Casablanca



We've all seen the classic scene redone a thousand times: two lovers at the airport, one sending the other on alone to protect her while the other stays behind in a war ravaged land, wanting her to stay, but also knowing she would regret the decision "Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life." Yes we've all seen this scene, but many don't know of its origin as the climatic ending of one of the greatest films of all time: //Casablanca.//

The main focus of //Casablanca// is the beautifully woven romance of Ilsa Lund and Rick Blaine that develops midst the Nazi's invasion of France. Ilsa who has been told that her husband, Victor Laszlo (a leader of the resistance) was captured and killed in an escape attempt consumed with grief she meets Rick and they fall madly in love. When the Nazi's invade they plan to meet at the train station and escape together, but Ilsa never shows up. Years later (the beginning of the film) Rick, bitter and cynical at the loss of his love, owns his own nightclub in Casablanca. Out of the blue Ilsa and her husband Victor show up needing writs of transit to get out of Casablanca and continue the resistance movement. When Laszlo tries to purchase them from Rick he refuses telling him to ask his wife why. After the Nazis shut down Rick’s club, Ilsa returns with a gun to get the papers, but she cannot shoot and tells Rick that she still loves him. Rick finally decides to give up the papers for Laszlo allowing Ilsa to believe that she will stay behind with him. When Laszlo is arrested for a minor crime Rick convinces Captain Renault, his friend and gamboling partner, to release him saying that they can catch him for a much higher charge: possession of the papers. When the Captain arrives to arrest Laszlo Rick double crosses him and makes him drive them to the airport. Renault manages to get a message to his comrades, but in the end he lets them go. At last the ending scene when Rick tells Ilsa to go on with Laszlo, that he needs her and she would regret it if she stayed. In the end Rick and Renault walk off into the sunset with "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

//Casablanca// is full of big time acting names starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Bogart gives a memorable performance as Rick the tough American full of resentment for the hand fate dealt him. Bergman is enchanting and perfectly conveys the conflict of a married woman tragically struck with love for another. The supporting characters include Paul Henreid as Victor Laszlo, Claude Rains as Captain Renault, and many other well-known names of the era.

The movie doesn't have a famous soundtrack. It is mostly composed of well-chosen background music designed to heighten and intensify the mood of each scene. Max Steiner, known best for his score in Gone With the Wind, wrote the score. There is one song present in the film. "As Time Goes By" written by Herman Hupfeld, which was incorporated from the original play. Steiner based his score on that and "La Marseillaise" (the French national anthem).

This film has a very classic old style look to it. The time period that the film was made in means that it is in black and white, but it can be argued that the lack of color makes it all the more powerful. The cinematographer was Arthur Edeson (also known for shooting //Frankenstein//). Much of his work was focused around Bergman, shooting her from the left and using a gauze filter and special lights to make her eyes sparkle. This was all to go along with her character and give the strong impression of "ineffably sad and tender and nostalgic". Bars of shadow were also used as symbols in some scenes to represent imprisonment. Dark lighting was used to transform the atmosphere to work hand in hand with the dramatic and tragic plot.

The pace of the movie is fairly languid and slow yet somehow dramatic and engaging. The movie moves along with fairly little excitement, but while still building the drama to palpable tension. When we reach the end of the film we are left with an ending that is neither happy nor sad and yet the viewer almost thinks it impossible for things to have worked out any other way. Almost as if fate took control of these lives and arranged things the way they were meant to be. There aren't any major editing tricks in //Casablanca//. It really speaks for how amazing of a film it is by how it is still on the top lists of movies of all times without any of the modern day techniques.

//Casablanca// doesn't really utilize any special effects. Yet the plot and performances by the actors are just so intense that we don't even miss these things. It really is a true classic that captivated audience and with the lack of technology it had to rely that much more on the other components of film.