Casablanca Ultimate Collector’s Edition Blu-ray

WARNER
Street: Dec. 2
Prebook: now
> A beautiful friendship between an American institution and high-def.

Casablanca’s arrival on Blu-ray feels momentous, particularly given its dictionary-size package. Forget about the sharp contrast and stunningly bright picture—the big treat here is the swag: a postcard-size set of replica movie posters and lobby cards, reproductions of original studio correspondence, a 48-page hardcover book and even a logo-embossed passport cover and luggage tag. As for the discs themselves, much of the material is carried over from the 2003 special edition, including commentaries by Roger Ebert and film historian Rudy Behlmer as well as the excellent retrospective You Must Remember This. Newest here is a short documentary, As Time Goes By: The Children Remember, with the offspring of legendary stars Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.

Shelf Talk: The impressive set is made more so by the elaborately laser-cut, but fragile outer sleeve. The hefty box gives the set nice shelf presence, which helps elevate it to A-list status as a collectible classic. The SRP is fair, so we’ll see if early Blu-ray adopters are interested in Hollywood’s F/X-free, black-and-white legacy.