Casablanca Scene Analysis

       CASABLANCA ANALYSIS

Scene being analysed - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BztF71vFpnE

Mise En Scene
One of the first shots of the scene is a shot of only his arm in the background and you can see a chessboard, an ash tray and a glass of some sort of alcohol. The shot then pans up to show Rick by himself playing chess. Firstly, the placing of the alcohol, the chessboard and the ash tray together highlights how Rick, much like the customers, is sophisticated and emphasizes how he is from the upper class. This is furthermore reinforced with his white tuxedo. The colour white connotes purity, suggesting that Rick is the hero of the story. Again, he is playing chess by himself, which maybe suggesting that he is intellectual and maybe isolating. This can backed up by him sitting by himself.

Performance
The actor playing Rick (Humphrey Bogart) visually emotes someone who is stressed and mentally challenged, which matches the character of a hard working bar owner well. His delivery is very dry and serious, highlighting how his character is confident and that he is tired and ever doesn't want to be bothered, which he is by the Nazi. Ugarte (played by Peter Lorre) is loyal and somewhat afraid of Rick, and Lorre shows this by portraying himself as nervous in his performance when he is talking to Rick.

Cinematography 
The first scene shows Rick's hand and it cuts to a shot of his arm. The camera then pans up to show his face. One reason why this series of shots is clever is the way its set up. You see Rick sign the check with his hand. It then shows a shot of the cigarette tray, establishing it in the scene. He then uses the same hand to hand over the check, then uses the same hand to pick up the cigarette and then the camera follows it to reveal Rick's face. This shows the production team's attention to detail allows a way to naturally introduce the main character.

Editing
The editing in this scene is used passively to tell the story, which puts more emphasis on the cinematography and the performances. This is one factor of classical filmmaking. But there are some editing tricks that hold meaning. For example there is a shot where the Nazi was going into the bar and the worker tells him to wait. There is then a quick cut to Rick telling the the worker not to let him. This is important because it highlights Rick's authority in the diner and how the workers are loyal to him.

Sound
One of the most consistent sounds in the scene is the playing of the piano. The piano plays for the entire scene and it may be because pianos symbolize romance. The constant playing of it during scene may be because of how the movie is of the romance genre and it displays how the movie is going to be like. 








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