Casablanca Scenes

Casablanca Scenes

The opening bar scene

The performance in the opening scene in Ricks bar creates a sense of isolation in the bar, everyone has their backs turned, and they all sit in groups of two or three, the biggest grouping being around six people This shows the danger and untrusting nature of those who are stuck in Casablanca. While Ricks is one of the happier places in Casablanca, it still has a melancholy tone to it, for example, the two men having a conversation (albeit a one-sided conversation), about he is never going to get out of Casablanca, the other man is uninterested, shown through uneven eye-lines and body language, suggesting this is a common occurrence in Casablanca.

The camera during the opening shots uses a lot of movement in the bar scene, panning around the bar from right to left. It also uses establishing shots at the start of the scene. This is the typical style of classical Hollywood. The camera is also never really still, moving from conversation to conversation, this shows the secrecy of Casablanca, no one is actually friends, no one is trustworthy, they just want to figure out a way out of Casablanca as quick as possible. The editing in this scene is also effective as it cuts away from conversations just after we hear the most important/key part. This continues to show the secrecy of Casablanca, as we never get all the details of what is happening, we are constantly left guessing, the use of the enigma codes helps to bring this scene to life.

The use of mise-en-scene in this scene is good as it manages to present a sense of safety and security(although we as an audience soon learn it is a false sense of security) within ricks bar. There is a huge wooden door, protecting the entrance, and stopping the searchlight that consistently sweeps along the outside of the bar, reminding people that although they are in "unoccupied" french territory, they still aren't safe, the large door locks the lights out, allowing a sense of safety for the people inside, although we learn it isn't really safe, with one of the first scenes being shot in to bar is the arrest scene. They also use sound effectively in this scene as there is repetition throughout the scene of the word "waiting" the use of this in dialogue bring attention to the fact that very few people choose to stay in Casablanca, but rather they are stuck there, hoping for any chance to escape to get to America.

Paris Flashbacks   

In the Paris flashback scenes, the movie uses sound really effectively, for example, the use of the lound and jarring noises that the german tanks make while travelling to Casablanca. This brings us away from the loving storyline of Rick and Ilse, and back to the harsh reality of the world that they live in (World War Two). It also uses music to help show the love between Ilse and Rick, as it plays quite romantic music, helping the audience understand that Ilse really did love rick, and that it wasn't just a fling after the death of her husband.

The use of performance is key in this scene, especially towards the end of the flashbacks, as we see Isle realise that her husband is still alive and that she can no longer stay with Rick. The emotion she manages to portray ket us as an audience understand that she doesn't want to leave Rick, but she has to go and be with Victor. Towards the end, we see her unable to look at Rick, as she believes that she will never see him again after that day, whereas he remains unaware of what is about to happen, and the sacrifices that Ilse will have to make.

Another key part of the Paris scene is the use of camera. There is a lot of close ups in the flashback. scenes, this allows us to see the emotion on Isle's face, the panic, worry and fear is all evident to the audience. The use of dramatic irony, paired with these closeups allows us as an audience to better understand what happened between Rick and Ilse. It helpsjnm=y