Cassablanca Essay, Research Paper

Casablanca

1942, the year of the creation of one of the most historical

movies known to date. That movie, Casablanca, based on the

play “Everybody Wants to go to Rick’s”, still captivates

audiences around the world. The setting of the movie is

Casablanca, Morocco during the second world war. Casablanca is

the jump off point to get to Spain and then to America, but

refugees must obtain a fairly costly exit Visa to get onto the

plane. In the middle of all this is Rick’s cafe. Rick’s former

love Ilsa comes to Casablanca on her way to America and

discovers Rick to be a resident there. The love triangle

between Ilsa, her husband Laszlo, and Rick keeps the viewer in

suspense until the very last minutes of the movie. This movie

contains all the factors that a make a movie a classic. It has

great performances by a top cast, a flawless script story line

and director, and superb production techniques. In addition, it

blends a raging love story with tormenting schemes which makes

it one of ! the best Hollywood movies of all time. Casablanca

was never expected to be a large scale movie. The script was written

on a day to day basis even till the last few moments of the movie but

despite all that, it made it bigger than any other movie in it’s time.

The movie took place in 1942 and was based around world war II

which in reality was taking place as they filmed. It was

because of the war that Rick and Ilsa were separated, and this

was an idea that was not so far fetched and something that the

audience could identify with. This was important because it

captivated the audience and drew them in to see if Rick and

Ilsa’s undying love would ever be reunited.

There are many classical quotes that were used in Casablanca,

some of which we still hear being used today. The most famous

of course would be ‘here’s looking at you kid”, and who could

forget, “play it again Sam”, which later became a title for

another film. “This could be the beginning of a beautiful

friendship”, “but we’ll always have Paris”, “go ahead and

shoot, you’ll be doing me a favour”, these are yet another

three quotes which stuck in the minds of audiences everywhere.

These quotes help keep the movie and the memories of the

actors and actresses alive even fifty seven years after the

original shooting.

Let’s not forget the variety of great music the viewer is

treated to while watching this movie. The wonderful sounds are

unforgettable. Even if it may be old, it is still bound to

catch the attention of any viewer young or old. The line-up

of sounds not only features the original score by Max Steiner

but also other great’s such as Perfida, It Had to Be You,

Shine, That’s what Noah Done, Muse’s Call, Knock On Wood, The

Very Thought of You, and of course, As Time Goes By. These

songs made the movie more intriguing and helped to keep the

movie alive all the way throughout every scene. Some of these

songs are still as popular today as they were back when they

were first heard.

There are a few not so obvious occurrences of symbolism within

the movie. It has been said that Rick (Humphry Bogart) and his

night club represent America’s “neutral” position before the

attack on Pearl Harbour, and before the US involvement in the

second world war. Rick is a symbol for American isolationism,

the guy who does not get involved until the last second and

comes right into the middle of the action successfully

overcomes it. Laszlo’s mention of his stay in concentration

camps which was not a symbol, but rather a fictional tragedy

that was taking place in Germany. It was brave to use mention

to this since many feared the thought.

It is no wonder that Casablanca is rated as a Classical movie.

It has all it takes to stand up to any movie of it’s time or

even now. It may not have all the special effects that we are

able to produce today thanks to the involvement in technology,

but it has a story line and cast that are utterly incomparable

to any movie since or before it’s time. It is quite doubtful

that any movie will ever be able to take the place of such a

great movie or to stand next to it even. There is not a boring

minute from the first five minutes into the movie.