I gave this movie a 2/10 because of a lot of the scenes and the repetitive nature of the movie. The movie randomly skipped through scenes without warning and the audience had to understand what is happening based on new context clues. The characters dying was strange since they would fall over or move in a weird way which made it more funny than serious. We never really get to meet and understand any of the characters since the movie jumped straight into the robb
My favorite scene in the movie is when they take pictures of each others and the pictures are the same as the actual bonnie and Clyde images. This little addition adds to the fact that the movie is based of real people.
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
1.Why did film makers and producers move to Hollywood?
The mountains and the large untouched land made it ideal to establish studios
2.Name some of the big stars, directors and pictures from the Silent Era of Hollywood? (at least TWO of each)
director – Charlie Chaplin April 16, 1889
director – Lois weber June 13, 1879
actor – Clara bow
actor – Harold Lloyd
3.In what ways were the early Hollywood studio system like a factory or production line or even the Premier League (football)?
the early system made actors worth very little and could be loaned over to other film companies similar to how footballers could be sent over to play for other teams. Actors were told what they were and were not able to do making them very dependent with their managers.
4.When and what was the first “talking picture”?
The Jazz Singer, which premiered on October 6, 1927. A major hit, it was made with Vitaphone, which was at the time the leading brand of sound-on-disc technology.
5.Why did the end of the silent era cause problems for some performers working in the film industry?
When actors were able to use their voice, some actors didn’t match their characters persona which made the characters appear confusing.
6.What was happening in America(and around the world) at this time?
WW1 , GREAT DEPRESSION , wall street crash 1929. These all made holly wood more successful since they were realising up to 800 films a year, meanwhile we only release less than 400 in todays date
The Hollywood studio system
•1) What were the Big 5 studios & what type of movies was each studio famous for?
MGM – musicals, melodramas, literary adaptations (Wizard of Oz)
Fox – Musicals (The Grapes of Wrath)
RKO – musicals, comedies (Bringing up Baby)
warner bros – melodramas , gangster movies (The Public Enemy)
Paramout – comedies (Morroco)
•2) Explain what vertical integration and block-booking was?
block-booking – selling films to theaters in units
vertical integration – when a Media Company owns different businesses in the same chain of production and distribution. For example, a 20th Century Fox owns the studios in Hollywood, they also own the cinemas, the TV channels and the DVD rental shops
•3) Why and when did the original studio system collapse?
In May 4. 1948 , the USA rules that Paramount and 8 other companies violated anti-trust laws since they were exercising an unfair monopoly by dictating what movie go into their own theaters.
•4) What was happening in America(and around the world) at this time?
The great depression and wars
•5) What genres were popular and why did people go to the movies in this period?
Westerns, comedy , musicals and animated cartoons were popular. During the great depression people could only afford to watch movies for entertainment.
classical Hollywood style
what is meant by the invisible style of story telling?
it is when in classical Hollywood they chose to hide the artistic choice from directors in order to present a more natural story to the audience.
2. what is continuity editing?
it is when they edit the scenes in a film together to make it feel seamless and that there isn’t a cut. In classical Hollywood they didn’t use jump cuts and made sure it wasn’t obvious to keep the natural feel.It emphasis dialogue reaction cause an effect.
The movie starts of with an upbeat song over the credits. The song started the movie on a positive note which made me feel like the movie was going to be light and happy which was partially true since the movie included a lot of humor however it was mostly negative. The music was a form of non-diegetic sound since it didn’t come from the world of the movie.
cinematography
The cinematography throughout This is England makes the movie feel more personal to the audience. In this specific scene there is a close up of Shaun while talking Combo about how he feels. This close up shows how much the two characters are getting along especially since its switching between the two characters (POV shot). Not only does the close up make the characters feel closer, but it also makes the audience feel closer as well.
mise-en-scene
The mise en scene in the movie is consistent and gives the movie a overall chaotic feel. In this shot specifically, it shows how unserious the characters are since their costuming is random and not sensible. The setting they are in is also an abandoned house filed with graffiti which shows how they don’t tend to follow the rules and live life freely. A final mise en scene factor in this image is the coloring on Woody, while everyone else is wearing dull colors and balding in, Woody is wearing a bright blue which shows how he’s the ‘leader’.
