NOTE: This blog post reads more like a page of note-taking. Please feel free to scan and browse.
Why Casablanca?
Every “Top Ten” Movies list on Google has it.
#5 on Rotten Tomatoes “Top 100 Classic Movies”
3 Academy Awards in 1942;
Outstanding Motion Picture (Warner Brothers), Best Director (Michael Curtis), Best Screenplay
Robert McKee Mentions it in “Story”
Syd Field mentions it in “Screenplay”
It’s a World War II drama that was shot during World War II, so it’s going to carry a deeply relevant political message.
Title: Casablanca
Author(s): Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch
Year: 1942
Genre: Romantic War Drama
Logline: ”An American saloon owner in North Africa is drawn into World War II when his lost love turns up.”
Syd Field Analysis
I'll be using an analysis style picked up from Syd Fields "Screenplay". This simple structure involves looking at the story as a whole, through its major moments of change. All stories have a beginning, middle, and end. A plot point, or turning point, usually marks the change between each piece of the story.
Initial Thoughts: It looks like it might have some boring “Hallmark” moments, of which I do not swoon for, but then again, it’s also a war film. The trailer says “If you’re looking for adventure, you’ll find it in Casablanca,” so I’m hoping the action outweighs any highly romantic stuff.
First 10 minutes
Narration: explaining that many people come to Casablanca as a way of escaping conflict and coming to America, but those who don’t escape, live in Casablanca, and “wait… and wait… and wait….”
Military searches for stolen documents & suspicious characters. We had an interesting set-up, now lots of movement, sound, and action.
Guy gets shot within the first 5 minutes over not having his papers, which cements the seriousness of the situation for Europeans looking to get a Visa.
So, we start with a world and context set-up before meeting our characters. Meeting the German antagonists first.
~9:00 min: We’re getting a good look at Rick’s nightclub, everyone is talking about Rick, building up a lot of suspense for “who tf is Rick?”
Right as I think that, we meet him. (Pretty great)
He’s playing chess, (with himself?)
Ugarte hands him the signed Letters, which we see Rick and the audience is pretty suspicious of. He plays it like a Gentleman.
Beginning
This musical number, can’t help but notice that the words of the song seem to implicate / serve as exposition for who Rick is, how he feels, where his heads at right now.
~16:50min: I lol’d “I like to think you killed a man, that’s the romantic in me,” weird smile. & Rick’s nonchalant response.
Plot point 1
Captain Renault informs Rick that Victor Lazlow must not escape CasaBlanca, and he’ll probably come through Ricks establishment. Tasks him with ensuring he doesn’t get an Exit Visa.
Sit down with Strasser, we see that Rick is neutral about many things. Almost unconcerned with everything.
Victor Lazlow walks into the club.
Captain Renault and Strasser both chat with him.
Middle
~31min: Sam and Isla know each other
“Leave him alone Miss Isla, you’re bad luck to him.” - Sam. She ignores it.
We watch Isla stare woefully for a good 15 seconds. She’s got some deep, emotional connection to this song.
Rick and Isla’s eyes meet, and the tone (and background music) change quickly. Rick’s composure is lost. He drinks with them, something he says he’d never do.
“A precedent is being broken” So at this point, we know that Rick and Isla have a history. Mysterious enough to keep us curious, and not enough detail to be sure. Very likely they were lovers (unfortunately I already know that they were).
Rick’s a grumpy old drunk.
~38min A Flashback to Paris:
Oh boy oh boy, it’s Rick and Isla, living it up, being in love and such.
“We said no questions” it’s a fling, nothing serious.
Germans invade Paris
~44min: Rick is mad chill, he kisses the girl and hears “german 77, only about 35 miles away”
Rick wants to get married. Isla is a little bothered by the marriage question. She pretends everything is okay.
~46min: oops, found the hallmark shit. “Kiss me as if it were the last time!” the drink spills.
She breaks up with him over a text. Rude.
End Flashback
Rick is drunk and heartbroken
This is a moment that Robert McKee talks about in his book “Story”
Rick is drunk and upset enough to insinuate that Isla is a homewrecker. Which breaks her heart and she leaves, she just wanted to patch things up and hopefully find closure. But how can she when Rick’s being a dick?
~51min: World's most polite negotiation between enemies. Lazlow talks to Strasser
~56min - The Silks Scene:
Rick tries to apologize but Isla tells him she was married the whole time in Paris. Ouch fam.
