6.5/10 – I had high expectations going into this film, but I didn’t find that I enjoyed it nearly as much as I expected. I liked the historical aspect of it, and the fact that it was based on real people. I found the visual style overall very pleasing, particularly the costumes which were the standout for me. Faye Dunaway did a very convincing job at acting insane, but I just didn’t find the story particularly engaging, especially in the beginning.
The most memorable scene for me has to be when the police find out where the Barrel Gang had been hiding, and they ambush them with Buck being shot in the head in the process. This felt like a really important turning point in the film, and where I felt the story became far more interesting.
I was already interested in the real life case of Bonnie And Clyde, so I was excited for this movie and it definitely lived up to my expectations. It wasn’t very historically accurate but it was engaging, and there were a lot of standout scenes. The shootouts were engaging and tense, and the film was also surprisingly funny in a few scenes. I found the character dynamics interesting to watch, and the film itself looked beautiful, portraying American country landscapes and small towns.
Standout Scene: After The Shootout/Buck Got Shot
This film really stood out to me as it was really dark compared to what came before it in the film, and it acts as a turning point in the tone in the movie. This scene comes after a tense and action filled shoot out between the police and the Barrow gang. During this shootout two very important things happen: Buck gets shot in the head, and Blanche gets shot in the eye. This scene after the shootout is the Barrow gang trying to save Buck. The lighting really takes effect in this scene: it takes place in the night, the only light source being from the car headlights. The light casts shadows over the characters, making the shots interesting to look at. The darkness compliments the tragic events the characters experience. This is the first time the Barrow Gang has suffered consequences to their actions, and it is a real tragic moment in the film. There is no underscore, the only sounds are Blanche’s screaming, Clyde and Moss helping Buck, Bonnie uncharacteristically trying to comfort Blanche (A change in character, as Blanche and Bonnie were always against each other), and Buck’s delirious talking as Clyde bandages his head wound. Its a slow, harrowing scene, and marks the movie’s descent into tragedy.
Overall, I quite enjoyed ‘Bonnie and Clyde’, but I feel as if the fil is more style over substance, as I thought it looked really beautiful but to me the story wasn’t that engaging . I thought the chase scenes were really enjoyable to watch and I really liked the soundtrack throughout the film, especially the fast bluegrass, banjo tracks in the chase scenes. I thought the performances in the film were quite good, though I felt some performances were quite underperformed and a bit boring, which may of been intentional to add to the versimilitude of the film. I didn’t enjoy the pacing of the film, as I felt it was incredibly mismatched with sudden shifts in tone that didn’t, to me, seem to be that logical or make much sense.
Memorable Scene
As I said, the most memorable scenes for me in the film were the chase scenes when Bonnie and Clyde were escaping from the bank, as I thought the use of the fast-paced bluegrass soundtrack and the impressive long shots of the cars being chased were quite impressive and very enjoyable to watch. The use of the techniques mentioned add to the anticipation and energy of the scene, as upon first view, you as a viewer are wondering if these two criminals are going to be caught.
I have given Bonnie and Clyde a low score because it was hard to follow along I felt like. I felt like the film looked amazing and the scenes where beautiful of the American country. Although I felt it was a slow moving film that was hard to take off.
An obvious memorable scene is the end of the movie where Bonnie and Clyde got set up and shot multiple times to call an ending to the film and the story. I feel like the film ended to soon and it was not a climactic ending.
The scene where Isla is trying to convince Rick to give her the tickets for the plane. The reason why I found this important is because at the start she was begging for the tickets for her and her husband and then the scene ends with her kissing him.
Why?
I loved this scene because although she was with Victor Lazso she realises that Rick is the man that she’s meant to be with. You can see that they were meant for each other in the end but for the greater good of America, he let her go.
Key Characters
Humphry Bogart- Rick Blaine
Humphry bogart was famous before Casablanca. He was born on December 25, 1899 in New York City. His father, Humphrey Deforest Bogart, was a well-known surgeon and his mother, Maud Humphrey, was a reputable artist and illustrator. Having ample financial means, the Bogarts wanted only the best for young Humphrey.
Bogart is on contract to warner brothers but he mainly made gangster films & detective films but never was seen as a leading man. Until he was in Casablanca where he wads shown in a different light. “Maltese Falcon” Classic which Bogart was in. The producer really fought for Bogart to be in Casablanca as others didn’t see him in this part.
When your a contract actor you don’t really have a decision when it comes to picking which role you are in. The company pick your stock type for you. The house style in warner brothers are very gritty movies gangster like. Traits of character- cynical, tough.
