Busted
Here's a scan of the letter of transit that caused all the rumpus in Michael Curtiz's Casablanca. It's one of the extras in the relatively new Casablanca Blu-ray box-set. Notice, however, the date that Paul Henreid's Victor Laszlo is travelling on -- 22 Juillet 1941. And then notice the date on the gambling voucher signed by Humphrey Bogart's Rick at the beginning of the film -- 2 Decembre 1941.
Gambling voucher signed by Humphrey Bogart's Rick during the film's opening minutes
Since Laszlo and Ingird Bergman's Ilsa Lund leave on the Lisbon plane two or three days after they first walk into Rick's Cafe Americain at the fim's beginning, the date on the Laszlo letter of transit should obviously be 12.4 or 12.5, so we're talking about a fairly significant screw-up here.
If I'd been in charge of putting together the Casablanca Blu-ray extras package, it would have been very, very easy to correct the date before the materials went to press. Hey -- Warner Home Video did this, not me! I'm not trying to be an obsessive. I'm just reading and comparing and making a simple logical conclusion. Okay, WHV doesn't have to fire the person who let this one slip by. It's a forgivable blunder.
The Blu-ray Casablanca is heavenly, by the way. I've been watching this film since I was twelve years old, and there is a significant Blu-ray uptick in terms of ultra-minute details, tonal range and gradation (deep-midnight blacks!) and that wonderfully vivid silvery sparkle effect that great black-and-white films can and should deliver when properly mastered. I knew watching it that I was looking at something that Michael Curtiz probably never saw -- not this level of picture quality. I could watch it again right now. It's magnificent.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on December 14, 2008 at 6:46 PM
comment #1
cinefan
says ...
The Blu-Ray Casablanca does look magnificent, although I would say too that the regular DVD looks great and I didn't notice that great a difference in picture quality between the two after watching the Blu-Ray version.
Posted by cinefan
at December 14, 2008 7:32 PM
comment #2
Dan Revill
says ...
Not sure I'd upgrade on this one, since it'd be my third time owning a copy...but it's on the short list of double dips that I'd definitely consider if the price were right.
Posted by Dan Revill
at December 14, 2008 8:13 PM
comment #3
atticusrex
says ...
It'd be nice to have the cool swag WB includes in this Blu set but I already own the HD-DVD version. And I really can't believe the Blu would be any better than the HD-DVD except for the packaging.
(I own both formats)
Posted by atticusrex
at December 14, 2008 8:39 PM
comment #4
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says ...
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When exactly does this get released?
Posted by BurmaShave
at December 14, 2008 11:12 PM
comment #5
lazespud
says ...
wow. I thought I was being anal when I got upset that they used a 1973 BMW 2002 for a shootout that took place in spring of the 1971 in The Baader-Meinhof Complex.
Blue Ray is amazing; you get to see these movies in a better format than was ever imagined by the original creators. For me, it's all about the old vista-vision and super panavision films; getting those on Blu-Ray is gonna be awesome...
Posted by lazespud
at December 15, 2008 3:23 AM
comment #6
Griff
says ...
If you love Casablanca, you have to read the book "Round Up the Usual Suspects." It's the story of making the film, and makes for fascinating, enjoyable reading. For instance, two of the screenwriters were brothers, notorious pranksters. They had to fill out a form attesting to their political and patriotic bona fides. When asked "Have you ever belonged to a subversive organization?", they wrote in reply "Warner Brothers."
Posted by Griff
at December 15, 2008 6:43 AM
comment #7
ZacharyTF
says ...
Is it possible that everything but the names was filled in before Ugarte murdered the German couriers, stole the letters and gave them to Rick?
At the end, Rick says that all they have to do is fill in the blanks for the names on the letters.
Posted by ZacharyTF
at December 15, 2008 10:10 AM
comment #8
SpinDozer
says ...
This is on my list, but I'm not paying 40 bucks for a single blu-ray disc a SD-DVD and ephemera.
Posted by SpinDozer
at December 15, 2008 10:31 AM
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