Casablanca [4K UHD] (1942)

Casablanca appears in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. This was an impressive presentation.

Sharpness felt appealing. Any softness that occurred came from the source, usually due to some light soft focus used for Ingrid Bergman. These instances created no distractions, as overall definition was strong.

I noticed no issues with jagged edges or moir effects. Edge haloes failed to mar the presentation.

Source flaws also were a non-factor here. The movie came with a layer of grain that appeared to use some management/removal, but this remained tasteful when utilized.

Blacks looked deep and dense, while shadows offered good clarity and smoothness. Contrast seemed solid, with a positive silver feel to the production that received extra heft via the discs HDR. I could find nothing much about which to complain from this solid transfer.

While not up to the high quality of the picture, the DTS-HD MA monaural audio of Casablanca seemed good for the era. Dialogue occasionally betrayed a little brittleness but usually seemed nicely clear and fairly natural. The speech lacked some of the depth we'd hear in more modern recordings, but it appeared quite rich for its era.

Effects and music also sounded a bit thin and tinny, but these faults seem typical for the day, and both elements appeared clean and relatively crisp. On occasion, we even heard a little low end; an early scene in which a plane flew overhead was so vivid that I almost felt like the track included a surround element!

No problems related to noise or hiss showed up during the movie, so it seemed clean and smooth. The audio of Casablanca couldnt totally overcome the restrictions of its era, but it seemed quite good for its age.

How did this 4K UHD compare to the 2012 Blu-ray? Audio remained essentially identical, as any differences appeared marginal.

Visuals enjoyed the usual benefits of the format, specifically in the way HDR added to blacks and contrast. Unsurprisingly, the 4K could feel a little softer than the Blu-ray, as the superior resolution made the sources restrictions more obvious. Ultimately, I thought the 4K became more satisfying than the Blu-ray, though I wouldnt call it a revelation.

As we shift to extras, the 4K UHD disc opens with an introduction by Lauren Bacall. During this two-minute, nine-second clip, she gives us a quick chat about the films timeless appeal. Its forgettable but painless.

Up next are two separate audio commentaries, and the first one comes from film critic Roger Ebert, who provides a running, screen-specific affair. The veteran of a few other tracks for flicks like Citizen Kane, Ebert knows his way around an audio commentary, and he offers a generally interesting one here.

Ebert provides a mix of topics. He gives us a little history about the film and its participants, and he drops a fair amount of trivia facts into the discussion. He debunks myths like the alleged casting of Ronald Reagan as Rick and he tells us other tidbits as well.

Ebert gets into some deconstruction of the flick as he relates notes about camera techniques and other elements. To his credit, Ebert even criticizes some aspects of the movie.

This means he delves into some plot flaws and knocks the overly stiff character of Laszlo. At times Ebert simply tells us the story, though, and the commentary occasionally goes dull. Still, this seems like an above average chat for the most part.

Next we hear from film historian Rudy Behlmer, who also gives us a running, screen-specific track. A commentator for quite a few other older flicks, Behlmer comes prepared as always. He starts at the beginning as he traces the films origins and its path to the screen.

Behlmer gets into casting, the many rewrites of the script, quick biographies of many participants, and scads of other production issues. Though he goes quiet a little too often, Behlmer seems efficient and thorough during this mostly lively and informative commentary.

These extras also appear on the included Blu-ray copy along with some features not found on the 4K disc. A creative and fun addition to the set, Warner Night at the Movies attempts to replicate the cinematic experience circa 1942.

This feature includes a preview for Now, Voyager - a flick from the same era as Casablanca - plus a period newsreel, three animated shorts (The Squawkin Hawk, The Bird Came COD and The Dover Boys at Pimento University), and a live-action musical short entitled Vaudeville Days.

These are the kinds of pieces that might have preceded a theatrical showing of Casablanca, so if you activate this feature, you get an attempt to duplicate a night at the cinema. With Night on, you go through all these components and then head straight into the movie. I like this program and think its quite clever.

Under Behind the Story, we open with Great Performances: Bacall on Bogart gives us a general look at the actors career. Created in the late 1980s, it runs one hour, 23 minutes, 27 seconds as the actress chats about the work of her late husband.