Casablanca (1942)

CASABLANCA 

Relate class discussion/text to screening:

     The themes displayed in Casablanca, as discussed in class, are honor, self-sacrifice, and lost love. The themes of self-sacrifice and lost love are apparent when, at the end of the film, Rick makes Ilsa leave Casablanca with Victor. He sacrifices their possible relationship so that Victor Laszlo and Isla can leave together. Aside from the themes, the memorable scenes were discussed. The memorable films discussed in class made the viewer look for particular scenes and the reactions of the characters.

Related article:

     The article chosen for Casablanca was a review written by the famous movie critic, Roger Ebert. Distributed in class, Ebert’s review contains much background, plot, and his personal feelings towards the film.

(http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-casablanca-1942)

 

Apply the article to the film:

     Roger Ebert, a famous critic and author of the “Great Movie” article, mentions how both Rick and Ilsa sacrifice their love for something greater. This is apparent throughout the film as both want to pursue a relationship while Rick knows that Ilsa should be with Victor. The article also relates to the film because, as noted by Ebert, Casablanca was created with a tight budget but “A-List” stars, including Bogart and Bergman. Ebert’s personal feelings towards the film is that it, “never grows over-familiar… the more I know it, the more I like it.” Being that Casablanca is considered a classic and one of the greatest film of all time allows for Ebert’s review to be true to the average viewer and fan.

Critical analysis:

     Casablanca is considered one of the greatest films of all time, according to the American Film Institute, and proves that throughout with having Bogart and Bergman have the starring roles. On a personal note, my favorite part was the ending for a few reasons. Rick giving up what he could have had with Ilsa so that she and Laszlo could be together, is the first reason. Next, when we discussed how Bergman was not told how the film was going to end and the viewer was able to see her genuine reaction. Also, when, as shown below, Rick says to Louis, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," because that line is extremely memorable and still used to this day. Overall, Casablanca was and is a film its time that displays several themes while keeping and discussing a very small part of the war around them.

Checklist for plagiarism:

1) ( x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 



2) ( x ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 

3) ( x ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 



4) ( x ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 



5) ( x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 



6) ( x ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 



7) ( x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 



8) ( x ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.