Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
USA isolationism during interwar years
Analyzing Casablanca 1942 film
Analyzing Casablanca 1942 film
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: USA isolationism during interwar years
Casablanca is considered one of the most amazing movies by a large number of movie lovers. Indeed, it is an undisputable classic that has earned itself an everlasting place in the minds and hearts of many people all over the world. Its script features the increasing menace pertaining to Nazi Germany, as well as the staunch isolationism that the United States has taken up. Casablanca would be considered a classic thanks to its endlessly charming nature that emanates from its stellar performance, as well as its delivery of a timeless story of love and loss. The story is set in French Morocco in December 1941, in which war refugees are seeking a way out of the Third Reich to the American safe haven. The protagonist in the movie, Tick Blaine, operates a café and boasts of not taking any sides stating that “I stick my neck out for nobody”. However, his apparent ignorance and nonchalance changes after a Nazi resistance leader Victor Laszlo and Rick’s old flame Ilsa Lund. Not only does rick start recognizing the war that is happening within and around his café but also he is prompted to make an immense sacrifice for the good of all. Like many classical films, Casablanca comes with two different plotlines. The first plotline revolves around the heterosexual romance between Elsa and Rick, whose love story becomes complicated with the entry of a third male character who has noble qualities that make him an appropriate rival to the protagonist. This is brought out through the use of flashback where the most joyful moments in the lives of Rick and Elsa are expressed in a happier scene as the scene where Rick is alone in his café fades away. The second plotline revolves around the wars that draw individuals from varied cultural backgrounds... ... middle of paper ... ... more powerful friends, while he wants to keep the ring to himself in some instances. He finally gives up the ring following its destruction at Mount Doom after Gollum fights him for the ring. Even then, Frodo had elected to keep the ring in spite of the immense trouble it had caused him. It is ironical that the ring is eventually destroyed by its own power, despite the fact that it possessed and connected so many. This fascination with power and the desire by a large number of people to create the crudest weapons that would cause the most harm to all people that would stand on the path of their pursuit for power and influence underlines the reality of greed and temptation that plagues the society today. Indeed, a large number of people are prepared to go to any length to attain symbols of power and feed their insatiable greed for influence in the society.
Casablanca was directed in an era almost entirely dedicated to propaganda, as far as the film industry is concerned. The movie promoted America and the Allies similar to most films of the time, but it did so in a much different manner. The story told in Casablanca follows the main character, Rick, through his personal affairs and love tango with another lead character, Ilsa Lund. The film begins with Rick alone running his saloon based in Casablanca, in which he seems very indifferent to other people’s affairs, and comes off as very exclusive. He is delivered letters of transit by a man named Ugarte, which are nearly priceless to any refugee desiring to flee to the United States or another unoccupied country. Rick continues to act disinterested, reluctantly agreeing to hide the documents. He holds onto them even after Ugarte is killed for having stolen the letters, although there did not seem to be an...
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, indeed, involves problems that Rick faced and he finally solved that problem, ending in a satisfying way. Risk’s equilibrium is disrupted when he is going to leave Paris with his girl friend Ilsa because Ilsa doesn’t showed up at last. Risk becomes a boss of a cafe in Casablanca but he never imagines that he would encounter Ilsa again. Ilsa walks into Risk’s life again by accident when she is planing to get a letter of transit in Casablanca in order to escape to America with her husband. At the same time, Nazi Major Strasser arrives in Casablanca and tries to stop Ilsa’s husband from leaving Casablanca. Risk’s equlibrium is disrupted again. Risk still loves and hates Ilsa, and moreover, he gets the letter of transit. Even though Risk wanted to stay with Ilsa and let her husband go to America alone, Risk finally let Ilsa and her husband go and killed the Nazi Major Strasser. That is a satisfying ending.
Throughout history, the film industry has seen many directing styles and techniques. The early part of the 20th century saw a factory style of film production, but as the years went by, director's began to employ new and untried techniques in their pictures. One such technique which these director's implemented was a new approach to the use of the camera and camera angles. "Casablanca," an Academy Award winning film of 1942 saw director Michael Curtiz manipulate the camera in ways others had not. He uses the close-up, point-of- view, and creative shot motivation methods in his film starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, to create an American cinema classic.
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...
