Customer Ratings & Reviews

Casablanca has long been one of my favorite films, and I've owned the single disc Blu-Ray release for a few years. As a cinephile with a fairly discerning eye, I rarely double dip on movies. But, to refer to this collection as a simple re-release would be a misnomer. When I saw Best Buy offer the limited edition box set on sale in early December of 2015, I jumped at the opportunity to own it. Casablanca was nominated for eight Oscars at the 16th Annual Academy Awards in 1943, winning for Best Screenplay, Best Director (Michael Curtiz), and Best Picture. Humphrey Bogart, who was nominated for Best Actor, is one of the true giants of cinema, his oeuvre including many of the high-water mark films of the era (including The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierre Madre, and The African Queen, for which he received the Academy Award for Best Actor). But Casablanca reigns supreme. His pairing here with three-time Academy Award winner Ingrid Bergman (Notorious, Spellbound, Autumn Sonata) is legendary, their on-screen chemistry delighting generations of moviegoers, and establishing Casablanca as one of the truly definitive romances in cinematic history. And Casablanca's staying power is undeniable, as some seventy-three years later, many of the film's lines remain firmly entrenched in the American lexicon. Now, to the 70th Anniversary Limited Edition itself. As mentioned in the product description, it's a 3-disc collection: the first 50 GB Blu-ray disc includes Warner's 2012 4k scan and restoration, maintaining the original theatrical 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Simply put, this is the best Bogey and Bergman have ever looked together. I am happy to report that Warner is very light-handed with the digital noise reduction here, allowing Casablanca to maintain a beautiful filmic presentation. Black levels jump off the screen, and there are very few hints of any source damage. It's hard to believe you are watching a movie from 1942. Additionally, Casablanca is presented for the first time with a lossless DTS-HD master audio track. The dialogue is clean, and the overall sonic experience is true to a film that is over seven decades old. All the extras from the single disc release are ported over, including an excellent commentary from Roger Ebert. The second Blu-Ray disc includes three different documentaries, highlighted by a near-five hour long presentation entitled 'You Must Remember This: The Warner Brothers Story'. Included, too, is a handsome sixty page booklet containing materials you find in DigiBook releases, including production notes, photos and sketches, actor bios, etc. The third disc is a DVD copy of Casablanca, useful for watching the film on a laptop, in the car, or wherever a Blu-Ray player is not available. The packaging itself makes for a beautiful display piece. Mine currently sits atop the bookshelves which house my entire collection, right next to my Citizen Kane Ultimate Collector's Edition. All in all, a simply fabulous collection worthy of one of the greatest films of Hollywood's Golden Era. If you love Casablanca as I do, this is a must have. If you've never seen it, now is the time. The film has never looked, or sounded better. Add in the plethora of bonus features, the collectible book, and the miniaturized French theatrical movie poster, the 70th Anniversary Limited Edition set of Casablanca receives my highest recommendation.

The restored and remastered release is outstanding, whether you go with the Blu-ray movie only release, or this limited collector's edition, you can't go wrong. Image clarity is detailed, with a balanced black level providing outstanding detail in shadows. Remastered audio is clear and nearly free from any noisy hiss or scratch sounds.

great classic movie and a great 70th anniversary edition set. the remastered picture looks really good and has some neat goodies in the set like coasters from a few of the businesses within the movie, a book, and a poster.

This is the Blu-Ray that should've been (the original Blu-Ray lacked features). To top it off - it comes with drink coasters!!!

It's shocking how good this film is. It has truly stood the test of time and is required viewing for all film fans. The extras included in this collector's box are nice additions to a collection of movie memorabilia.