editing
Throughout the movie, the editing is subtle and adds small but necessary visuals for the scene. The editing in this scene is particularly impressive since its a fading transitions of the English flag. This adds to the movie since its a bold way of showing what every character in this image stands for. Its also only a short insert and only slightly visible so it doesn’t take away from the visuals of the scene but it servers as a reminder of why the characters are connected.
aesthetics definition – The overall style of a film and the visual appearance. This can include the costumes and the set design throughout the movie
Aesthetics term 1-realism
definitions
Realism – a way to represent real life issues / characters through film
verisimilitude – The appearance of being true or real; believability
Example– Selma is an example of verisimilitude since its based on real events that happens (the fight to pass the voting act right)
social realism – Effects on the environment and the factors of the development of characters throughout
Example – This is England is an example of social realism since in the movie represents real life England and its issues, including the racist development of Shaun.
magic realism – a literary or artistic genre in which realistic narrative and naturalistic technique are combined with surreal elements of dream or fantasy
example – Encanto (2021) is a magic realist film since the movie has surreal elementals like magical powers the a realistic feal from the community and village
hyperreality definition – over dramatic version of reality or reality that is emphasized / too real to be real
Example – The Barbie (2023) movie is over emphasized and a dramatic look of reality
aesthetic term 2 – Visual style
Visual style – the look and the feel of a film / language
iconography – the visual images and symbols used in a work of art or the study or interpretation of these
example – The boy in the stripped pajamas (2008). The reoccurring pajamas symbolize the holocaust and the people who suffered throughout
intertextual referencing – when films and other arts/literatures collide in a movie
Example – In Monsters inc other Disney movies are referenced like in the scene where they are trading plushies of nemo
visual / sound motifs – a recurring sound element that is associated with a particular character, theme, or idea within a film or audio-visual work
Example – The movie jaws has the memorable sound track whenever the shark is nearby
colour grading – digital tools used to make videos or films look better or change the colour tone and mood
Example – In the movie corpse bride, the colour grading waw a cool toned blue throughout adding the the eerie feeling
auteur trademark – something used by directors to make sure no one else steals their work
Example – Stanly Kubrick has a signature style of symmetry throughout all of his movies e.g. the shining
Aesthetics terms 3 – Tone
Tone – The overall mood/ atmosphere
Pathos – capture audience through emotion
Example – In the movie Frozen when Anna freezes , the emotion displayed on Elsa can be captured to the audience
bathos – an anti-climax, when the audience is expecting bigger and better and the outcome is not what expected
Example – Spiderman across the spider verse. This movie ends on a part 2 right before the action part is about to begin
suspense – holding something back form the audience and increasingly adding to the tension building
Example – Zodiac is a great example of suspense especially since we never find out who is the zodiac killer in the end
comedy – a humor themed movie with jokes and the aim is to make the audience laugh, sometimes comedy is mixed with other dark genres to create a more textured movie theme
Example – A great comedy movie was sherk 2 since the main characters were alraedy established making more room for jokes
dramatic irony – when the audience understands more of the situation than the characters
Example – In Romeo and Juliet the audience is aware that Juliet is only pretending to be dead when Romeo finds her
distancing effect – a sense of distance between the characters and the audience
Diegetic definition – Any sound or things that come from the world of the film for example the sound of doors slamming and isn’t added after like music.
Cathartic effect definition – Its an emotional experiences that the audiences goes through while watching a specific movie / scene e.g. feeling sad at the movie UP
reframing definition – when the camera angle is changed without using a cut in order to change the focus of the scene
connote definition – To signify or suggest something in addition to the original point
Throughout Joker, cinematography is used effectively to create a sense of chaos within the film’s diegetic world. This is particularly evident in the scene towards the end of the film where Arthur is shown in a low- angle, close-up looking out of the police car window and reacting with glee at the riots taking place around him. Here, the camera is used to position the spectator as not only connecting with Arthur, but now looking up to him. This suggests to the spectator that the tables have turned and Arthur, who was earlier depicted as pathetic and sad, is now depicted as powerful and heroic. This “reframing” of the central character” has a potentially cathartic effect on the spectator who has, up until this point, been encouraged to sympathise with Arthur’s point of view as a victim of circumstance. The deliberate and stylised use of this slow-motion reaction shot, enables the spectator to get a sense of poetic justice being served: Arthur is now on his way to prison.
all aspects of film form including narrative contribution to the representations of cultures and societies’ (gender, ethnicity, and age ) including the ideological nature of those representations
ideology – a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.