Classical Hollywood movies are important to the film making. They have set a guide and standards to be followed by filmmakers to come. Making films is not only a business but an art. It reflects the directors and writers imagination of what the film should be. Classical Hollywood films encompass many formal elements. One such film that encompasses these elements is the film Casablanca. IT is a classical Hollywood film because it uses the formal elements in a way to convey its message and has been critically acclaimed for generations.
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
On September 13, I attended the Resisting Fascism screening of Casablanca put on by Emory Cinematheque. I had never seen Casablanca before so I was excited to finally watch the film. The film was also project on 35 mm film, which I found really fascinating to be able to view it in this form. Dr. Paul J. Buchholz, an associate professor in the German Studies department, introduced the film. One of the main points he made in his introduction, was that the film was about refugees and made mostly by immigrants. There were 75 cast members who worked on the film and almost all of them were born outside of the United States; the director, Michael Curtiz, was born in Hungary. Most of the European actors in the film had left Europe in order to flee
In 1982, the journalist Chuck Ross, in an experiment for Film Comment, mailed the script of Casablanca to 217 agencies under a different title and under a different authorship name. Although many rejected it for external reasons, eighty-one agencies read it and of those, fifty-three did not recognize it as the classic. But here’s the cherry on top: forty-one agencies criticized the iconic, Oscar-winning script with harsh words. One wrote, “Story line is thin. Too much
The atmosphere of a film is very important to any film, regardless of the it’s genre. It establishes the tone of the film and manipulates the audience's mood through imagery, setting, and character emotion/action. Successful producers know that setting the atmosphere of a film is essential in the filmmaking industry because it allow the viewers to appreciate, enjoy, and relate to the film. Michael Curtiz’s Casablanca offers an atmosphere in his prominent screenplay to hide the fact that the film’s main goal was to brainwash millions of people for the benefit of the U.S. government. The atmosphere that was created was strong because it masked the scent of the hidden anti-fascist propaganda within the film. People related to the film so
Casablanca starts as a news reel. You see a slowly turning globe that highlights the ally countries and the axis countries during WW II. Also, there is a documentary-style narration at the beginning of the movie, which sets the tone for a war time movie. Also, there is a scene in the movie where Germans are at Rick’s bar sing a German song. Then Victor causes the bar band to begin playing a patriotic French song, which quickly over takes the sound of the German soldiers’ voices. I believe this scene in the movie portrays Casablanca as begin a pro-war movie. It shows that although it may take time the ally forces while overcome the Germans.
Casablanca is considered one of the best movies ever. In order to be the best movie ever it must have a superb ending. Here is how I think Casablanca will end based on it classification as a great movie. Great movie tend to end in a matter unlike the obvious outcome, like in 12 Angry Men where the obvious outcome would be finding the plantify guilty, and in heartbreak, such as Gone With the Wind when Rhett leaves Scarlett. I do not think the movie will with Rick’s plan working perfectly: Ilsa and him escaping to America and living happily ever after. That ending would be too obvious and not inspiring for the viewer. I do not believe that Rick and Ilsa will end up together at all. The main evidence I have for this is that one of the most famous
This conclusively demonstrates that lust for power can drive people to do the cruelest things in order to capture it. Works Cited The Tragedy of Macbeth William Shakespeare
In the film LOTR Directed by Peter Jackson one of the main protagonists Frodo Beggins is faced with a heavy burden of getting one ring that has the power to control all of middle earth “ One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them” ( LOTR The Fellowship of The Ring, Peter Jackson) to Mt. Doom and destroying it so the the main antagonist of the movie Sauron can’t get a hold of the ring and take over. Frodo in The Fellowship of the ring has tried to give the ring away three different times first to Gandalf the Grey, Second time to Galadriel, and a third to Aragorn, because he didn’t want to hold the burden of carrying the ring, because he is feeling the ring growing stronger in power and his mental strength is weak and not as strong as those three, “ Frodo: [telepathically] If you ask it of me, I will give you the One Ring. Galadriel: You offer it to me freely? I do not deny that my heart has greatly desired this.
Casablanca does an excellent job in portraying two different kinds of love: a passionate love and an intimate and committing love. Passionate love is unavoidable and a part of life but people need to accept that a love based solely on passion does not last. An intimate and committing love is what will persevere and is what they need to hold on to. In the final scene Rick and Ilsa accept that their moment is gone, that they will be separate for life but “will always have Paris”. She then moves on to continue her relationship with Laszlo. That is the main message in Casablanca: that you need to accept that passionate love doesn’t last and embrace intimate and committing love.