1
Name______
Mr. Pugliese
Mass Media
Casablanca
Journal #3 – Address 1 prompt in a mini-essay of at least 150 words.
***There will be a QUIZ on Casablanca***
A– How does the director’s use of varying camera angles help drive the story forward? Keep the Hollywood Style in mind as well as the viewing notes. Use specific examples from the movie and refer specifically to the viewing notes.
B– Your reaction to the NY Times 1942 movie review (located at the back of this packet). Is this an accurate review of this film? Why or why not? Cite specific examples from the film and the review.
C- Over 70 years after its release, Casablanca still ranks atop many critics’ top ten lists. Why is this film widely considered a masterpiece and the epitome of the “Hollywood Style”? What elements solidify this film’s place in history as one of the greatest films ever made?
*Additional Casablanca material is available on my HW Page.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND SETTING
You may well be able to quote (or misquote!) some of the dialogue from Casablanca even if you
have never seen it. ‘Play it, Sam’; ‘We’ll always have Paris’ and ‘I think this is the beginning of
a beautiful friendship’ have become part of the lexicon of film history and have been voted some
of the most memorable film quotations of all time.
Casablanca was first screened in New York on 26 November, 1942, coinciding with the Allied
invasion of North Africa and the capture of the city of Casablanca. It was more widely released
on 23 January, 1943, during the high-profile meeting between Churchill and Roosevelt in
Casablanca itself. The critical reception to the film was generally good, and it was nominated
for eight Academy® Awards and won three: the Academy® Awards for Best Picture, Directing
and Writing: Adapted Screenplay. The main theme song, ‘As Time Goes By’, also became a
great hit.
To understand the reason why this film is deemed a classic, new audiences need to consider
the historical context of the film in a way that the audience in 1943 didn’t need to.
If you have seen the film before, these notes are designed to highlight some areas that you may
not have considered before or may wish to use as a basis for discussion. However, the first
section here aims to provide some broad explanation of the political context, so that users from
all areas of interest can use these points as a way into the text.
The film is set in Casablanca, Morocco in the early days of the Second World War. Morocco was
a French Colony up until 1956. The main agents of action represented in the film are the Vichy
government, the Nazis and the Resistance.
Vichy – this is the name of the regime
that took power in France between 1940
and 1944. A power sharing agreement was
reached between the Nazi and Vichy
parties, resulting in the partition of France.
The French government had to pay the
costs of the German troops in the country,
and allow the German army to arrest
whoever they wanted. This is famously
featured in Casablanca, when we see the
Nazi army march into Paris, forcing Sam
and Ilsa to leave. Many French saw the
arrangement between the Vichy
government and the Nazis as a betrayal.
The Vichy government were loyal to and
respectful of the Nazis. This surrender
incensed many French people,
encouraging them to join the Resistance.
The Resistance – this is the name given to French nationals and others fighting against the
oppression and suffering caused by the Nazi and Vichy regimes. They took enormous personal
risks, working behind enemy lines and helping the Allies, through gathering information and
carrying out various other missions. In the film we meet Victor Laszlo, a Czech national, who we
come to learn is an important figure in the Resistance movement, making Ilsa’s role in
supporting Laszlo all the more vital.
The Nazi Party – the Nazi party were a force in German politics between 1920 and 1945. Their
policies included the eradication of Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals and the mentally and
physically ill, as well as encouraging the domination of the Aryan ‘master race’. In Casablanca
we meet Strasser, who represents the Nazi presence in Casablanca; his actions are indicative
of the party ideology.
CASABLANCA – CONTEXT AND SETTING
During the Second World War, many people were displaced from their countries, either to fight
(such as American soldiers in England or German soldiers in Morocco), or fleeing persecution,
as Laszlo is.
In a geographical sense, the choice of Casablanca as a setting is essential to the way that the
narrative develops, as all the characters are, in a sense, visitors there. Casablanca’s connection
to France, but geographical distance, means that the representatives of Vichy France, the
Resistance, and the Nazi Party behave in ways that would not have been possible in, for
example, occupied France. Here these groups are forced to co-exist, resulting in moments of
tension and danger for our characters.
Rick’s character is able to maintain a key role in the middle of these complex relationships as
he appears, at this stage in the war, to be ‘neutral’, coming from a country which had not yet
joined the war on either side. However, his character undergoes a transformation during the
course of the film, as his initial position as self-interested club owner changes to reveal his
complicated relationship with Captain Renault, and allegiance to Ilsa and the wider Resistance
movement that she and Laszlo represent.
Casablanca Viewing Notes
ONE: EXPOSITION.
Refugees from the German occupation in World War II have streamed into Casablanca, Morocco, still part of unoccupied France. After Paris fell to the Nazis in June, 1940, refugees sought to escape by making their way to Casablanca. From there they could get a visa to get to Lisbon, Portugal, and from there passage to America.
