When someone talks about classic movies, “Casablanca” will almost always come up. It’s on the same pedestal as iconic films like “Citizen Kane” and “The Godfather.” After having seen this hallowed film for the second time, it’s hard to argue it doesn’t deserve to be in the conversation.
Set in the titular town in Morocco during the early days of World War II, the plot of “Casablanca” is hard to pin down. That’s not because its convoluted or confusing, but because this film touches on a number of themes, using the plot as an excuse to do so. The narrative the picture employs revolves around Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) a cynical American ex-patriate who meets a former flame named Isla Lund (Ingrid Bergman). His life is subsequently turned
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Michael Curtiz, who won an Oscar for his directing here, does a fine job. It’s nothing too flashy, but he does what he needs to do and displays that he has a good sense of craftsmanship.
The Oscar-nominated score by Max Steiner is also fabulous. Again, it’s nothing revolutionary, but it certainly underscores the emotions it needs to. It gets more points than Curtiz’s directing, however, simply for the use of “As Time Goes By.” Without fail, that song stirs emotion in me every time I hear it, and Steiner (and Curtiz) employ it perfectly here.
With all that being said, the only thing that can rival the acting in “Casablanca” is the Oscar-winning screenplay by Julius J. Epstein, Phillip G. Epstein and Howard Koch, based on a play by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison. The script has so much going for it. I don’t need to quote all the legendary lines from this for you. You know them already because they are that famous and
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This movie has layers upon layers, dealing with romance, war, nobility, sacrifice, indifference, patriotism, and all while serving as a call for America to enter the war to help stop the forces of evil. All these concepts are given the perfect amount of time and explored to the perfect depth.
This screenplay also deserves credit for its storytelling. It is so precise and economical that not a single scene, nor indeed a single shot, is wasted. They all have some function in the story. Take the early scenes at Rick’s Café Americain. These could be throwaway scenes in a lesser movie, but here they serve both to give the perfect introduction to Bogart’s Rick and begin propelling the narrative by introducing the letters of transit. The combination of all these meaningful scenes keeps “Casablanca” moving at a brisk pace.
In fact, that is the only quibble I have with this movie. It moves so quickly that we viewers never have a chance to catch our breath. It doesn’t quite feel rushed, but it does seem fly by in the blink of an eye, and not in a good way. Again, this only bothered me in the slightest, but it’s something that struck me both times I watched
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 plot of Casablanca is that during World War 2 many people were trying to escape Europe and out of all these people we study three interesting characters. As we get to know these characters we learn that they are willing to sacrifice things that are important to them just so that humanity can be better. Getting to know the characters is a very important part of the whole movie because the characters can represent certain things. I think the climax of the movie is when Rick gives the transits to Iisa and her husband. He loves this woman so much that he is willing to do this for her. At the beginning of the movie Rick says "I stick my neck out for noboby" or something along those lines and this sacrifice proves how much love has changed him for the
Casablanca was directed in an era almost entirely dedicated to propaganda, as far as the film industry is concerned. The movie promoted America and the Allies similar to most films of the time, but it did so in a much different manner. The story told in Casablanca follows the main character, Rick, through his personal affairs and love tango with another lead character, Ilsa Lund. The film begins with Rick alone running his saloon based in Casablanca, in which he seems very indifferent to other people’s affairs, and comes off as very exclusive. He is delivered letters of transit by a man named Ugarte, which are nearly priceless to any refugee desiring to flee to the United States or another unoccupied country. Rick continues to act disinterested, reluctantly agreeing to hide the documents. He holds onto them even after Ugarte is killed for having stolen the letters, although there did not seem to be an...
In 1982, the journalist Chuck Ross, in an experiment for Film Comment, mailed the script of Casablanca to 217 agencies under a different title and under a different authorship name. Although many rejected it for external reasons, eighty-one agencies read it and of those, fifty-three did not recognize it as the classic. But here’s the cherry on top: forty-one agencies criticized the iconic, Oscar-winning script with harsh words. One wrote, “Story line is thin. Too much
Audience members, when seeing Casablanca, would associate it as a war film, and I agree with that, but to be more precise, it is a pro-Allie war film. The literary elements in the film are the reasons why it can be viewed this way, with the emphasis on the plot and characters. The timing of when the film was released also supports the idea of it being an anti Axis film. Although it was set in 1940, it was made a year after Pearl Harbor and America entering the war, but it was released right before the Allies had a meeting in Casablanca, so the filmmakers seemed to have wanted the audience to empathize with the Allies. The whole plot seems to be focused around how Rick is neutral at the beginning of the film, but because of an old flame coming into his life once again, he slowly becomes in favor of the Allie side.
The film Casablanca, indeed, involves problems that Rick faced and he finally solved that problem, ending in a satisfying way. Risk’s equilibrium is disrupted when he is going to leave Paris with his girl friend Ilsa because Ilsa doesn’t showed up at last. Risk becomes a boss of a cafe in Casablanca but he never imagines that he would encounter Ilsa again. Ilsa walks into Risk’s life again by accident when she is planing to get a letter of transit in Casablanca in order to escape to America with her husband. At the same time, Nazi Major Strasser arrives in Casablanca and tries to stop Ilsa’s husband from leaving Casablanca. Risk’s equlibrium is disrupted again. Risk still loves and hates Ilsa, and moreover, he gets the letter of transit. Even though Risk wanted to stay with Ilsa and let her husband go to America alone, Risk finally let Ilsa and her husband go and killed the Nazi Major Strasser. That is a satisfying ending.
...o survive and flee the inevitable evil. With World War II raging, viewers in the United States could feel the fear and anxieties as well as compassion for the characters. Although some movies can be rewritten to obtain a better effect over the viewers, Casablanca cannot be redone. The mere fact that the evil of the day was a reality of the time prevents this movie from ever having the same effect on the audience.
Entering a war is an effort that is best when it has popular support and enthusiasm. Casablanca is propaganda for the Allied forces to help rally support. There is clear evidence of this idea in the scene with the French national anthem, the character development, and the ending. France and the United States prevail as Germany falls and dies.
Despite not being considered as the traditional ‘hero’s journey’ which is outlined in Joseph Campbell’s argument of ‘separation-initiation-return’, Humphrey Bogart’s character Rick Blaine, in the 1942 film Casablanca, can be argued to follow this twelve-step journey. Campbell states “whether the hero be ridiculous or sublime…” (p.38), on this basis, Rick Blaine qualifies as a hero. These twelve steps are: Ordinary World; Call to Adventure/Disruption; Refusal of the Call; Meeting with the Mentor; Crossing the First Threshold; Tests, Allies, and Enemies; Approach to the Inmost Cave; Ordeal; Reward; The Road Back; The Resurrection; and Return with the Elixir. Although in some parts stages may overlap, this essay aims to argue that Casablanca still
The Epstein brothers created Casablanca, a romantic adventure, like no other of its time. There are few movies that are loved by men and women alike. Casablanca is one such movie. It successfully combines action, adventure, love and romance into a film loved by all.
...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.
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
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...
When anyone thinks of vintage Hollywood films, Casablanca is definitely in the minds of most people. It has been hailed as one of the greatest movies of all time, receiving three academy awards. Even though it was made in 1942, it is still watched by many movie fanatics because of its wide appeal to critic and viewer alike. Casablanca is a movie everyone should watch because it is full of great acting and a well written plot full of romantic drama and moral redemption. Casablanca is set in Morocco during WWII, where refugees from Europe are fleeing away from German occupation.
Baz Luhrmann has done this film in a unique and brilliant way, with help of the above, and of course a great loved story as a base.