performance
age
ethnicity
body language
costume
facial expressions
stereotype
a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing e.g. all black people are criminals
countertype
an opposite of the stereotypes that are already in place. it opposes stereotypes e.g. a black president instead of a white president
Sarah Conner example
Sarah was a stereotypical American waitress in he first terminator movie. She is shown to be weak and incapable of doing her job since she spills the coffee on the man and when she arrives late she isn’t phased or bothered by it.
in the follow up movie, she breaks away from the female stereotypes and becomes a countertype. During this time and becomes a heroin, she is shown holding a gun and she looks to be skilled with it, she’s also has muscles and is no longer the weak woman she was in the first movie.
Trainspotting Representation
1 who is doing the representation?
Renton and his group
2 who is being represented?
Renton and his friends represent a clique friend group who have issues and do drugs. drug addicts are being represented and so are people with mental issues
3 what social groups are omitted from the representation
people who are of colour and diverse women
4 what message about particular social groups are being conveyed
The message was that drugs are a life changing choice and once you get caught up in social groups with people who drugs you are bound to fail e.g. tommy ends up dead due to his friends co orison into heroin
5 which characters or social groups have power within the representation
Mother superior had the most power since he provided them with drugs. The parents in the movie also had power since they were the adults and created rules.
6 do the characters adhere to or challenge stereotypes
I believe that they do challenge societies stereotypes of drug addicts since they are white men in a white base country. The character of Renton also came from a functioning family with two parents which goes against the ‘people who do drugs came from a broken home’.
7 are the characters typical of films in that genre
The genre of Trainspotting is a dark comedy and I believe that the characters do fit the the genre since they are young adult men.
8 what do representations tell audiences about society at the time the movie was made
It shows us how society viewed different groups of people e.g. woman weren’t seen often in the movie other than Diane who was only displayed as a woman used for Renton’s benefits. There was also little to no people of colour in the movie which showed how they weren’t expected to be in movies at the time and where an afterthought.
I gave this movie a 8/10 because the film was engaging and I believed it was funny since there was a lot of jokes made throughout. The characters where entertaining and also shows a wide range of different types of people in a group of friends. Some scenes in the movie where difficult to watch and it was hard to understand what the characters where saying at some points.
Memorable scene
A memorable scene in the movie was when Shaun was hanging out with woody and al of his friends and it was the first time we get to see Shaun not picked on and actually have a fun time. Its also a fast pace scene with the camera angles changing rapidly and the camera following in them around at times, this made me feel more involved with the scene and see from their perspective
Cinematography was use well in the scene, one of the camera angles used was a birds-eye- view. This camera angle allowed the audience to get a direct view of the characters facial expressions which made the scene feel more horrific. It was also a long shot which made the whole character of Renton visible in the center of the screen, this made him unavoidable which added to the fact that Renton had to get through the challenging part of withdrawals to become sober and move on in life.
Editing is used in this scene in the form of a J cut. the audio from the next scene where Renton breaks into a car is heard in the scene before it. The j cut adds an extra layer of interest t the audience and also shows how badly drugs can effect you since the scene transitions from doing heroin to committing crimes.
Non-diegetic sound was used in this scene with the song ‘perfect day’ in the background. The song added irony too the scene since Renton was overdosing and sent to the hospital, the use of the non-diegetic sound added humor to a disturbing scene which could make the audience feel less tense about what’s happening and also feel more horrified .
Coloring i this scene shows the romance and lust that Renton has for Diane since the red can symbolize romance. The intense red on the walls and Diane’s jacket makes it her stand out in the dress which shows how she’s the focus of attention.
i gave the movie a 6 out of ten because i believe the movie did a impressive job at depicting the use of drugs and the issues that heroin causes. I also thought that the cinematography added to the intense scenes, For example when Renton was overdosing, the close up of the needle made the scene feel much more grave and disturbing. It also showed how just one needle can ruin someone’s life. The cinematography in the swimming scene made the scene feel unreal , especially when he started to swim towards the camera with his hand reached out. However I didn’t like how vulgar the film was and some scenes were difficult to watch.
My most memorable scene is when Renton was having withdrawals and hallucination in his room. This was because the birds-eye-view added a different perspective from the hallucinations and it also let us see the fear in the main characters eyes when the different people and the baby were approaching him
