It’s never too early to start thinking about what to purchase someone for the holidays, and if they adore old movies, you can stop browsing now. Warner Bros. revealed today via a humorous teaser video on Twitter that the classic film Casablanca would be released in 4K UHD and digital on November 8. Experience the classic war movie like never before on the occasion of its 80th anniversary. Casablanca took moviegoers to Morocco’s Casablanca to meet nightclub owner Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), Czech resistance fighter and wanted man Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), and the woman caught in the middle, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman).
The film boasted some of the best acting of all time, several of the most quoted lines in film history, an impressive score, and a sense of unity during the darkest days of WWII (Ingrid Bergman). The film, directed by Michael Curtiz (White Christmas) and released quickly to capitalise on the Allied invasion of North Africa, followed Blaine as he wrestles with whether to help his ex-lover Ilsa and her husband Laszlo escape or to persuade her to stay with him. In addition to Bogart, Hendreid, and Bergman, the film featured an all-star cast that included Claude Rains (The Invisible Man), Conrad Veidt (The Cabinet of Dr Caligari), Sydney Greenstreet (Passage to Marseille), Peter Lorre (The Man Who Knew Too Much), and Dooley Wilson (My Favorite Blonde), with Wilson singing the film’s iconic theme song, “As Time Goes By.” Both “Here’s looking at you child” and “I hope this is the beginning of a great friendship” were spoken by Bogart’s character in the film and went on to become staples of the American lexicon.
After receiving rave reviews, the film went on to win many Oscars that year, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, and Howard Koch’s adaptation of the play Everybody Comes to Rick’s by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison. Many cherished films from over the decades have made the transition to 4K UHD this year. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, starring John Wayne, Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables, and John Carpenter’s cult classic horror The Fog all seem to be examples of studios delivering on what fans desire.