Analysis of Casablanca - Movie Review Example

Running Head: FILM EXAM 2 Film Exam2 Name Institution Date Introduction Question 2: CASABLANCA (Michael Curtiz, 1942) Rick's Cafe Americain Casablanca the 1942 movie was set during the time of World War II in the Vicky and it was controlled by the Moroccan city known as Casablanca. This film was largely directed by Michael Curtiz in collaboration with the stars like Humphrey Bogart who acted as Rick and Ingrid Bergman acted as IIsa. The film focuses on the Rick’s conflict between love and the virtue. Rich is in dilemma of choosing between his own love for IIsa and the need for him to ensure that he does the right thing in order to help her husband. However, the resistance hero known as Victor Laszlo is found to have escaped from the city of Casablanca and his fight against Nazis continues. Humphrey Bogart greatly plays the Rich Blain and is the owner of the upscale café den situated in Morocco, a city of known as Casablanca. The café attracts various clienteles from Vicky French, Nazi officials, refugees as well as thieves. Rick, who is a very bitter and the cynical man, still displays a total dislike for such fascist group of his clientele (Ebert, 1996). Casablanca film was largely directed by Michael Curtiz in collaboration with the stars like Humphrey Bogart who acted as Rick and Ingrid Bergman acted as IIsa. The movie begins when Ugarte, a pretty crook, is seen arriving in Rick’s club carried with him letters of transit that were signed by a very high-ranking official from Vicky and later permitted the bearer or traveler to move with them around the Nazi-controlled of Europe. The papers are nearly priceless, particularly to the continual stream of such refugees who decide to escape any unoccupied French possession as well as Ugarte plans aimed at making his success by transacting them to a very high bidder that was due to arrive at Rich’s club on that night and later find his own way out the Casablanca. Rick becomes very bitter on seeing his former lover known as IIsa Lund (Bergman) arriving in his club after being informed that some papers are available at café for sale. IIsa at the moment has a husband known as Victor Laszlo a very significant resistance leader who originates from Czechoslovakia displaying a massive price on top of his head with the intention to carry away the letters (Ebert, 1996). Rick after observing this, he accepts that earlier on IIsa deceived him to be lovers and yet she left him for that man called Laszlo. Despite the initial refusing to offer IIsa the documents, even at his gunpoint, Rick finally opts to assist the couple to successfully leave Casablanca. This implies that Rick has the moral code which reflected to be strong enough and enables him to ensure that he does a right thing irrespective of the feelings or attitudes his has for IIsa. Furthermore, Captain Renault emerges to be complicit in relation to their escape and when the couple flew out of the Casablanca, followed with the shot of Major Strasser by Rick, he also suggests that they should too leave and be part of the Free French. However, prior to his suggestion, the Renault decides to throw a Vichy water bottle into the bin. The production design implies that the director based the film on the Murray Burnet and Joan Alison’s the unproduced play or act on everybody comes to the Rick’s. The whole film was shot within the studio, with the exclusion of the sequence that illustrates arrival of the Major Strasser. The street that was used to show the involved exterior shots, it was recently been developed for some other film, known as The Desert Song which was redecorated so as to be used again within the Casablanca basically for Paris flashbacks. Rick’s café setting was developed in the three but unconnected parts. Therefore, the internal geographical design of the café is indeterminate with various scenes through the camera reflects through the wall from a café to the office of Rick. Michael Curtiz as the director was a Hungarian émigré; who had decided to come to the US in early 1920s, however, part of his family were refugees who originated from the Nazi Europe. In addition, Curtis’s concern to use the images in order to tell the whole story instead for their own sake, he had fairly little of some input into the expansion of his plot in the movie. The editing of the film indicates that the Curtiz presented a play that was originally inspired by the 1938 trip to Europe under the production of Murray Burnett (Francisco, 1980). Within the play, IIsa who was an American character was not able to meet Laszlo until when her relationship with her for lover Rick in the Paris had come to a halt. The first and main writers to involve in the production of Warner were Epstein twins commonly known as Julius and Philip who eliminated Rick’s background and later included various comedy elements. Major scenes were also included by renown and the unaccredited Casey