Casablanca

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.
       Casablanca a 1942 Warner Bros Film directed by Micheal Curtiz Staring Humphrey Bogart as Rick and Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa. Based on an unproduced play titled Everybody comes to Ricks by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison. Casablanca is set in the early 40's desert region. Casablanca is the exit point to Lisbon and freedom. The first scene is set with two German couriers carrying two unconditional visa's the German Couriers are murdered, and Ugarte gives the two Visas to Bogart to hide for him. Victor Laszlo head of the European Resistance and his wife Ilsa come to Casablanca to try to obtain the visa's that Bogart has. Little does Ilsa's husband know ,while he was in a concentration camp and presumed dead, Ilsa and Rick had an affair in Paris. This makes getting the Visa's from Rick difficult for Ilsa and Victor, because of the Romance that Ilsa and Rick had. Casablanca was awarded for Best B/W Cinematography, Score/Editing, and Humphrey Bogart won the award for Best Actor also Micheal Curtiz was awarded Best Director.


2) Find a related article and summarize the content. (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) You can use the library or the Internet. Cite the article or copy the url to your journal entry. Summarize in your own words the related article but do not plagiarize any content.
http://www.proquest.com/en-US/promos/feature33_pq.shtml

 

 

        The article opens up with the statement take an American freedom fighter Rick Blaine. The leader of the Czech underground Victor Laszlo and his wife Ilsa Laszlo, who had a previous romance to Blaine, and Rick being the only one that has the papers to Victor and Ilsa's freedom,and you have the recipe for one of the most successful films of the 20th century. Casablanca's original release date was scheduled for Spring 1943, but an unfortunate event on Nov 1942 where Allied forces invaded North Africa and captured Casablanca. This caused a rushed premiere arranged at the Hollywood Theater in New York City on Nov 26. A sequel to the film was in the works, but never happened; once the film was named a classic, writing a sequel became a problem. They were several prequels made plus radio plays and books.
    The letters of transit that Bogart obtains in the movie. In reality there is no such thing as letters of transit, especially ones that have free trail access anywhere, particularly out of Nazi- occupied countries. One of the famous lines Here's looking at you kid was clearly mistaken. Bergman was actually several inches taller than Bogart. To create the illusion of Bogart being taller then Bergman, Director Micheal Curtiz had Bogart stand on boxes, and in some shots Bogart had to sit on pillows. Bergman also had to slouch down in some shots to appear shorter.

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

     The article gave me a lot of surprising hidden insight about the film. It was very interesting to read the tidbits that the author wrote about the film. Especially the insight about the famous line Here's looking at you kid. Finding out that Bogart was actually shorter than Bergman was quit funny to me, and how Director Micheal Curtiz used sly techniques to create the illusion of Bogart being taller was quit clever. My opinion about the film didn’t change after reading the article; it actually educated me more about the film increasing my interest for the film even more.



4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article. I am less interested in whether you liked or disliked a film, (although that can be part of this) than I am in your understanding of its place in film history or the contributions of the director

    The classic black and white film was very remarkable. Director Micheal Curtiz did an astonishing job with the film. The setting, the themes, the plots the actors; everything about the film was wonderful. I found the theme of lost love to be my favorite . I found myself even shedding a tear or two when watching Bogart tell the story of his lost love Ilsa. It definitely deserved the award for Best B/W Cinematography.

Citizen Kane

 

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

Citizen Kane an Orson Welles film released in 1941. Stared Orson Welles as he goes through the stages as a young man, middle aged man, and an old man. Welles had complete control of the movie, something that was unusually for someone who never directed a movie before. The film was a commerical failure due to the film being based on the life of newspaper Mogul William Randolph Hearst. Hearst wasn't pleased that the movies was portrayed about him, and due to that approach, he didn't have any of his newspapers publish ad's or reviews about the film. All that didn't stop the film from receiving nine Oscar nominations including Best original screen play, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director. The film ended up taking home the award for best screenplay. After Citizens Kane Welles never got a chance to make another film with that kind of control.

 

 

2) Find a related article and summarize the content.

http://www.helium.com/items/309996-visual-symbolism-in-orson-welless-citizen-kane

http://www.helium.com/items/309996-visual-symbolism-in-orson-welless-citizen-kane

 

The article I chosen was a movie analysis on the visual symbolism in Orson Welles Citizen Kane. The article starts off with the introduction about how the author feels about the movie, and how Citizen Kane was a "new era of cinema" that used its visual effects to impact the story . The author continues by stating that the use of lighting was an important theme throughout Citizen Kane. In the beginning of the film Kane's Boyhood is bright, and as he gets older the lighting decreases, showing the audience the downward spiral and corruption that follows Kane's Life. Director Welles also used deep focus photography instead of always having to edit the scenes the pictures were a lot easier. The detailed backgrounds and foregrounds that were used on leading character Kane emphasized isolation and distance from the activities of others around him. The author then explains how composition was a crucial part to storytelling in Citizen Kane. The characters would be placed at opposite ends of the screen to convey distance. Large objects were placed between characters at odds, Signs and fences stressed the feeling of alienation. The author references the scene during Kane's political campaign and the big banner of Kane's face, how it reacts on Kane's importance, while belittling the real man. The author ends the article by stating that Citizen Kane is a study in theatrical film making. Today's audience may find Citizen Kane to be old fashion, but it is important to see the impact of visual symbolism in the film .

 

 

 

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class.

The article gave me a good analysis on the visual aspect of the movie, and how it played an very important aspect in the movie. The lighting of the film was a very important theme throughout Citizen Kane. Each stage of Kane's life was portrayed in a different set of lighting the brighter lighting used for his childhood and dimmer lighting was used as he grew older. As well as Welles using deep focus photography to pursue scenes without the intensity of editing. This was something new and interesting to learn about the film. Welles directing skills were portrayed in the article marvelously. How he placed the characters in some scenes on opposite ends of the screen to convey distance and estrangement, and placed large objects between characters at odds. Everything about the article made me realize how important the visual aspects of the film were ,and without them,the film wouldn't be what it was.

 

4) Write a critical analysis of the film

Citizen Kane was filled with Mystery, drama, and tragedy. As I was viewing the film, I felt as though I was an detective trying to solve a case. Especially the hidden meaning to the word Rosebud. For a first time movie director Orson Welles did a stupendous job on directing the film. I would of never guessed that it was Welles first movie directing debut.