He was a character/ actor who was tough without a gun. Bogart would only play bad guys and leading parts because of Warner Brothers. They wanted to develop his screen persona as they wanted to show a romantic side.
Ingrid Bergman- Isla Lund
Ingrid Bergman (born August 29, 1915, Stockholm, Sweden—died August 29, 1982, London, England) was a Swedish actress whose natural charm, freshness, intelligence, and vitality made her the image of sincerity and idealized womanhood.
Ingrid was exotic so that’s why she was chosen for this movie. Americans loved accents
Paul Henried
Born January 10, 1908, Trieste, Austria-Hungary—died March 29, 1992, Santa Monica, California, U.S. was an Austrian-born actor whose elegant sophistication and middle-European accent made him ideal for romantic leading roles in such motion pictures as Casablanca (1942) and Now, Voyager (1942).he subsequently began a second career as a director, particularly for television. He died just days before Casablanca was rereleased in honour of its 50th anniversary.
Michael Certiz
Hungarian- makes 173 films for Warner Brothers- he has knowledge to know what its like to leave Europe-all the extras were refugees/emerges- lot of empathy for the extras- mercerise was the French song that they sang over the Nazi anthem- Dolly was used a lot in Casablanca- broke away for the Hollywood norms- was known with the camera movements.
Pearl Harbour-
the Japanese bomb in Hawaii, brings America into the war, unprovoked attack, they tried to keep America isolated, millions died, day later the play script was sent to many publishers.
Mise En Scene
Elements of Light and Shadow (even with props). The reason why Casablanca used the elements of light and shadow was because film noir was a famous thing back in those times. The meaning on film noir a style or genre of cinematographic film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace. The term was originally applied to American thriller or detective films made in the period 1944–54. Through a meticulous combination of lighting, framing, camera movement, and production design, “Casablanca” creates a richly textured world that is both suggestive and enduring. This section explores how these visual elements contribute to the film’s atmosphere, mood, and the overarching love story at its core.
Editing
Elongated close up. Editing in Casablanca improved the pace of the story being told. For example, the poker scene where rick gives money for a couple to get a visa. Those shots were taken as snippets. It was only short shots but the audience could go along with it because every characters face that was in the shot captured an emotion which made it much easier to follow.
Sound
As for the music, in the documentary someone said “take the music out, you couldn’t watch” which is true if you took out the music the only thing you would have to go off of is the acting (though the acting is amazing its not enough). The composition in Casablanca was beautifully executed by Max Steiner. For example, it was shown that dark and harsh music was used for the Nazis whenever they walked in somewhere.
Max Stiener
Aesthetics
Hero’s would wear light clothing. they would be well dressed which doesn’t make sense as they are refugees but the director didn’t want any wrinkles in their clothes.
Casablanca was a made up fantasy place. But also a continent in Morocco but they look nothing alike. Casablanca is this place with tall buildings but in the movie it was a romantic place where love was seen everywhere. ( even in the middle of the war.) It was made to look theatrical.
Producer- Oversee what goes on in the production
producer is Hall B. Wallace. he managed to negotiate a contract to get the last say in everything. So he put the team together, wrote the screenplay and made some changes. Like Isla was meant to be America but Wallace saw that if you make it some who has experience in the war that has had Lazso’s back always so he decided to make her of a different nationality (she’s Swedish) and this would also be a sympathetic point as she has experience. seen as propaganda. it talks about Americas involvement in ww2 should be like Ricks as he re-joined the fight.
34 different nationalities were in the movie Casablanca in a way the film its all these people come over from all around the world to support each other which happens in Casablanca as well.
Themes and Issues-
Isolationism- a policy of remaining apart from the affairs or interests of other groups, especially the political affairs of other countries.
What was Americas view on World War II?
At the start of world war 2 Americans don’t want to get involved, they thought it was a phony war in Europe. Rick Blaine represents the United States, which initially insisted that it should be neutral in World War II. However, when the United States was bombed at Pearl Harbour, it had no choice but to get involved. He is tough and cynical, yet altruistic. At first Rick maintains an isolationist and neutral stance “I stick my neck out for nobody” then shifts to self-sacrificing and willingness to join the war effort with allied forces. “This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”. An example of this is when they help that couple get a visa in his poker game and when he helps Laszo and Isla flee by killing the most powerful Nazi in the movie.
