1. The name of the film is Casablanca. The director is Michael Curtiz. The two leading actors are Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine and Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund.
2. The leading characters are Rick Blaine, Ilsa Lund, Victor Laszlo, Captain Louis Renault, Major Heinrich Strasser, Signor Ferrari and Sam. Other important characters are Ugarte and Carl. The story takes place in Casablanca in French Morocco during World War II. France is occupied by Germans and people from all over Europe are coming to Casablanca in order to try to get to Lisbon from where they can continue their journey to America. People are selling their valuable things in order to get a permit to leave Morocco. Captain Renault takes money in exchange for letting the people go. Rick is American. He runs a saloon in Casablanca and he is stuck there because he was involved in some actions such as providing Ethiopia with guns and fighting against fascists in Spain. He is looked for everywhere and is on a lot of blacklists. During his time in Paris he falls in love with Ilsa. Ilsa is married to Victor Laszlo, the leader of the Great Movement, but as it was announced that he died in a concentration camp, she begins a romance with Rick. On the day that the Nazis occupy France and approach Paris, Rick makes arrangements that he and Ilsa would leave by train. Ilsa finds out that Victor is alive and sends Rick a message that she will not accompany him, but that she loves him. After a while Ilsa and Victor arrive in Casablanca and get in touch with Rick. It takes a while before all three of them find out the truth about what had happened in Paris. The Germans and the French military is after Victor, but Rick helps him and Ilsa get away by giving them letters of transit that were extremely rare to find.
3. The theme of this film was the sacrifice a courageous person had to make for a greater cause and in order to help other, more influential people make the world a free and safe place once again.
4. Scenery: A good example of the scenery is Signor Ferrari's saloon called "The Blue Parrot". It is decorated in oriental style and there really is a parrot inside. Signor Ferrari wears a fez and welcomes guests himself. He serves them special Arabic coffee from Arabic coffee pots and in special cups. Unlike Rick's place, which is American style, "The Blue Parrot" is quite the opposite. The atmosphere there is completely exotic and even the staff is dressed locally.
Costumes: German and French soldiers wear uniforms and local population wears Arabic national clothes with fezes. Major Heinrich Strasser and Captain Louis Renault wear their uniforms when they first meet at the airport. Sometimes they take off their caps, but they are never seen dressed like civilians, which suggests that they are always on duty. When people gather in Rick's café we can easily recognize the French soldiers and their captain, the German soldiers and their major and the civilians from all across Europe.
Lighting: Film is black and white and lighting is a very important visual element in the film. Light and darkness give the characters and the story the mood and describe their personal characteristics and inner states. A memorable scene is when Rick is in his saloon after closing, drinking. Sam is there also. Rick is in almost complete darkness which shows his feelings. He is drinking because of his sorrow and because Ilsa had disturbed him an he is doing that in the dark which shows his grief.
Props: The most important props in the film are two letters of transit. Two soldiers were killed because of them. Ugarte was arrested and also killed because of them and in the end these letters save Victor Laszlo's life and keep him united with his wife Ilsa, who is his inspiration. The letters have a role throughout the whole film. Four people get killed because of them and they save the leader of the Cause Victor Laszlo.
5. The most important symbol in the film was the piano. It represented freedom, love and Paris. Sam played "As Time Goes By" which was the love song for Rick and Ilsa while in Paris. The piano served as the hiding place for the letters of transit as well. It was considered an "innocent" object while the soldiers were searching the saloon looking for the letters, so that they didn't look there. It connected Rick and Ilsa. When Ilsa asked Sam to play "As Time Goes By", Rick arrived angry with Sam, but then he saw Ilsa and all his memories came back.
6. Long Shot: The example of a long shot is when major Heinrich Strasser arrives and gets off the plane. There is Captain Louis Renault with both French and German soldiers to welcome him. This shot is used so that we can see all those soldiers in full equipment along with the airplane. It gives a sense of power.
Medium shot: The example of medium shot is when Ugarte turns around towards Rick while holding a drink in his hand. This shot is used when the director wants the us to see a person in a way we would look at them in real life. The lower part of the body is less important in this case. There is also a scene where Ferrari and Rick are talking in "The Blue Parrot". The point is that the audience should focus on the upper body parts.
