Hollywood Classical Era Movies Of The 40s Movie Reviews Examples

“Casablanca” by Michael Curtiz is an anti-Nazi film based on the play. The romantic drama of 1942 starring Ingrid Bergman represents an outstanding example of interesting methods in cinematography. “Casablanca” is a black and white film with high-key lighting and mostly deep focus (except for the close-up scenes with the main characters where shallow focus is used). To make the eyes of the main female character sparkle, the director used softening gauze filter and catch lights. This method gave the effect of the nostalgic and sad glance. The director uses normal lens, so the perspective is normal and the focal length is moderate. “Casablanca is shot by the objective camera, so that the spectator watches the action as the neutral observer. The story is told in chronological order with flashbacks. The music for the movie was written by Max Steiner, but the spectator must have paid his particular attention to the song “As Time Goes By” by Herman Hupfeld. The national anthem of France “La Marseillaise” often sounds in the movie.
The comedy “The Lady Eve” by Preston Sturges was shot in 1941. Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyk created the inimitable atmosphere thanks to the film’s satire. The film is significant for its high-key lighting which attracts the spectator’s attention to the characters’ beautiful costumes, especially to lady Eve’s dress. The director exaggerates everything throughout the movie: Charles’s clumsiness and bad memory, most characters’ emotions and love at first sight. This is the method of all old Hollywood’s comedies. As in the previous movie, the director uses normal lens and objective camera. The sound of the movie is realistic. In the beginning, the director shoots the scene on the boat with the high-angle camera to show how small Charles seems to Jean at the moment; there are several close-ups throughout the movie.