1)The phrase "Round up all suspicious characters" becomes "Round up the usual suspects," one of the great lines in cinema history listen for it later in the film.
2)Notice the young couple who observe the man being shot down. They will play an important role in the film later.
TWO: Rick's Cafe Americain
We are introduced to Major Strasser, the Nazi commander, and the police inspector, Renault, who works for the Nazi installed Vichy Government. Renault's job is to walk a tightrope between his patriotic feelings for Occupied France and his need to perform a nasty job for the Nazis. The time is December, 1941.
3)Note how the director, Michael Curtiz, introduces Humphrey Bogart. CU of a check he okays, then camera up to show Rick. There he is, portraying the jaded, embittered, lonely, cynical tough guy who never gives away his feelings. Larger than life that's Bogart's character. The anti hero as hero.
We see Rick in the scene with Ugarte (Peter Lorre). Is Rick cynical, unmoved by human conflicts? Or is he a rank sentimentalist? NOTE: He does hide the letters from Ugarte.
More exposition as Ferrari (Sydney Greenstreet) comes in and offers to buy Rick's club. Ferrari is involved in the human trade that is, getting people out of Casablanca. He wants Rick to join him so that both can make lots of money. Rick isn't interested.
Rick's interaction with the woman who is angry that he has "dropped her" suggests that he is NOT interested in a permanent love relationship with a woman. Because she violates his "ethic" of relationships, she has to be escorted out.
4)The scene between Renault and Rick outside the cafe provides visual information that Rick is NOT exactly as cold and detached as he comes across. Shot selection helps you see that he has given some thought about getting out of Casablanca and that there is some mystery about his past.
Back inside the club, Renault keeps up the pressure on Rick is Rick perhaps more committed to the cause of freedom than he lets on? We can't be sure.
Ugarte is trapped. He appeals to Rick for help but there is no way out. Ugarte is carried off. The Nazis have made their point. Rick concludes, "I stick my neck out for nobody."
THREE. THE ENCOUNTER.
5)Into the cafe walks Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman). Who is she? Victor Laszlo's wife. [But Rick doesn't know this yet.] Laszlo is the great hero of the underground, leader of the Free French. Note the reaction shot of Sam, the pianist. We know there is more here than meets the eye.
6)Note the thunderstruck look on Ilsa's face when she finds out that she is in Rick's bar she MUST know Rick. After her husband goes to confer with a confederate, notice the looks on her face (editing).
7)When Sam comes over to see Ilsa, we start with Sam's point of view, but when he delivers the key line "Leave him alone, you're bad luck to him," we get it from her point of view. We see the pain on his face. Then we get the reverse angle CU of Ilsa she can't let up. Watch her face. What is she thinking as this scene progresses?
8)Rick comes in, angry, and notice the CUT when Sam nods toward Ilsa, then we see Ilsa in a CU what a LOOK! then cut to Rick what a look of pain and introspection. What's going on here?
9)Rick formally meets Victor Laszlo and Ilsa note the comparison of medium shots of the two men the TWO MEN IN ILSA'S LIFE Then as they engage in dialogue, notice how they are again SEPARATED through the editing so that their words BITE. Watch the reaction shots of these two characters in this scene.
FOUR. RICK HITS BOTTOM.
10)Powerful transition to next scene Rick alone at a table in the bar. Dark Night of the Soul time. Watch the frustration mount in his face. Something is really bothering him.
11)Transition to flashback. Note that flashbacks usually begin with camera on the character (in the present) who experiences the flashback and end when the camera returns to the character in the present. Notice that when she comes into the cafe on the day the Germans enter Paris, something is wrong with her expression. Something is on her mind. Why is she being so evasive?
12)When they kiss in the scene, note the cut to her accidentally knocking over the wine glass. This is a visual metaphor for the "accident of fate" that will separate them.
13)Of course, bad things happen in the rain. So Rick is stuck in the rain at the train station and the shot of him standing on the train and looking out symbolizes the pain and sense of betrayal he is feeling.
14)Return to the present. Note how Ilsa's entrance is set up with the door in the background of the frame--when she enters she is bathed in light. She wears white. Visual metaphor: purity, innocence. When Ilsa walks in, note the cuts to two CU's of them. Now comes the confrontation. NOTE: She is in the light, he is in the dark. This reinforces her purity and honesty. Meanwhile, he is shrouded in a darkness of suspicion, anger, etc. He SHOULD listen to her. But of course he can't. The deeper they go into their feelings, they begin to appear in CU's. When Rick begins to accuse her, note the shadow on her face. Can we trust her? The scene ends with Rick, his head down, filled with self pity.
