The film is set during the Second World War in Casablanca, French Morroco. The town seems to heavily rely on Rick (Humphrey Bogart) and his cafe Americain. Rick is the suave and smooth talking gentleman that has all the ladies swooning and the locals flocking to his cafe to gamble and usually lose which is where he makes his money.

However with the war going on it seems most people are fleeing to America and need desperately to acquire exit Visas. The great majority of these are obtained through less than reputable sources.

Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) happens into town on his voyage to America. Victor however does not have a clean reputation in Europe and is immediately under suspicion of exiting the country illegally.

Rick seems to be the lucky gent who has in his possession some letters of transit, which will ensure safe exit for the holder of these letters. Victor is desperate to get his hot little hands on them.

Enter stage left Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) Victor’s wife who has a romantic background with Rick.

All combined it’s a tough decision for Rick.

So How Does This Transfer Hold Up?

VIDEO
Hmm Black and White (cringe) Full Frame version...... Not the ultimate in transfers but since the film is 58 years old I wouldn’t expect anymore, Although when I think about it a digitally coloured version of Casablanca wouldn’t be so bad. [ed.  BLASPHEMER!!!]

The transfer is certainly far from good, but I wasn’t being too judgemental when I was watching the movie.

The sharpness of the images varied from clear to hazy... especially some close ups of Ingrid Bergman but this is more reflective of film making in the era and their efforts to make her look flawless. There were constantly major problems with grain.

Shadow detail was average and most times there was little detail to speak of.. Once again more a problem with source material than the transfer.

Mpeg and Film artefacts are common and noticeable throughout the film, which gave rise to excessive shimmering and ailiasing.

AUDIO
The audio was also nothing exciting as a Dolby Digital encoded mono track there isn’t too much to say. The dialogue was generally clear but needed some increase in volume at times to get the words out of Humphrey Bogart and there was at least one instance where audio has been cut from Ingrid Bergman's voice.

The soundtrack from Max Steiner is great and you will all remember "You must remember this" which is used many times and in several variations during the film.

EXTRAS
Theatrical Trailer

Featurette: You must remember this.
Not a bad little doco with some interesting information. The transfer is a little less ordinary though given it was made in the last ten years.

Overall this is basically a shocking transfer but a great film.