Casablanca (DVD)

As a movie fan I feel that it is sometimes sacreligious to say that I don't like some of the acknowledged 'classics' of the form, although I do try to have my own opinions! Well on Thursday night I took my lady to the cinema for Valentines Day and we watched Casablanca. I was looking forward to seeing it on the big screen after having only seen it once a good many years ago on TV. Initially I was happy - I love seeing old movies on the cinema screen and have seen quite a few in my time. However I was soon bored. I can't quite put my finger on why - the storyline is good - but I just couldn't seem to stay awake. It doesn't help that Ingrid Bergman, who is the ...  Read the complete review

If there's one thing that everyone knows about Casablanca it's that its most famous line ("Play it again Sam") is never actually uttered by any character during the entire film. And yet, if you mention Casablanca to anyone, like as not that will be their response. It was even used as the title for a Woody Allen film. Which tends to detract from the fact that this is a great, great film. I have it on video and so can (and do) watch it any time but it was on TV last night and I still had to watch it one more time. And I've lost count of the number of times I've seen it already. For some people it's "Sound of ...  Read the complete review

I am now the proud owner of a Panasonic XV10 DVD player which I recently picked up from Martin Dawes for absolutely zilch. We’ve rented our TV and Video for the last few years from Martin Dawes. £30 a month provides a high spec digital combination and the ability to upgrade at regular intervals without any hassle. I called into their shop in Shrewsbury the other week on the off chance that there may be some offers on, but was told by the very helpful assistant that the Panasonic TV/Video package we were renting was the equal of anything that they currently had in stock and to change would mean either a higher rental or a lower specification albeit ...  Read the complete review

A classic movie,. one of the best of all time. A great love story. This film has become so well known and has produced so many parodies, imitations and affectionate send ups (Woody Allen's brilliant 'Play It Again Sam' and a dreadful TV version starring David Soul!) that many people, never having seen the film, feel as if they know it well. BACKGROUND: It was made in 1942 directed by Michael Curtiz and shot almost entirely in the Warner Bros. Hollywood studio, taking barely a week to make. The script was unfinished at the start of filming and it was written day-by-day so that the crew and actors didn't have a clear idea how it was going to ...  Read the complete review

26 November 1942, a day that probably means nothing to no-one (unless of course you happen to have been born on that particular day, but it will mean nothing to most other people) yet it's a day that should go down in history as the birth of a legend. It was on this very day that a film by director Michael Curtiz (Angels with Dirty Faces) was given it's world premiere in New York city. That film was the Humphrey Bogart vehicle Casablanca, a film that has since gone on to infuse itself into our culture in a way few films can truthfully claim. If imitation is indeed the greatest form of flattery then this ...  Read the complete review