Warner Home Video Celebrates The 60th Anniversary Of “Casablanca” With A Two-Disc Special Edition DVD

(May 21, 2003 – Burbank, CA) – The legendary “Casablanca” -- which starred Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, won three Academy Awards including Best Picture of 1943, and went on to become one of the most popular and enduring movies of all time -- will celebrate its 60th anniversary with a Two-Disc Special Edition DVD from Warner Home Video (WHV). The DVD will be released August 5 and will be available for $26.99 SRP/$19.95 MAP. WHV has pulled out all stops to make this DVD a must-have for movie lovers of all ages. To honor the release and the 60th anniversary, a gala tribute screening is slated for August 11 at New York’s Lincoln Center, attended by Humphrey Bogart’s wife Lauren Bacall and their son Stephen Bogart and Ingrid Bergman’s daughter, Pia Lindstrom. The Two-Disc Special Edition DVD features a breathtaking new digital transfer plus four hours of bonus materials including many newly discovered and never-before-seen extras. Among these special features are the two documentaries hosted by Bacall; interviews with Stephen Bogart and Bergman’s daughters, Pia Lindstom and Isabella Rossellini; ten minutes of newly-found deleted scenes and outtakes; TV and radio shows inspired by the film; a cartoon take-off; scoring sessions; audio program; vintage trailers and more. “We were pleased that recent advances in digital technology allowed us to revisit the early restoration work and create a new digital re-master directly from nitrate picture and sound elements, significantly improving the image and sound for this new DVD release,” said Ned Price, vice president technical operations mastering for Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Voted the screen’s greatest love story and the #2 film of all time by the American Film Institute (AFI), this classic wartime romance took Oscars® for director Michael Curtiz and screenwriters Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch as well as for producer Hal B. Wallis. “Casablanca” also starred Paul Henreid, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Claude Rains, and Dooley Wilson. With operations in 78 international territories Warner Home Video Inc. commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video’s film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures Inc., Turner Entertainment Co., Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.# # #