Casablanca was released in 1942; it was directed by Michael Curtiz and produced by Hal B. Wallis under Warner Brother’s Studios. Casablanca was, and still is, considered one of the best movies ever made. The last scene in Casablanca where Rick and Ilsa were saying their final goodbyes remains to be considered one of the most memorable scenes in cinema.
The cinematography towards become more noticeable and prominent due to the gap among special parts of the shots. The Chiaroscuro (light and dark) effect also helped in raising levels of worry and suspicion; this was done by contrasting the clear bright lights on the airplane runway to the darker shades of the fog and night sky. This light and dark effect also relates to film noir, a prominent genre in classical Hollywood. The fog in this final scene is in my opinion the most prominent part of the ending’s cinematography as it had cast an almost grey filter over the whole final scene, which further exaggerated the feelings of suspicion and mystery. This results in leaving the audience clueless about how the fight is going to finish/how the war is going to end. Throughout the final sequence the lighting technique was sharp and differs from the mostly softer lighting found throughout the parts of the film leading up to the finale. The cinematography of the finale also features many different camera movement techniques. After Captain Renault and Laszlo exit the scene, the camera begins to follow Rick and Ilsa, where it was not focusing on either of their own view points. After the most memorable speech/conversation in the film, Rick sends Ilsa to get on the plane with Victor. After a cut away to Captain Renault, the camera movements start to builds up again to further highlight the speech that Rick had just given.
Michael Curtiz used sound in this scene very effectively; while filming the movie, he found that the sound stage was way too small to be suitable for a real airplane. So he decided to shoot the final sequence on a soundstage at Warner Brothers where there was no real airplane and used models of the planes instead. Whilst the scene is mostly dominated by music, some key points of sound in the scene stand out amongst the general sound used in the majority of the scene; for instance, when the shot of Rick and Ilsa cuts away to the Nazi general driving to the airfield, the music immediately rises in volume and gets more dramatic to connote perhaps anger or even danger. Another instance of music demonstrating a switch of emotion in the scene is when Captain Renault drops the Viche water into the bin and kicks it away. Also, when Rick is finished with his speech and is talking to both Laszlo and Ilsa, the scene stays mostly quiet apart from their voices, when suddenly the sound of the airplane’s engine and propellers cuts in; this almost acts as a catalyst to move the scene along as it prompts Laszlo to ask Ilsa if she’s ready. The other most prominent sound in the scene is Rick’s gunshot, which breaks the tense argument in the scene and marks a permanent turnaround in Rick’s life.
The editing in the final scene differs from the majority of the film’s continual or ‘invisible’ editing as there involves a lot more cuts in the finale; when the scene’s tension rises, the cuts get quicker and shorter. Also, when the scene wants to switch emotion or switch the audience’s attention, it uses a sudden cut – like the one where it switches from Rick and Ilsa to the Nazi general – to do this effectively.
The performance in this scene is definitely dominated by Humphrey Bogart; Bogart’s depiction of Rick’s development from a cold hearted, emotionless man into a ‘sentimentalist’ is both effective and smoothly done, making his performance impressive and convincing. Ingrid Bergman’s performance also makes up a large portion of this scene, as she has to demonstrate Ilsa’s split feelings between Rick and Laszlow; although this is demonstrated throughout the film, it is most prominent in this scene as she is forced to make her final decision (whether the decision was voluntary or not).
The mise-en-scene in the final sequence is subtle when compared to the majority of the film as there are far less characters, building and props in the shots. This means that when something important is in the scene, it is immediately recognised and acknowledged by the audience. An example of this would be the Viche water that Captain Renault throws away to connote a political change of heart.
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