Casablanca Context Flashcards
WWI
When is Casablanca set
5th December 1941
WWI
what part of America does Rick initially represent
the isolationist stance
WWI
why did America adopt an isolationist stance
recovering from WWI, could see devestation on newsreels/papers
Hollywood and the war effort
What was the role of the OWI
United States Office of War Information
set up in 1942
create and desseminate information and propaganda
Hollywood and the war effort
what did Hollywood do to help the war effort
Adjusted romance films so that couples were seperated at the end to do their patriotic duty in the war
regulation and censorship
What was the Hays Code
Active from 1934-1968
A guideline that films had to abide by
e.x. no nudity
production
What is the central/unit producer system
3 points
producer was in control, oversaw production of 6-8 films/year, cast and crew worked on (usually 7 year) contracts
Auteur
What does Andrew Sarris say about Casablanca
Auteur: technical skill, interior meanings, personal style
“Casablanca was the decisive exception to the rule”
Old Hollywood
when was the Paramount Anti-Trust case
1948
destroyed vertical integration
Classical/Old Hollywood
What comprised the style of CH
8 points
3-act narrative, casue and effect, omniscient narrator, universal themes, linear narrative, predictable, invisible editing, 180 degree rule
Classical/Old Hollywood
What comprise the style of CH
8 points
3-act narrative, casue and effect, omniscient narrator, universal themes, linear narrative, predictable, invisible editing, 180 degree rule
aesthetics
What are the conventions of Film Noir
Warner Bros. style
low-key, black and white visuals, chiaroscuro, anti-hero, low and wide angles, Dutch shots, flashbacks, V/O narration, pessimistic
aesthetic
What are the conventions of Expressionism
twisted landscape, insane or evil characters, morbid plot line, urban setting, crime(inal underworld), external representation of internal emotions
Aesthetic
What are the conventions of Melodrama
Warner Bros. style
dialogue concentrated, characters fulfil stereotypes/flat, set in private spaces of the home, accompanied by dramatic and suggestive music, most attention on victims,
Aesthetics
What are the conventions of Documentary
Instructional, educational, historical records, V/O, sound track, montage, actuality, archival footage
Aesthetics
What is the main aesthetic of Casablanca
Pro-War
DIrector- Michael Curtiz
What could have hindered Michael Curtiz’s artistic freedom
studio system- factory line production via vertical integration
Director- Michael Curtiz
What does Curtiz’s Hungarian Jewsih immigrant origins signify
emotionally motivated due to the presence of immigrants in teh cast and crew
Director- Michael Curtiz
What does Curtiz have credited work in
film noir genre- iconography of Casabalanca
Producer-Hal.B.Wallis
What is the significance of ‘One man major walking studio’ - Ronald Reagan
impact on the entire film making process
Producer-Hal.B.Wallis
What does ‘Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship’ signify
reflects Warners attitude towards America’s post-WWI isolationism
cinematographer-Arthur Edeson
What does the realist and expressionist style of Casablanca signify
Edesons being adept in both realism and expressionism
cinematographer-Arthur Edeson
What is the chiaroscuro lighting in Rick’s cafe at night reminiscent of
- Edesons prior film, and the first in the film noir genre, the Maltese Falcon (Huston,1941)
- common trope of expressionist influences
cinematographer-Arthur Edeson
Where is Edesons expressionism seen in the hanger scene
- fog creates an ethereal, mysterious atmosphere
- shadows stand out among the pale background
cinematographer-Arthur Edeson
What do the gauze filter and key lights in eyes signify
representaion of gender and Europe
screenwriters- Epstein brothers, Howard Koch, Casey Robinson
Who had the most decisive role in screenwriting
the Epstein brothers through their witty dialogue
screenwriters- Epstein brothers, Howard Koch, Casey Robinson
What was Koch’s contribution
political allegories
screenwriters- Epstein brothers, Howard Koch, Casey Robinson1
What was Robinsons contribution
direction of the love story
screenwriters- Epstein brothers, Howard Koch, Casey Robinson
Why were they demotivated
- new scenes were ‘thrown about’ (Julius Epstein)
- no clarity of how this chaos would end
screenwriters- Epstein brothers, Howard Koch, Casey Robinson
How is the lack of personal investment demonstrated
absence of an ending until the day it was to be shot
Studio-Jack Warner
What did Warner make before America’s involvement in the war
anti-Nazi films due to his Jewish heritage
Studio-Jack Warner
How did he support the war effort
- gave spitfires to the UK allied forces
- donated money to the allied forces
- asked staff to donate 10% of their wages to the war effort if possible
What were the contributions of Humphrey Bogart
- had a controlled image (similar to the one he had on the Maltese Falcoln)
- ‘Here’s looking at you kid’
What were the contributions of Max Steiner
- Austrian immigrant
- leitmotif ‘As Time Goes By’
- kept the Paris flashback
What were the contributions of Orry Kelly
- worked within the costume restrictions of the Hays Code and war
- ‘best of the era’ developed characters and actors
How many people went to the cinema weekly in 1946
90 million
What does Steiner’s leitmotif add
a nostalgic and romantic aesthetic
What does the multicultural cast represent
the different ethnic commnuities living in the French colony of Morocco