Representation
Every time it goes dark and Rick and Ingrid was in the scene is showed intimacy. Rick Blaine represents the United States, which initially insisted that it should be neutral in World War II. However, when the United States was bombed at Pearl Harbour, it had no choice but to get involved.
Political and Social Context
At the time the movie had come out they American’s rushed into America to start their attack so people began to think that they wouldn’t have a country after said attack.
Humphrey Bogarthe (Rick Blaine) had a contract with warner bros and he was in several different movies, mainly noirs such as ‘high sierra’. He was already famous before Casablanca, he signed a contract with Fox Studios then moved to the warner bros and eventually left to start his own production company ‘santana films’. Ronald Reagan was originally supposed to play his role.
Ingrid Bergman(Ilsa Lund) Due to her being from Sweden, Casablanca was one of her first American films, she was chosen because of her accent since it fir her character the most. She stared in other movies such as gaslight and Notorious however she became famous from Casablanca.
Paul Henreid(Victor Laszlo) He was famous before casablanca since he was a producer, writer and actor and featured in movies like ‘dead ringer’ and ‘hollow triumph’. He had a contraxct for wander bros which ended with him in the movie casablanca.
Claude Rains(Captain Louis Renault) He was chosen to play in Casablanca mainly because he was already well known in the industry for his incredible acting. He was in other movies such as ‘Notorius’ as Alexander. Rains signed a long-term contract with Warner Bros. on 27 November 1935, with Warner able to exercise the right to loan him to other studios.
Conrad Veidt (Major Heinrich Strasser) He was already successful in other film industry before Casablanca, he was in movies The Man Who Laughs (1928) and Different from the Others (1919). He was in the movie Casablanca due to hiss background (German) and along with his accent which made him sound and look more authentic.
Sydney Greenstreet (Signor Ferrari) Sydney Greenstreet was a British and American actor who didnt start acting until he was 61, however he had a run of significant motion pictures in a Hollywood career. He was know for the movies – The Maltese Falcon (1941), Casablanca (1942), and Passage to Marseille (1944) which were all by Warner bros meaning that Sydney Greenstreet had close relations to Warner bros.
Peter Lorre (Ugarte) He was a Hungarian who had to flea from his country due to the fact he was Jewish, this is where he started making English movies like The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934),He eventually made it to Hollywood where he started working for Warner Bros in films such as Mad Love (1935) and My Favorite Brunette (1947).
S.Z. Sakall (Carl (as S.K. Sakall)) His first prominent role was In Casablanca as Carl which led to him being in other movies such as Christmas in Connecticut (1945) and In the Good Old Summertime (1949). He was loved by magnate Jack L. Warner because opf his round and lovable appearance which led to his contract with warner bros.
Madeleine Lebeau (Yvonne (as Madeleine LeBeau)) Before marrying her actor husband Marcel Dalio in 1939 she was in the movie Young Girls in Trouble as a uncredited student. After alort of difficulty getting to the USA she ended up in Hollywood with her first movie Hold Back the Dawn (1941) and in the following year she appeared in the Errol Flynn movie Gentleman Jim. Warner Bros. signed her to a $100-a-week contract for twenty-six weeks to be in a number of films and the contract ended shorty before the movie release
Dooley Wilson (Sam) he was an American actor, singer and was a musician in his own band in the 1920s, touring nightclubs in London and Paris. In the1930s he took up acting, playing supporting roles onstage on Broadway however his most prominent role was in Casablanca. He was contracted for Paramount however he was lent over to Warner Bros for seven weeks.
Joy Page (Annina Brandel) Her first movie was Casablanca when she was 17 despite her thinking the movie was old fashioned. Warner Bros studios didn’t sign her to a contract and she never appeared in another Warner Bros movie again. Instead she was in other movies like Kismet in 1944 and shorty retired after the first season of Disney’s miniseries The Swamp Fox in 1959.
John Qualen (Berger) He began working with warner bros in 1927 for the film Lights of New York. He was in many different movies but his most known are angels over Broadway, an American romance and Hollow Triumph
Mise En Scene
Locations
Casablanca, despite being set in Morocco, was filmed in two regions- The Warner Bros lot in Burbank and for the airport scenes they filmed in the Metropolitan Airport at Van Nuys
Sets
The old Hollywood style mean that the sets had to look realistic which Casablanca managed to do well. The sets had to give of and exotic and tense atmosphere to mimic the world war II feel. All the sets were either made by warner bros to achieve the romantic appearance of the movie, however some sets e.g. the train station were taken from other movies and re designed to fit with the Casablanca aesthetic.
