulated HDR), The Neon Demon (No HDR), Dawn of the Dead (No HDR), Saving Private Ryan (simulated HDR and 'raw' captures), Suspiria (No HDR), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (No HDR), The Big Lebowski, and I Am Legend (simulated and 'raw' HDR captures).

On their 4K UHD, Warner use a DTS HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language - with some French, German and Italian. It's more robust than the 2012 Blu-ray (that was 1.0 channel mono) but still comes across as authentically flat. The Moroccan drum beats and each strike of Dooley Wilson's piano keys, and singing, remain memorable. The film has another magnificent, and occasionally dramatic, score by the iconic Max Steiner (Arsenic and Old Lace, Stingaree, Tomorrow is Forever, Sergeant York, Key Largo, Casablanca, The Caine Mutiny, Bird of Paradise, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Beyond the Forest, Pursued, The Most Dangerous Game, The Garden of Allah, The Fountainhead etc. etc.) The audio is as consistent, clean and clear as you might expect with a smidgeon of boost in the bass response as compared to the older Blu-rays. It's minor but there. The disc offers optional English and multiple foreign-language DUBs and subtitles - and is, like all 4K UHD, region FREE, (as is the, second disc, Blu-ray) playable worldwide.

Included on on the 4K UHD disc are the Behlmer and Ebert commentaries and Bacall intro (nice touch.) The second disc Blu-ray, from 2012, is stacked. It has the feature, commentaries and a mass of Warner-related supplements including the Bacall intro and feature-length Bacall on Bogart piece. There are enough digital supplements to keep even the most devout fan content. I, personally, enjoyed the Warner cartoons included - one as a spoof entitled Corrotblanca.

Warner's 4K UHD release of "Casablanca" has only the significant upgrade - in video. More modern and mainstream film friends would ask me what 'the greatest film of all time' is - and, of course, it depends on many factors, but I usually say "Casablanca" to put the topic to rest. I think luck played a part and the universal tumblers clicked into place - it had contributions for a variety of writers and even with an exceptional A-level cast - none involved with the production expected it to reach the iconic status that it has. Bogie was at his most cool and Alpha-male charismatic, Bergman her most jaw-dropping-ly photogenic with additional unselfish support from Rains, Greenstreet, Lorre, Veidt - as there were an abundance of European exiles and refugees who were extras or played minor roles. The "duel of the anthems" sequence had many of the actors shedding tears reminding them of their own personal circumstances caused by WW2. Casablanca was nominated for eight Academy Awards, and won three - Best Picture, Director and Screenplay. This 4K UHD transfer is easily the best and most film-like. It's never looked better on a home-theatre system. A bona-fide reason to become an adopter of this format. You will never regret it. This is an absolute must-own.   

Gary Tooze