Close-up: There is a close-up of Ilsa while talking to Rick while still in Paris in the café "La Belle Aurore". She is looking at him, but we can see that she is hiding something. Another scene where close-ups are used is when Victor and Ilsa are talking about leaving Morocco in "The Blue Parrot". This placement of the camera is used so that we can see the expressions on the character's faces without distractions.
Dolly or Crane shot: There is a crane shot when we see the market from above and there is a truck in movement. It serves as a good spot for surveillance. From this place we can localize where we are, it is like an establishing shot.
High Angle: There is high angle in many shots in the film. Some of those are when Ilsa asks the waiter about Sam. She is sitting, so we see her from above. Another shot is when Ilsa is looking at Rick when they see each other for the first time in Morocco. Rick is standing. High angle is also used when Rick is in his office reading a letter before he gets up to open the door. High angle is used to accentuate a feeling of a person and a point of view of another person who is looking at them. When a character is shot from high angle, they are in an unnatural pose and have to look up, which makes them seem as if they were guilty or hiding something.
Eye Level: There is eye level in many scenes. When Rick is looking at people coming in his saloon. When Strasser is talking to Laszlo and when Ilsa finds out that Ugarte had been killed it is in the eye level. Usually when people are talking to each other eye level placement of the camera is used.
Low angle: Low angle is used when Rick is putting letters of transit in the piano. It is used so that we can see his both his hand, his face and people around him while he is doing it. Another scene is when Rick and Laszlo meet at the entrance of "The Blue Parrot". Rick is going out and Laszlo is going in. They are shot from a low angle and because of this position we can see their body language better than from another position. Their make significant expressions on their faces and we can see their whole figures as well. Another interesting shot from low angle is when Rick is asking a dealer at the roulette table if a Bulgarian man has luck. We can see the hands of the dealer, the part of the roulette table and the faces of Rick and the dealer. Low angle is used so that we can see that Rick is plotting something.
7. Sound effects: In Morocco the sound of airplanes represents good luck because it means that people are going to Lisbon and then to America. However the sound of airplanes in Paris, mixed with the sound of trumpets represents a threat and occupation. These sound set the mood of hope and of fear depending on the context. There is also suspense music at the train station mixed with the shouting of a speaker, which suggests that something is wrong. Another interesting sound effect is when Rick sees Ilsa in his office after the saloon had been closed. This sound effect shows us that he is surprised to see her there.
Music: The song "As Time Goes By" represents love between Rick and Ilsa. Rick forbade Sam to play it until Ilsa came, recognized Sam and persuaded him to play it again. It sets the romantic mood. There is also "La Marseillaise" at the beginning and at the end of the film. It sets the mood of victory. There is also a scene when German soldiers start singing their national anthem in Rick's saloon but are soon outvoiced by the people singing "La Marseillaise". This also sets the winning atmosphere.
Film editing: The director uses long shots most of the time and slow cutting. There are shots of long duration. One example is when Sam is playing "As Time Goes By" and Rick is drinking in the dark. The rhythm of the film is very well achieved by using long shots in which many things occur. A lot of panning is used as well as zooming in and out. All of this affects the rhythm of the film making it dynamic.
8. Goethe's three questions:
What was the artist trying to do? The author wanted to make a drama with elements of romance which is set in a real time period at the beginning of World War II. There are also comical dialogues. The director was trying to tell a story about courage and sacrifice and the actors were very persuasive.
How well did the artist accomplish it? The director's techniques were effective. He combined elements of drama, romance and comedy in a film set in the years of World War II. The film was black and white, which adds the drama. The lighting was also well used to make the film dynamic. Editing appears seamless and music sets the mood.
Was it worth doing? It was worth doing because it is considered to be one of the best films of all time. Casablanca won three Oscars. There is action all the time, the actors are very good and the production of the film was high quality. The artists achieved a great level of performance and the audience finds this film exciting and emotional.
Works Cited:
Casablanca. Dir. Michael Curtiz. Warner Bros, 1942. Film.
