1.What is the setting for Casablanca? How does the film establish this setting? If you were creating a theatrical production of the play upon which the film is based, how would you establish the setting on stage?
The film is set in Casablanca, Morocco and the time is during the World War II. This film establishes this setting through signs, words and descriptions. If I was creating a theatrical production, I would use a backdrop of some bits of morocco, as well as some props for a farmer’s market.
2.Describe three different camera shots the director uses in Casablanca. What effect does each of these shots have on the plot, mood, etc. of the film? One shot is the shot when the audience first sees Rick’s café. It is a big, clear shot to show what his café looks like as well as the different details. Another shot is the shot when the officers exit the plane. It shows not only the officers have left the plane, but all the people that surrounded them. One more shot is the close up of Ilsa when she is listening to her favorite song. This helps the audience see her emotions to the song.
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Describe at least two scenes in which light is used for a particular effect. How does the lighting contribute to this effect? The filmmaker uses light in Casablanca to direct attention and to set mood. When Sam is performing, the spotlight is on him to show that he is the one to focus on. When Ilsa is listening to a song, the lighting creates a soft glow around her face, making it peaceful.
4.What are three different diegetic and non-diegetic sounds that the filmmaker includes? What effects do these sounds have on the
In the essay “Beautiful Friendship: Masculinity & Nationalism in Casablanca”, Peter Kunze lavishly explains the magnificence of Michael Curtiz’s 1942 film Casablanca. Kunze focuses on how the movie not only highlights an exchange of relationships, but how the film has an underlying meaning between these relationships. He also implies that there is a more complex meaning behind every character in regards to their gender, economic, and social roles. The overall thesis of his reading is “the patriarchal ideology underlying the narrative commodifies Ilsa, leading Rick to exchange her with other men in an act of friendship and solidarity as well as to dissuade any perception of queerness between the strong male friendships in the narrative” (Kunze
The film Casablanca gave great examples on World War II and how it portrayed Americans. During this time films were created to encourage and promote individuals to join the war along with other forms of entertainment and advertisement. They gave positive outlooks on Americans and gave them the image of being hero's for the purpose to get American individuals to help out in the war in some ways and if many actors did not go they had the chance to play in movies to promote World War II. During this time the war was portrayed as a big deal and as it was towards the beginning when they needed American soldiers to help fight. This was to be done in a positive outlook through films as Casablanca to be an example to show people what is was like without creating fear. Within the film Casablanca, it gave us an outlook on American involvement, propaganda, how the film depic...
Casablanca is a visually sound film in its use of Hollywood craftsmanship during the 1940’s. The director, Michael Curtiz, and the writers, Howard Koch, Julius Epstein, and Philip Epstein, all won Oscars for their contributions including best director and best writing. The film has numerous successes, however, with its use of mise-en-scene, timeless writing, and cinematographic elements.
...t it is clearly obvious what is about to happen using an establishing shot. Casablanca also uses camera angle specifically portraying Captain Renault and Strasser as less powerful people in the office scene. Editing allows for smooth transitions between shots and allows for us as viewers to experience the scene like we are seeing through the characters eyes. Lighting provides us a mood of the scene, specifically when Rick first sees Ilsa for the first time since Paris. The Music plays a role in how we as audiences should feel while watching the movie. And without production design movies would not flow correctly. Every setting is specifically chosen to depict the location where the scene takes place. Casablanca is a quintessential film because it ties up all the formal elements of classical Hollywood. Without this movie Hollywood may be a completely different place.
Casablanca is a great American film whose movie stories continuous to inspire us. It is the ultimate classic movie, which is created prior to its time. This film is wartime movie, which is shot during World War Two. Casablanca is French occupied land in Morocco, North Africa, which is also called the city of hope to many European refugees in order to escape to the free land of America. However, during that time, there was a strong political tension between the Nazi and the Anti-Nazi allies, which was the source for prejudice, crime, and bribe that hold the refugees back from escaping to the secure land of the United States. The political conflict, the scene of refugees, the story of everlasting love, the smoky environment, and the small
The classic movie Casablanca masterfully uses lighting to shape the message of the film. The Nazi controlled city of Casablanca, Monaco is holding international citizens hostage, not allowing anyone to leave. The entire city is full of temperate refugees, mostly consisting of wealthy international travelers. The film’s lighting shows a city overcast with impossibly dark and dynamic shadows. The shadows from window blinds are cast over the main characters faces in several scenes as they talk secretly in a private room. The shadows stretch like prison bars across the actors face, representing how hopelessly trapped they are, hoping for a way to escape. The character Rich was a bright idealist turned into a cynic by the brutality of reality. He chooses to stay