FIVE. THE MISSING LETTERS OF TRANSIT
Major Strasser plans to have Rick's club searched so that he can find the missing letters of transit. Of course, if Laszlo gets one of the letters, he can escape Casablanca. He interviews Laszlo and asks him to identify all of the Underground leaders. Laszlo refuses, of course.
So Laszlo and Ilsa plan to visit Mr. Ferrari at the Blue Parrot club to see if he can help them get visas to get out of Casablanca. Before they arrive, we see Rick talk to Ferrari. Ferrari wants Rick to work with him and make money by selling visas on the black market. Rick isn't interested in simply making lots of money. He sees Ilsa outside and stops to talk to her. Now that he is sober, he expects her to tell him why she walked out on him back in Paris. But she has seen a dark side of the man she did not see back in Paris in 1940.
15)Note how the two shot of Rick and Ilsa emphasizes Ilsa (either on the right of the frame or from Rick's point of view). She recalls the look of hatred he gave her the night before. She tells him the old Rick she knew in Paris no longer exists. We see Rick alone in the frame only when he says that he expects she will "walk up a flight" and see him because she won't be able to stay away from him.
Laszlo and Ilsa talk to Ferrari, but he can only promise one visa not two. Laszlo refuses to be separated from Ilsa. Then Ferrari tells Victor to ask Rick about the missing letters of transit.
SIX. SENTIMENTALIST RICK
Back at the Cafe Americain, Renault asks Rick if he has the letters of transit. Obviously, the search by the police didn't turn them up. Remember: they were hidden in the piano. A former lover, the one Rick sent home in a cab, comes into the club on the arm of a German officer. He gets into a fight at the bar with a French soldier. Rick breaks up the fight. Major Strasser, who watches this, is concerned that things are not sufficiently under control.
Then the young woman who we have seen with her husband trying to get visas to get out of Casablanca talks to Rick and asks for help. Apparently she has been bribed by Renault if she has sex with Renault he will get her the necessary visas.
As she tells her story, Rick looks at her as if she is just another person trying to achieve an impossible dream. Then she begins talking about her desire to help her husband, even if it means that she will have to do something morally repugnant. When the woman says, "If someone loved you very much, so that your happiness was the only thing that she wanted in the world, and she did a bad thing to make certain of it, could you forgive her? " Rick says, "Nobody ever loved me that much." We know that isn't true. Ilsa loved him that much.
16)At this point, watch Bogart's reaction shots. He is clearly in pain and shows it. He gets rid of the woman, but we know she has gotten through to him.
Laszlo and Ilsa come in, and Rick seats them. Then he sets up a surprise for the young woman who talked to him. Rick goes into the casino and "arranges" for the husband of the young Bulgarian woman to win money at the roulette wheel--enough money to buy two exit visas.
17)As the scene unfolds, note the reaction shots of the woman, the old waiter, Renault, all juxtaposed with CU's of the roulette wheel. The reward for Rick she embraces him, the old waiter looks at him lovingly, and the bartender Sasha kisses Rick. Note that Renault comes up at the end and announces, "As I suspected, you're a rank sentimentalist." Renault is not too happy with Rick, since he had expected to have had sexual intercourse with the Bulgarian woman (his bribe for giving her two exit visas)--but he forgives Rick for this indiscretion.
SEVEN: PATRIOTISM WINS OUT.
Laszlo talks to Rick alone about getting the two letters of transit. He even offers a big bribe. Finally, Rick says, "I suggest you ask your wife." Before Laszlo can respond, the two hear the Germans downstairs singing their national anthem. Rick and Laszlo go down, and Victor asks the band to play the French National Anthem, "La Marseillaise." NOTE: One look from Rick to the bandleader, and they begin to play it. Now both parties sing their respective anthems. Finally, the Germans are drowned out.
18)In the scenes of the singing, notice the long shots that show the many patriotic people, Victor in context with them, then Victor alone in the frame, then his wife watching him adoringly (impressed by his leadership), and even the ex-lover of Rick, who commits herself to the Free French cause by singing loudly. We could call this scene the "dueling anthems scene" (after the "dueling banjos scene in Deliverance).
Of course, Major Strasser is enraged after being humiliated. So he orders Renault to shut down the club. Major Strasser even extends an offer to Ilsa. He tells her he will guarantee their safe passage to Occupied France. She scoffs at the offer.
EIGHT. RICK AND ILSA
In their hotel room later, Victor tells Ilsa he must leave for a meeting of the Underground leaders. He tells her Rick said, "Ask your wife" about the missing letters of transit. She is devastated. Victor sits next to her. He suspects, of course, that she had a love affair with Rick. He also tells her that he has forgiven her. He tells her he will understand if she goes away with Rick--he would rather have her safe with another man she loves rather than living a life of terror running from the Germans with Victor--and perhaps ending up dead.