Robinson, who largely contributed to the series of film meetings between the Rick and IIsa within the cafe. Curtiz give the impression of having been favored by the romantic element, insisting on the retention of the flashback on Paris scenes. Good-bye, Rick. God Bless You. In this dialogue review we examine the setting, framing as well as performance of a mise-en-scene which took place at the end of the movie where Lazlo, Rick, and Ilsa are found saying good-bye. The entire setting of this final scene occurs outdoors on towns airstrip within Casablanca on a very cold, foggy evening, with full of lighting in order to view the whole action. As both Ilsa and Victor walk head to the runway in order to board a plane for Lisbon, some tears sparkle in the IIsa’s eye - she feels numb as while accompanying her husband who is returning into their romantic sense or the unfulfilling relationship and Victor quickly notices her expression. On the side, Rick is left alone standing on the runway edge. Renault rebukes the Rick's romanticism and the 'fairy tale' over-romanticizing for giving such a reluctant Ilsa back or to return to Victor. Renault then promises to arrest him, but Rick found still holding a gun within his pocket waiting for the plane to leave. The dialogue below illustrates the incidence: Renault: Well, I was right. You are a sentimentalist...What you just did for Laszlo, that fairy tale you invented to send Ilsa away with him. I know a little about women, my friend. She went, but she knew you were lying. Rick: Anyway, thanks for helping me out. Renault: I suppose you know this isn't going to be very pleasant for either of us, especially for you. I'll have to arrest you, of course. Rick: As soon as the plane goes, Louis. After the dialogue, Strasser breathlessly and very determined rushes into nearby airport hangar but he is notified that Victor Laszlo left long time a go and he was on his way going or the departing airplane. Without pay attention to Rick's warning, he said "I was willing to shoot Captain Renault, and I'm willing to shoot you," then Strasser challenges to stop the plane from the runway. He rushes into the phone so as to make the connection to a radio tower. Later on, Rick instructs him to place the phone down on the table while Strasser seizes it from the receiver. Sadly, the Nazi leader then pulls out the gun by his other hand and without caring he fires a shot at Rick – who was expected self-defense by shooting him first. This leaves Strasser crumpling on the floor of hangar and after a short time he was left dead. Camera moving, sound and lighting are demonstrated when, Michael Curtiz, the director introduces Humphrey Bogart and the camera is up in readiness to show Rick. In this case, the director aimed at portraying the lonely, jaded, embittered as well as cynical and very tough person who hardly excuses his feelings. The camera movements on a variety of groups found at special tables is targeted for the introduction of the activities of such individuals who are found stranded in Casablanca. In addition, the refugees try to run away from Nazi pursuit, hidden through the jovial, hectic as well as festive atmosphere within the cafe. The camera is then lessened into a bazaar. This scene is very exotic due to the mosque tower in collaboration with the crowds who dominate the streets dressed in their indigenous costumes. The music contributes to the weirdness of the movie’s setting. Lastly, as the movie’s camera spreads out to a street level, the voice of the narrator repeats this word ‘wait’ (Harmetz, 1992). Question 3 Reflection of Films on political and social more mores It is true that most films represent the political and social mores in the society at their time of creation. This is because movies are a social phenomenon. Social history as well as culture has a reflective effect on the movies, which sequentially influence the society and its culture. Since movies reflect, influence and make history, they act as the primary sources in studying a society. Additionally, film involves the audiences with various characteristics and expectations. For instance, the original filmgoers came typically from a working class. Today, most of the audiences can be drawn from the entire strata of a society. However, the integral to a film concerns the experience it actually provides, for example, the reactions of such audiences, the existing relationship between the society, the surrounding film world, and the typical genres that identified or occur in the movies. This provides an implication that movies are not only intended for the visual treat to the available audiences, but also to account for the economic, political and the societal set-ups within which people are live. As a result, they are aesthetic objects that greatly demand for evaluation. Studies reveal that films are not merely pieces of the art work, but also tools for the social since they are used for expressing the