Few movies in today's day and age display prominent themes of love and sacrifice that classic films were able to capture so flawlessly. Films such as Casablanca, by Michael Curtiz, were able to captivate their audiences with their array of magnificent actors and sublime cinematography that not only leave their viewers in awe, but also make them contemplate the world around them in a different manner. Actor Humphrey Bogart, who stars as Rick Blaine, an equivocal night club owner in the film, and actors Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, Ilsa and Victor, are key components of what made this film into a classic. Through the acting of this film, its music, and its use of lighting, Casablanca is easily amongst the most notable classics films of American
Since I've never been to Casablanca, I don’t know what it looks like there, but the film paints me the perfect of what it might have looked like. There’s not many instances where you see an outdoors environment, but all the indoor sets look great. Ricks Café, owned by Rick Blaine, looked like an enjoyable place to be when there’s not much to do in Casablanca. Inside the café, there are tables grouped together with a space in the middle for Sam, the pianist, to serve as entertainment. Off to the side you see a bar area and a backdoor, where some of the locals disappear off to. Behind the doors, there is an illegal casino area so the local can furthermore enjoy their time. The scenes that are in Ricks Café, seems to create a delightful environment, which can be felt even if you’re not physically there. What adds on to that affect are the characters in the
Casablanca is a 1942 romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz. Set in the beginning of World War II, it focuses on the character Rick Blaine and his life in Morocco. Rick is surrounded by a mysterious past that prevents him from returning to his home in America, and even though the audience learns much about Rick, his reason for exile never surfaces. Rick, now living in Casablanca, owns Rick’s Café Americain and leads a cynical and seemingly lonely lifestyle. The American classic, Casablanca, acts as a political allegory, telling both the story of Rick’s love life as well as the war effort and the dreadful invasion of the Germans. Curtiz employs a unique narrative film structure that utilizes a distorted temporal order and restricted
The film Sunset Boulevard, presented in 1950 is a black and white film. The film is about Norma Desmond an old actress, who has issues accepting that she is becoming old. The main actor in the film is Gloria Swanson, who plays Norma Desmond, an older woman who believes she is still young. Desmond is not content with the fact that Hollywood has replaced her with younger actresses. The next actor Nancy Olson, plays Betty Schaffer who falls in love with Gillis despite being engaged to his friend. The third actor is William Holden who plays as Joe Gillis, who has financial problems and decides to turn himself into a gigolo to earn money. The dilemma with Joe is he does not want Betty to know about his job because he knows he might lose Betty as
The way that a movie is pieced together by the director/producers has a huge impact on the viewer’s experience. Stylistic elements are used to help engage the viewer; however, without these techniques the viewer will most likely loose interest. In this essay I will be taking a look at a scene within the movie Casablanca directed by Michael Curtiz in 1942. Casablanca is a classic film that is reviewed to be one of the greatest movies of all time. This could be due to the notable quotes used throughout the movie, or its ability to follow a historic, comical, and romantic storyline throughout the course of the film. It caters to several different viewers, making this movie favorable to many. This scene in Casablanca uses specific editing techniques
As a Classical style film it approaches memory primarily through the flashback form. Which focalises its memory to the perspective of one individual character, in order to serve the function of a character driven narrative. Thus memory is subjected through the perception of the individual character, and represents their remembrance of the past. Yet it also serves the larger narrative in revealing key plot points that inform our understanding of this character and their relationship with the past. Yet it is myopic to consider Casablanca’s treatment of memory solely through the guise of its character and narrative. The film’s portrayal of memory also serves its own ideological project. Which is an attempted to create a designed memory of the past, to influence present attitudes. The film taps into a larger cultural and political memory of the French nation. Creating an ideal of French identity that was threatened by German occupation, in order to inspire people to fight against this enemy and restore this version of France. It also taps into France’s resistance myth, as it remembers the French people as resistant and antagonistic towards the Germans. Overall this proves that memory operates on both a personal and political level in Casablanca’s flashback
“There once was a time in this business when I had the eyes of the whole world! But that wasn't good enough for them, oh no! They had to have the ears of the whole world too. So they opened their big mouths and out came talk. Talk! TALK!” (Sunset Boulevard). The film Sunset Boulevard directed by Billy Wilder focuses on a struggling screen writer who is hired to rewrite a silent film star’s script leading to a dysfunctional and fatal relationship. Sunset Boulevard is heavily influenced by the history of cinema starting from the 1930s to 1950 when the film was released.
Robert B. Ray categorizes Casablanca as "the most typical" American film. Ray uses Casablanca as a tutor text for what he calls the formal paradigm of Classical Hollywood as well as the thematic paradigm that addresses the conflict between isolationism and communitarian participation. The film is typical in its appropriation of an official hero Laszlo, who stands for the civilizing values of home and community, and an outlaw hero Rick, who stands for individu...
Casablanca takes place during war in a past time. The main character Rick takes on the role as the ideal American gentlemen; manly, stoic, ethical, and kind. Naturally playing the role as past war affiliated man running a joint in the most unlikely of places. The story itself is that of a classic love story filled with tragic past and sticky situations. However, it is much more than a basic love story with a complicated ending; and a subtext within that represents America’s situation in World War II. Casablanca represents classical American cinema with a lost love, a happy ending, and going as far to represent America itself.