Casablanca(end scene)
Casablanca (1942) is a film made by Warner bros. It was directed by Michael Curtiz who released a total of 177 films in his career. It was released just after the USA joined World War 2 and was quite blatantly propaganda. However, most war propaganda films around that time were nit that great, but this one is still one of the most beloved films of today. Was it fluke, or is it just an amazing film?
There is a wide range of mis-on-scene used in Casablanca. The costumes were amazing and it was very noticeable that the film was the work of a lot of experts in their areas forming together to produce a great film. The costume designer, Orry-Kelly did a great job by giving Ilsa light colours and basic clothing to put most of the emphasis on how beautiful she naturally is. The scenery was very limited in the 40s so film companies ahd to improvise a little bit. Casablanca did a great job of making the most of the limited resources. For example, the final scene is shot in one basic room and a large open space which is the airfield. They did not want people to see past that open space so they created fog. It is the use of invisible features and invisible editing that made this film so good because the audience did not even realise it! There are a lot of war references in Casablanca and one of the main ones is the final scene in which Louie throws the vichy water in the bin as a metaphor of the decision to stop helping the Nazis and fight back. The whole film was (un-intentionally) very traditional and not flashy at all, but this improved it.
There were no flashy cameras available in the 40s, so the cinematography had to be basic. The director really wanted to utilise the camera potential in Casablanca and experimented with different angles, tilts and closeups. A good example of this is the closeup of Rick and Ilsa in the last scene where it really captures their emotions where it needs to. The chemistry between Bogart and Bergman was special in, not only this scene, but the whole movie. Another feature that the production team behind Casablanca used was shadows. There are many points in the film where shadows create an effect. The first time we see Rick is actually his shadow! There is also a lot of over the shoulder shots in conversations to show us the perspective of the character during the altercation.
The use of editing was extremely basic as that was all it could be at that time. There were not many cuts and it was very straightforward. They used a lot of invisible editing in the film which made people subconsciously enjoy it more. When the audience does not realise there is editing being used, it means they have lost themselves in the film and it is good. Another good thing that they did well in the film was get the eye lines right. A very basic mistake to make is to get the eye lines wrong as it confuses the watcher. However, there was not one mistake in Casablanca of such.
Many people believe that the music in Casablanca was the glue to stick all of the pieces together. The composer for the film captured emotion in a lot of the songs. A lot of them were sad and matched the characters feelings at the time. The most famous song from the movie is "As time goes by". It was not actually made by the film but the use of it tells the story of Rick and Ilsa without any performance, cinematography or anything else combined. In dramatic scenes, the music gets louder and more intense to create tension in the scene. Also, the sound effects were basic, but great. The gunshot near the end where Rick shoots the Nazi officer is a good example of this as it is a bold sound to shock the audience.
Lastly, the performances were amazing in the film. Bogart played a character that wasn't what he was used to playing and his constant witty comments makes him one of the most likeable characters in film history. He has great chemistry with the other protagonist character in the film, Ilsa. Played by Ingrid Bergman, she has everything needed to be a great actress for this type of movie. She looks great and is very able of showing her emotion where it matters. The Nazis are also a crucial part of the performance as they seem intimidating and realistically evil.
There is a wide range of mis-on-scene used in Casablanca. The costumes were amazing and it was very noticeable that the film was the work of a lot of experts in their areas forming together to produce a great film. The costume designer, Orry-Kelly did a great job by giving Ilsa light colours and basic clothing to put most of the emphasis on how beautiful she naturally is. The scenery was very limited in the 40s so film companies ahd to improvise a little bit. Casablanca did a great job of making the most of the limited resources. For example, the final scene is shot in one basic room and a large open space which is the airfield. They did not want people to see past that open space so they created fog. It is the use of invisible features and invisible editing that made this film so good because the audience did not even realise it! There are a lot of war references in Casablanca and one of the main ones is the final scene in which Louie throws the vichy water in the bin as a metaphor of the decision to stop helping the Nazis and fight back. The whole film was (un-intentionally) very traditional and not flashy at all, but this improved it.
There were no flashy cameras available in the 40s, so the cinematography had to be basic. The director really wanted to utilise the camera potential in Casablanca and experimented with different angles, tilts and closeups. A good example of this is the closeup of Rick and Ilsa in the last scene where it really captures their emotions where it needs to. The chemistry between Bogart and Bergman was special in, not only this scene, but the whole movie. Another feature that the production team behind Casablanca used was shadows. There are many points in the film where shadows create an effect. The first time we see Rick is actually his shadow! There is also a lot of over the shoulder shots in conversations to show us the perspective of the character during the altercation.
The use of editing was extremely basic as that was all it could be at that time. There were not many cuts and it was very straightforward. They used a lot of invisible editing in the film which made people subconsciously enjoy it more. When the audience does not realise there is editing being used, it means they have lost themselves in the film and it is good. Another good thing that they did well in the film was get the eye lines right. A very basic mistake to make is to get the eye lines wrong as it confuses the watcher. However, there was not one mistake in Casablanca of such.
Many people believe that the music in Casablanca was the glue to stick all of the pieces together. The composer for the film captured emotion in a lot of the songs. A lot of them were sad and matched the characters feelings at the time. The most famous song from the movie is "As time goes by". It was not actually made by the film but the use of it tells the story of Rick and Ilsa without any performance, cinematography or anything else combined. In dramatic scenes, the music gets louder and more intense to create tension in the scene. Also, the sound effects were basic, but great. The gunshot near the end where Rick shoots the Nazi officer is a good example of this as it is a bold sound to shock the audience.
Lastly, the performances were amazing in the film. Bogart played a character that wasn't what he was used to playing and his constant witty comments makes him one of the most likeable characters in film history. He has great chemistry with the other protagonist character in the film, Ilsa. Played by Ingrid Bergman, she has everything needed to be a great actress for this type of movie. She looks great and is very able of showing her emotion where it matters. The Nazis are also a crucial part of the performance as they seem intimidating and realistically evil.
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