Casablanca: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] [SOUNDTRACK]

Max Steiner

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 14, 1997)
• Original Release Date: October 14, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered, Soundtrack
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B00000344X
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,276 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Its exotic locale, the romantic chemistry of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman with a gripping equation of star-crossed romance and hard-boiled valor made Casablanca an Oscar-winning surpise that erased Warner Brothers studio executives' disappointment in George Raft for not signing on as Rick, the suave, mysterious proprietor of the café that serves as ground zero for this timeless 1942 classic. Max Steiner's urgent score, and the equally contentious insertion of Dooley Wilson's now indelible saloon reading of "As Time Goes By," has made the film's music an integral piece of this pop cultural puzzle, finally enjoying a formal soundtrack issue more than a half century after theatrical release. As part of Rhino's ambitious soundtrack project with Turner Entertainment, which owns the film, Casablanca is anything but tossed-off, restoring extensive portions of the original score along with evocative dialog excerpts and annotating the history of the film and its sonic counterpart. Here's looking at you, kid. --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As Time Goes By...and other standards, September 20, 2003

By	Alex Diaz-Granados "fardreaming writer" (Miami, FL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Of all the soundtrack recordings I own, this is the most unusual. Yes, it features Max Steiner's score and the various vocal renditions of standards as we saw and them in Rick's Cafe Americain...including Herman Hupfeld's "As Time Goes By." And although this isn't the first soundtrack to incorporate dialog from the film, it's the only one I have ever owned in this format.

The score by composer Steiner is reminiscent of his music for a movie also set in French North Africa (Algiers), with melodies and rhythms that evoke the desert and alien cultures of the region. Interpolating the French national anthem and (reluctantly) As Time Goes By, as well as snippets of Germany's national anthem, Steiner's music sets the tone for the conflict both out in the wider world at war and in Rick Blaine's disillusioned heart.

Adding punch and poignancy to Steiner's score are recordings of "Dooley" Wilson, the Warner Bros. Orchestra, and pianist Elliot Carpenter (the real ivories-tickler behind "Sam Waters'" playing) as they performs such wonderful numbers as "Knock on Wood," "It Had To Be You," "The Very Thought of You," "Frenesi," and, of course, the incomparable "As Time Goes By." And as a bonus, Casablanca fans will be thrilled to hear many of the great lines from the movie, spoken by Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, and other cast members. Some of these exchanges will make you smile, others will make you mist up. Others will help you settle bets ("See, no one in the movie ever, ever says, 'Play it again, Sam.'").

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars How Disappointing, July 7, 2000

By	Luis M. Ramos "Soundtrack and Film Freak" (Caracas, Venezuela) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Casablanca" is my favorite movie of all time. I felt extremely happy when I heard that an original soundtrack of Max Steiner's great score was to be released. However, my illusions became shattered when I bought this CD because almost all the dialogue from the movie was included on this Rhino release. I felt so disappointed at that. It would be better to buy the movie instead.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovers of the movie couldn't have asked for a better album., June 23, 1998

By A Customer

"Casablanca" is admired for its great cast and witty script, and the makers of this soundtrack wisely included the complete dialogue along with the music for several scenes, including the one of Laszlo trying to buy the letters of transit, the Germans singing Die Wacht Am Rhein, the patrons of Rick's American Cafe singing "La Marseillaise", Renault shutting the place up because he is shocked- shocked! to find that gambling is going on there, and Major Strausser (sp?) confronting Ilsa. This scene will never be surpassed. Also included with dialogue intact is the airport climax. As fun as it is to listen to that dialogue, the listener will also gain an appreciation for the music. Every note played in the movie is included, as well as several very well-chosen supplemental tracks: the above scenes with only the Max Steiner's score, and Dooley Wilson singing all of "As Time Goes By", which he never gets to do in the movie.