human feelings and their current society ideas. Increasingly, the fictional film is used as the mirror to scrutinize the social dynamics of a society that produced the film. Therefore, the analysts, critics as well as the theorists largely rely on various conceptual frameworks and the models in order to interpret, evaluate and make use these texts and history of films production and to create the audience reception. Such approaches include the film as well as culture studies with criticism in humanities, content and the thematic analysis within the social sciences, in addition to the philosophic investigations based on the arguments made in film (Chapman, 2000). Several students of film have extensively produced their written work based on both historical and the sociological significance of the commercial films. As a result, Siegfried Kracauer, who is a renown German film scholar stated that” Narration films reflect the mentality in very direct way compared to other films of the artistic media basically for two reasons; it is because films are not considered to be the an individual’s product and due to the fact that they address themselves and appeal to a anonymous multitude (Chapman, 2000). Attitudes about the gender issues, class, ethnicity, heroism, employment work diversity, play, and good life are entirely portrayed in the fictional films since they are set in eras of novels, the plays as well as paintings. However, as a mass visual form of entertainment, films used to reflect the social attitudes very specific and vivid manner. The subject matter within the films that we have already watched to a larger extent has been influenced by the society from which they were originally created. In this movie of Casablanca, directed by Michael Curtiz, was basically written at the hit of the European takeover by Nazi during the Second World War. The movie concerns a story of two men who are fighting for similar woman and later finds themselves caught up in a love triangle. The features of the political as well as romantic espionage have been introduced during a wartime dominated with experiences of the conflicts between democracy and totalitarianism. In addition, the story is takes place based on rich and smoky environment that is full of anti-Nazi’s propaganda. Among the themes presented in the film are love, honor, self sacrifice, dignity and romance. Its setting is also based on various happenings within the society that is subjected to the political struggle. However, in its midst, individuals are also observed fighting to protect and achieve their typical life desires (Augé, & Conley, 2009). In The Godfather movie, there was also clear illustration of how the film reflects the social and political more in the society, particularly where the act of assassination takes place within the church in form of the baptism ceremony of Michael’s nephew, who is considered to be the godfather during at the ceremony. Religion emerges as the main theme in this movie and baptism the driving force in the religion. On the other hand, murder is also committed within the church under the leadership of the godfather to a newborn child. The movie presents a society that is based on a certain gangster family. This sequentially portrays or reflects the social mores originating from the baptism to the acts of murder in the gangster family where an individual ends the life of people in five families in order for him to take the families. Today, various filmmakers can be observed working on both features and the documentary across the world, really striving in order to either directly or imaginatively engage with the specific political as well as social issues or consistently access their audiences. Conclusion Michael Curtiz as the director in the Casablanca, majorly centers on love and the virtue and Films represent the political and social mores in the society at their time of creation. Dialogue is frequently used in the film which helps to examine the setting, framing as well as performance of a mise-en-scene which took place at the end of the movie where Lazlo, Rick, and Ilsa are found saying good-bye. The integral to a film concerns the experience it actually provides, for example, the reactions of such audiences, the existing relationship between the society, the surrounding film world, and the typical genres that identified or occur in the movies. References Augé, M. & Conley, T. (2009). Casablanca: movies and memory. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. Chapman, J. ed., (2000). Popular American Film 1945-1995 (Open University Ebert, R., (1996). Casablanca (1942). Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved December 11, 2010 from, Francisco, C., (1980). You Must Remember This: The Filming of Casablanca. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Harmetz, A., (1992). Round Up the Usual Suspects: The Making of Casablanca — Bogart, Bergman, and World War II. Hyperion. Read More