The Michael Curtiz’s 1942 film Casablanca depicts Richard Blaine as an isolated individual obsessed with his memories of his former love. He begins to challenge his own policy of isolationism with the return of his love, Ilsa, and the spread of Nazism; his conflict with himself over his ideals forces him to consider the future of others and helps him overcome his past. Throughout the film, Richard begins to internally battle himself to overcome his own differences and help not only himself, but others for his own freedom.
Richard Blaine’s past would have anyone sympathize with him. Richard experienced a loss of trust in love when he departed Paris to flee from the war. Reoccurring flashbacks begin to happen with the return of his former love.
…show more content…
He has shut out anyone that tries to be close to him, except for his staff, and Sam, he refuses to sit and drink with customers, potentially fearing the unknown journey he might have with any new woman. In the opening shot of the café, when the camera makes a long shot of the entire setting, he isn’t introduced until after everyone else. The pan up shot to Richard’s face offers viewers a sense of suspense, but are ultimately let down. Viewers see him sitting alone, playing chess and drinking in the corner, observing everyone else. He doesn’t speak to anyone first, his employees approach him and then he talks. His attitude about being an owner of a business is very atypical of other owners. Normally, we as viewers would see the owner approaching customers, being friendly and inviting. Richard, however, nearly refuses to do so. This by chance must do with his internal fear of being heartbroken again if he invites anyone into his life. His internal fear drives him to be isolate towards others. The way Richard composes himself begins to shift into a total opposite however subtle, his presentation as well as the lighting shift the direction of the mood into something more
In the essay “Beautiful Friendship: Masculinity & Nationalism in Casablanca”, Peter Kunze lavishly explains the magnificence of Michael Curtiz’s 1942 film Casablanca. Kunze focuses on how the movie not only highlights an exchange of relationships, but how the film has an underlying meaning between these relationships. He also implies that there is a more complex meaning behind every character in regards to their gender, economic, and social roles. The overall thesis of his reading is “the patriarchal ideology underlying the narrative commodifies Ilsa, leading Rick to exchange her with other men in an act of friendship and solidarity as well as to dissuade any perception of queerness between the strong male friendships in the narrative” (Kunze
The film Casablanca centers on an American man by the name of Rick Blaine who flees a German-occupied France during World War II to a city in Morocco by the name of Casablanca. (Casablanca, 1942) This city is a territory of France at the time and is out of full German jurisdiction due to this status. (Casablanca, 1942) Many citizens of German-occupied countries in Europe sought refuge here due to the lack of control Germany had on other countries’ territories early in the war. The general intent of refugees in Casablanca was to flee to even further countries such as The United States of America, which they could not achieve in their home, occupied countries. As the film’s plot develops, the viewer is introduced to refugees very important to the freedom-fighting movement France, and we learn that Rick originated in New York, U.S.A.
In the film Casablanca, directed by Michael Curtiz, a clear juxtaposition exists between Rick and America. Despite Rick’s numerous similarities to America and his deep longing to be part of the country, a physical and psychological barrier separates the two. With America practically being on the opposite end of the world, Rick understands that he cannot abandon his responsibility to aid and influence others in Casablanca. Rick is willing to sacrifice his personal comfort and well-being for the greater good of society. This juxtaposition between America and Rick foreshadows that the United States would soon become involved in the war by overtly displaying Rick’s transformation when he confronts his troubled past.
Audience members, when seeing Casablanca, would associate it as a war film, and I agree with that, but to be more precise, it is a pro-Allie war film. The literary elements in the film are the reasons why it can be viewed this way, with the emphasis on the plot and characters. The timing of when the film was released also supports the idea of it being an anti Axis film. Although it was set in 1940, it was made a year after Pearl Harbor and America entering the war, but it was released right before the Allies had a meeting in Casablanca, so the filmmakers seemed to have wanted the audience to empathize with the Allies. The whole plot seems to be focused around how Rick is neutral at the beginning of the film, but because of an old flame coming into his life once again, he slowly becomes in favor of the Allie side.