Lazlow and Isla decide they want to leave Casablanca together, even though it will be more difficult that way. Ferrari tells them that Rick has the Letters.
Isla’s thinking “Damn I prolly shouldn’t have been a dick to him…”
~1:09min: Rick does nice thing for random lady and her husband.
Captain Renault is a sleazy bastard
Lazlow goes in to ask Rick for the Letters, but Rick says no, and tells him to ask his wife. He says “my wife?”
There’s a musical battle in the saloon. Strasser can’t let the pride of Paris continue on in a territory he hopes to own, so he has Captain Renault shut down the saloon. Strasser decides it’s not good for Lazlow to leave OR to Stay. He must be taken care of.
~1:14mins: “I’m shocked to find that gambling is going on here!” , “Your Winnings Miseur”
Strasser threatens Lazlows life to Isla
~1:17mins: Lazlow talks about Isla being his wife as kinda weird, It seems like we’re meant to wonder if Isla really IS his wife or not, until he talks to her on the bed, and tells her that he loves her very much. We also see that Isla isn’t honest with him either.
“Were you lonely while you were in Paris?” “Yes I was”
“Why tf you lying”
~1:19min: Isla, how did you get in here? She HAS to talk to Rick because Rick is the only way out of Casablanca and Lazlow is none the wiser to that situation.
She tries to reason with him. Doesn’t work, she pulls a gun on him.
Turns out the Hallmark vibe just comes from Isla….
She still loves him? SHEEEEEEEEESH!
Plot point 2
Cathartic Moment: Actually pretty satisfying that we’re now watching Isla tell Rick everything, things that we the audience need to hear as well. She didn’t tell him because
She actually thought Victor was dead
He was an underground renegade hero fighting against the military. She had to keep everything a secret if she wanted to keep Victor and herself safe.
Aristotle on “Catharsis”
Okay, that’s great, we know that now. Rick (and thus the audience) is put at a bit of ease. But the story isn’t over.
“It’s still a story without an ending!” - That’s the screenwriter telling us what we just felt.
Isla says she wants to be with Rick now… Ugh.
~1:26min DAMMN! Everything is connected
Older bartender dude went to the underground meeting, hides Lazlow from the police, ending them both back up at Rick’s saloon, where Isla and Rick just had their moment. Rick hides Isla from Lazlow with the bartenders loyalty.
Lazlow has a nice little speech @1:27mins he says “We’re in love with the same woman”
Damn, did Rick set him up tho?
Seems maybe not, but He definitely tries to set him up with Captain Renault. He wants Lazlow put away in a concentration camp, and to go to America with Isla. It’s not exactly “heroic”, or stand-up, but for Rick, we see that it’s exactly his character to do something like this.
Why does Ferrari always snap a fly swatter?
Ooof, here comes the Pity.
Aristotle on “Pity”
We know Rick is betraying Victor and lying to Isla. She seems to be true to her word that she loves him, but we’re about to watch it all play out.
OKAY RICK! He didn’t betray Lazlow after all. But Captain Renault sure isn’t trustworthy, the game is playing out now. Who has sharper wit. He calls Strasser instead of the airport.
YES RICK DAMMIT YES! Now we realize he WAS Being a hero all along! He’s giving up his one true love, in the name of love!
“We’ll always have Paris”
“I’m no good at being Noble, but that don’t mean I can’t see that the problems of three little people dont’ amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.”
“Here’s looking at you kid”
End / Resolution
“Nobody Leaves Casablanca!” - Isla and Lazlow Leave, getaway on a plane, what they needed.
Also has an upending for the time period.
Rick gets to just be Rick still. Captain Renault, even though he’s a sleazy punk, it’s exactly his character that allows Rick to follow through with, not dying or being arrested.
It’s not that “Everything has a Pay-Off,” it’s that every Pay-off has a double meaning in Organically telling the story (characters or action) and the Pay-off moves the story forward in a meaningful way.
Connection to Beginning
This idea that people don’t leave Casablanca and it’s a bit of a dreary situation, but the end is kinda up ending where the freedom fighters make a significant move. It’s not a direct tie-in to the ending but, it works because it’s Rick. And Why is this Ricks's story anyway? Lazlow is the one with the morals fighting for freedom and shit.
That’s probably what makes this work so well.
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