[On 09/18/13 at 2p watched Casablanca
on Youtube.com which is a Google affiliate.
The cost was $1.99 to rent and see it once through.]
. . .Review by Crystal Day
Movie: Casablanca
Year: 1942, Release date 1943
Genre: Drama, Romance, War
RunTime: 1 h 42 min
Producer: Jack L. Warner, Uncredited Hal B. Wallis
Central Characters: Humphrey Bogart (RICK),
Ingrid Bergman (ILSA), Paul Henreid (LASZLO)
Screenplay Writers: Julius J. & Philip G. Epstein,
& Howard Koch
Director: Michael Curtiz
TAGLINE: An American expatriate meets a former lover with unforeseen complications. . .
The beginning credits went so fast I completely missed the symbolism.
(RunTime (RT) 3:41) The scene starts off with a shooting in broad daylight with other people watching.
Man loses wallet while setup is being described by passerby pickpocket.
CAMERA ANGLES focus on expression of people, waist up shots. LIGHTING is DAYTIME with few shadows. There are PAN SHOTS to show setting. Everyone looks up at the plane that passes by. This is a GROUP reaction SHOT/MASTER SHOT. The film is in black and white.
Through dialogue we learn that the underbelly of Europe has gathered here preying on others misfortune. As they look up at the plane, there is hope of freedom from the ravages of war. Ironically, this plane lands and out walk a few high-ranking Nazi soldiers.
The chief says, "Unoccupied France welcomes you." There are many direct dialogue lines to help audience understand the intricacies of this war.
The name of the club is EXPLICIT in describing RICK's character, even though his dialogue at times says otherwise.
The SONG "Who’s Got Troubles?" is another FORESHADOWING of the scrappy situation of time and place. This IMPLICIT FORESHADOWING recurs often throughout the movie.
The tricky relationship between RICK and the French High Official takes place behind closed doors, another PLOT POINT in a sequence of PLOT POINTS that leads to the final RESOLUTION.
The Textbook p121 called “Looking At Movies” says that the main plot is: "straightforward, holding together the story, which concerns the interaction of politics, personal ethics, and love…" The author says the inciting moment is when the visas are handed off which is IMPLICIT and from there it's all about the goal, acquiring the exit visas and getting to safety for LASZLO AND ILSA. The subplot being that RICK still loves ILSA and that's why the RESOLUTION.
It's amazing how many times I have seen this but never caught the dialogue where ILSA tells RICK that she was married to LASZLO even in Paris when they fell in love. That explains the subplot.
I have seen this movie at least 10 times in my life. What caught my attention on first viewing was the fear in the people's faces around the politics of the Nazis. The political intricacies I found very interesting and terrifying at the same time.
Many Thanks to my Writing College Professor, Peter Maxwell, who taught me the many ways to look at and examine this movie for all of it's ELEMENTS.
References:
Barsam, Richard & Monahan, Dave "Looking At Movies: An Introduction to Film" 3rd Ed. (2013) New York: Norton.
wwnorton.com
IMdb.com Search words: Casablanca
Trottier, David "The Screenwriter's Bible" 5th Ed. (2010) California: Silman-James Press
keepwriting.com/tsc/swbible.htm
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