The 1942 movie, “Casablanca” portrays a World War II era enclave where refugees fled Nazi Europe and used this unoccupied city as a safe haven while pursuing their dreams of coming to America. The main character is Rick Blaine, played by Humphrey Bogart, who owns a nightclub and casino in unoccupied Morocco during the Nazi era. Blaine, whose sole purpose appears to be money, illuminates a sense of arrogance and self righteousness as he assists in retrieving the necessary immigration documents for those who are willing to pay the price for their freedom. Hidden deep within his memory are the reflections of a women that he once loved, Ilsa Lund, played by Ingrid Bergman. The third leading role was that of Paul Henreid who played the Ilsa’s husband in the movie. Victor Laszlo, a Jewish activist who was on the run from the German Regime was once believed to be dead after being captured and placed in a concentration camp, during which time his wife (Ilsa) fled to Paris and ultimately had an affair with Rick Blaine.
Casablanca’s setting exposes the hometown view points so the audience sympathize with Casablanca’s inhabitants. Casablanca’s majority wants to leave but must stay while under the German rule. Although Casablanca still claimed they were unoccupied France, it became obvious that they i...
Despite not being considered as the traditional ‘hero’s journey’ which is outlined in Joseph Campbell’s argument of ‘separation-initiation-return’, Humphrey Bogart’s character Rick Blaine, in the 1942 film Casablanca, can be argued to follow this twelve-step journey. Campbell states “whether the hero be ridiculous or sublime…” (p.38), on this basis, Rick Blaine qualifies as a hero. These twelve steps are: Ordinary World; Call to Adventure/Disruption; Refusal of the Call; Meeting with the Mentor; Crossing the First Threshold; Tests, Allies, and Enemies; Approach to the Inmost Cave; Ordeal; Reward; The Road Back; The Resurrection; and Return with the Elixir. Although in some parts stages may overlap, this essay aims to argue that Casablanca still
Richard has a dream that reveals to him why Donald seems so mysterious. He sees a man a...
The Epstein brothers created Casablanca, a romantic adventure, like no other of its time. There are few movies that are loved by men and women alike. Casablanca is one such movie. It successfully combines action, adventure, love and romance into a film loved by all.
From the outset of the play, it is obvious that Richard subscribes to the majority of the Machiavellian principles. Certainly, he is not ashamed or afraid to plot heinous murder, and he does so with an ever-present false front. "I do mistake my person all this while,"1 he muses, plotting Anne's death minutes after having won her hand. He will not even entertain the ideas in public, demanding they "Dive...down to [his] soul."2 He knows that he must be cunning and soulless to succeed in his tasks. Richard also knows it is essential to guard against the hatred of the populace, as Machiavelli warned.
People show acts of altruism when they see someone in need of help. In the movie “Casablanca”, Rick shows acts of altruism to people he cares about and strangers. People show altruism for numerous reasons to help form or keep a strong relationship.
Robert B. Ray categorizes Casablanca as "the most typical" American film. Ray uses Casablanca as a tutor text for what he calls the formal paradigm of Classical Hollywood as well as the thematic paradigm that addresses the conflict between isolationism and communitarian participation. The film is typical in its appropriation of an official hero Laszlo, who stands for the civilizing values of home and community, and an outlaw hero Rick, who stands for individu...
The movie opens with a short news reel showing the importance of Casablanca on the steps to America. This movie takes place during the time of world war two, so all the people in Casablanca are trying to get out. After the brief newsreel, the director uses a very intriguing way of showing the audience the main character, Rick. Everyone is talking about him, describing him, but we never actually see him. Just from these first few descriptions of Rick, we can tell he is self-centered and does not interact much with others. This is demonstrated by a quote by Captain Renault, saying Rick does not drink with anybody. The actor then states that he is the second largest bank owner in Casablanca. In, a humorous response, Captain Renault states
The resulting film is a richly, spaciously rendered account of landscape and moodscape: long, wordless scenes flow into each other, as McCandless heads off in search of American freedom, hitch-hiking or riding the boxcars, taking transient jobs. The colours are the rich browns, ochres and sunset yellows I associate with the indie cinema of the 1970s. Emile Hirsch gives a very good performance as the intelligent and candid young McCandless, an idealist and a romantic, but he is also stubborn, driven and selfish. There is something regressive and dysfunctional in McCandless, a fear of human interaction. "You're wrong if you think the joy of life comes from human relationships," is one of the last things McCandless says to Franz.
In reality, however, neither of these personas come even remotely close to the truth of his identity. By hiding behind these facades as well as expressing evil intentions and a strong connection to the dark side, Richard finds himself capable of being someone amazing. But that someone is not him. He revels in being able to “seem a saint…when mostly…play[ing] the devil,” and thus gains an identity through his villainous and monstrous ideas (36) Every physical action he takes can be traced back to its origin in the mind as a carefully crafted piece of his overall plan to ascend the