Costume
The costumes in Casablanca helped distinguish all the different nationalities in the city which was a big part of the historical context of World War II. All the costumes where elegant and helped represent the power level of each character, for example Heinrich Strasser was always in a formal suit which showed he was in charge of the German soldiers. The women in the movie also all looked put together which showed how they were more for appearance other than wealth or power.
Props
props are used in Casablanca to not only add to how the characters feel or some characters wealth/ power, but also as a tool to showcase the time period and the opinions of the war, for example when the Vichy France bottle was thrown in the bin it showed how the character Captain Renault was no longer supporting the Germans.
Editing
During the old Hollywood time period, Invisible editing was common which meant that the editing would go unnoticed and wasn’t prominent this adds to the verisimilitude. This would also mean that there would be no sudden cuts/ jump cuts ands everything would feel smooth and natural
A good example of this is when Rick was helping the couple leave Casablanca and make it to America, in this sequence of different cuts you can see the expressions on everyone’s face which helps us as the audience feel touched by Ricks actions. You can also see the zoom in on the poker chips which add to the scene since the audience feels more involved and understanding of it.
( close up image )
Sound
There is a sound motif for the character Isla and Rick, this song is called ‘as time goes by’ and is representative of her and Ricks relationship. It is most prominent i the train station scene where Rick discovers that Isla is not following him, this leads the song to have more backstory and touch the audience. This song was composed by Max Steiner, also famous for the music in King Kong.
There’s also a large use of Diegetic sounds, i the same train scene you can hear the rain which added to the already gloomy atmosphere. There’s also a use of diegetic sound when the doors of Ricks bar slam open when the police enter, this adds shock and fear to the already dramatic scene.
Representation
Black people – The only non white person in Casablanca was Sam an African American musician for Rick. However, Sam is displayed as a stereotypical form of entertainment for white people and is seen as property, this is shown when someone offers to buy Sam from Rick which shows how little Sam is valued as a person. During World war II black people were already a target and this movie simply added to it.
Women – There aren’t many female characters in the movie other than Isla , Yvonne and Annina Brandel. All of these women are always seen looking well put together and beautiful, this is because women at the time were seen as an accessory to the men they were with. Annina Brandel is a good example of this because although she was a poor woman who was newly wed and needed help with money from rick to escape, she still managed to look expensive and like she wasn’t struggling. All these women had a relation ship with a man and felt almost dependent on them. Specifically Isla who’s entire role in the movie was to chose which man she wanted to depend on the most.
Men – There were alot of men in Casablanca. Despite alot of these men being from different backgrounds and having a different level of power, they all looked and acted superior and much more wealthy than they were. All of the men were seen in suits or they’re uniform which showed how they could afford to live comfortable despite the war happening. The only characters that had any authority the whole movie where white men which included : rick and Heinrich Strasser.
Aesthetics in Casablanca
Themes and issues
isolationism – World War II was a dispute between foreign nations and that the United States had no good reason to get involved
What was Americas view on ww2 – America believed that it shouldn’t get involved since they didn’t want anymore young American men to die in war unless absolutely necessary (Pearl harbour) 96% of Americans don’t want to get involved and would rather stay neutral
The character of rick in Casablanca is a cynical at the start of of the movie and represents the 96% of Americans who chose to stay out of the war, this is shown by the fact he doesn’t lean much either way politically and just wants money. However after he helps the couple with the visa out of Europe he start to become a sentimentalist and patriotic.
Historical and Social context for Casablanca
the allies – UK, USA AND USSR
The axis – Germany, Japan, Italy
France was occupied by Germany in June of 1940 and surrendered to the Nazis. The Free French still fought for the allies, this was in southern France which was renamed Vichy France because of the new capital. The new government was a German puppet.
Morocco is part of the French empire which is where Casablanca was set
World war 2 started in September 1st 1939, however America didn’t join until 1941 after the surprise attack from japan on pearl harbour
Operation Torch – The invasion Allowed the British to take control of north Africa while allowing the American forces to start their fight with Nazi Germany. (November 8, 1942)
‘it captured the zeitgeist’ – Uses the mood / feelings of a specific point in history, (ww2 for Casablanca)
Casablanca Conference -When Whiston Churchill and President Roosevelt had a meeting in Casablanca about the allied powers and plans on how to fight against the axis. (Jan 14, 1943 – Jan 24, 1943)
The first screening of Casablanca was 26 November, 1942 was in New York, it goes on general release in January 1943
People used to get their news from newspaper, movie reels and the radio
