As Time Goes By - Movie Review Example

As Time Goes ByIn the movie, Casablanca, the music written by Max Steiner characterizes the persons in the movie and the individual sceneries. The song ‘As Time Goes By’ is part of the story of the movie and it gives the story design an innovative direction. In a scene at Rick's Café Américain, Ilsa asks Sam to play the song ‘As Time Goes By’ on the piano and Sam replies that he is a little rusty on the air but when Ilsa insists, and she hums the song for him, Sam plays the song. Ilsa then further insists that Sam sing the song, and he does.

As Sam plays the tune, Ilsa is in a moony state as if the song brings up some memories (Langkjær). Shortly Rick walks into the Café and scolds Sam for playing the song, but when he sees Ilsa the two look at each other for a while as the song continues to play in the background. It then becomes quite clear to the viewer, that this song is not just another soundtrack, but a tune that emphasized the love affair between Rick and Ilsa. From this moment on the song ‘As Time Goes By’, becomes part of the functional soundtrack music of the movie.

The song on its own told the story of love when it played out again in the flash back sequence in Paris, when Rick is in blue memories, and every time Ilsa and Rick were together. The song ‘As Time Goes By’ became a natural hummable tune that left a lasting memory on the viewer(s) and reminded them of the striking romance between the two lovers in the movie Casablanca. In the movie, we see the theme of valor when Lazlo seeks to obtain the letters of transit from Rick even when he is aware that Major Strasser came to Casablanca to ensure that he does not succeed.

On the other hand, we see the theme of sacrifice when Rick lets go of Ilsa, the love of his life, and urges her to go with her husband Victor. Even with the thriller plot of the film (which was the main plot), the love story is what captured my attention, and it is what I cared about more. In Casablanca, the music related with the plot of the movie and the way the two meshed perfectly helped to create a timeless piece.Works CitedLangkjær, Birger. Casablanca and Popular Music as Film Music. P.O.V.

, Mar 1996. Web. 4 Oct. 2012.