VA - Casablanca - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1997)

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