欧博allbetray vs. DVDs

Firstly, a massive thank you to our Patreon supporters. Your generosity touches me deeply. These supporters have become the single biggest contributing factor to the survival of DVDBeaver. Your assistance has become essential.

What do Patrons receive, that you don't?

1) Our weekly Newsletter sent to your Inbox every Monday morning!
2) Patron-only Silent Auctions - so far over 30 Out-of-Print titles have moved to deserved, appreciative, hands!
3) Access to over 50,000 unpublished screen captures in lossless high-resolution format!

Please consider keeping us in existence with a couple of dollars or more each month (your pocket change!) so we can continue to do our best in giving you timely, thorough reviews, calendar updates and detailed comparisons. Thank you very much.

Google

Search DVDBeaver

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 na�ve 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.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

Posters (CLICK to enlarge)

Theatrical Release: November 26th, 1942 - USA

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

DVD Box Covers

The Ultimate Collector's Edition is available in 3-disc SD-DVD package:

Distribution

Warner (UK)

Region 2/4 - PAL

Warner

Region 1 - NTSC

Warner
Region 1 - NTSC
Blu-ray Cover

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
Average Bitrate: 4.95 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

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

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:

Warner R2/4

Bitrate:

Warner R1

Bitrate:

Warner R1 (SE)

Bitrate:

Warner Blu-ray

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)

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio French 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 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:
1:33:1 original aspect ratio

Edition Details:

• Featurette (36:46).
• Theatrical Trailer (1997) (2:48).

DVD Release Date: 13st March 2000
Snapper Case
Chapters: 36
DVD Encoding: PAL Region 2/4
SS-DL/DVD-9

Release Information:
Studio: Warner

Aspect Ratio:
1:33:1 original aspect ratio

Edition Details:

• .Black & White
• Production notes
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• You Must Remember This documentary hosted by Lauren Bacall, featuring recently unearthed outtakes
• All-New Introduction by Lauren Bacall

DVD Release Date: 15 February 2000
Snapper Case
Chapters: 36
DVD Encoding: NTSC Region 1
SS-DL/DVD-9

Release Information:
Studio: Warner

Aspect Ratio:
1:33:1 original aspect ratio

Edition Details:

• Commentary by critic Roger Ebert
• Commentary by author-historian Rudy Behlmer
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• Introduction by Lauren Bacall
• New digital transfer
• Nearly 10 minutes of newly found deleted scenes and outtakes
• Bacall hosts two documentaries, "You Must Remember This" and "Bacall on Bogart"
• "The Children Remember": parental memories from Stephen Bogart and Ingrid Bergman's daughters Pia Lindstrom and Isabella Rosselini
• The Looney Tunes homage "Carrotblanca"
• Premier episode from the 1955 Casablanca TV series
• Audio-only treasures: "Screen Guild Players Radio Production" with the three stars, plus rare scoring session outtakes
• Production history gallery: Photos, press materials, studio correspondence, memorabilia, and more
• Full-screen format
• Number of discs: 2

DVD Release Date: 5 August 2003
2- DVD insert in handsome cardboard box
Chapters: 32
DVD Encoding: NTSC Region 1

Release Information:
Studio: Warner

Aspect Ratio:
1:33:1 original aspect ratio

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

Edition Details:
• Commentary by critic Roger Ebert
• Commentary by author-historian Rudy Behlmer
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• Introduction by Lauren Bacall
• New digital transfer
• Nearly 10 minutes of newly found deleted scenes and outtakes
• Bacall hosts two documentaries, "You Must Remember This" and "Bacall on Bogart"
• "The Children Remember": parental memories from Stephen Bogart and Ingrid Bergman's daughters Pia Lindstrom and Isabella Rosselini
• The Looney Tunes homage "Carrotblanca"
• Premier episode from the 1955 Casablanca TV series
• Audio-only treasures: "Screen Guild Players Radio Production" with the three stars, plus rare scoring session outtakes
• Production history gallery: Photos, press materials, studio correspondence, memorabilia, and more

Disc 2 (SD)

� 1993 documentary "Jack L. Warner: the Last Mogul" (57 minute)

Additions:
� 48-page, hardbound photo book
� Leatherette passport holder and matching luggage tag;
� 10 reproduction lobby cards
� 4 X archival studio correspondence (replica)
� Mail-in offer for a 27" x 40" movie poster

Blu-ray Release Date: December 2nd, 2008
2- DVD custom case with handsome cardboard box
Chapters: 32

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".

Of the many extras available the commentaries are excellent (I, personally, lean towards Behlmer's over Eberts) - the Bacall intro (2:00) is a nice touch, as is Bacall on Bogart feature (1:23:20), and there are enough digital supplements to keep even the most devout fan content. I, personally, love the cartoon inclusion - Corrotblanca (8:00).

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.

Both visually and sonically, the new Casablanca is a treat and is highly recommended.

Its the best that I've seen it look in decades."

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.

- Gary W. Tooze

DVD Menus

(Warner - Region 2/4 - PAL - LEFT vs. Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. Warner (SE) Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)