Casablanca

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

Cassablanca a well written film whom was taking from a play and expanded. The idea of taking a play "Everybody comes to Rick's" and expanding on it to make something more grand was a great idea which saves time. Also the actor Bogart was right for his role taking into consideration the time of which the film was made; Bogart wealthy and navy background went hand in hand with his on screen role. Cassablanca seemed very lively as though where all the action and chaos occurred, which was ironic since it was where people escaped to in order to get one step closer to America and peace. The affair that went on in Paris between Llsa and Rick while Laszlo her husband was at a concentration camp was unfair to both men and knowing this before the movie began helped me as a viewer understand why she did not meet Rick at the train station to elope and escape.  



2) Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content. 

http://www.filmsite.org/casa.html   :ARTICLE LINK

The article "Cassablanca 1942" by Tim Dirks AMC filmsite goes further into detail of the awards, prestige and themes of the film. Explaining why the film has two dates ,that it is because its limited premiere was in 1942, but the film did not play nationally, or in Los Angeles, until 1943. The article tells its readers about Presidents such as Reagan and Roosevelt. Roosevelt  screened the film at the White House on the last day of it released year 1942,, and hosted Casablanca conference in 1943 which was also a summit meeting which Roosevelt broke US-Vichy relations with two French leaders. This is irony to the film which has french relations .  By reading this article I also learned that the film could have won many more awards and nominations in the year 1942 but because it was not formally released until the year 1943 it was ineligible for any awards.  





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

The article change the way I viewed the characters in the film and wonder what if. I say this because many of the roles played in the film,  according to the article was originally entitled to be played by someone else. For example President Reagan was to be in the film but could not. Also pianist Sam's role (portrayed by "Dooley" Wilson - who was actually a drummer) was originally to be taken by a female (either Hazel Scott, Lena Horne, or Ella Fitzgerald). I enjoyed the role of the pianist Sam and could not see him as a woman. He were more of a common vision for both Rick and Llsa, by him being a man took out any awkwardness of Rick being between two women. Also the film portrayed a diverse content thus having a black Pianist made it worked perfectly.  




 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. 

My opinion of the film is that the director chose the right timing to produce and release the film , although the confusion of the date (1942 and 1943 ) may have been a bit confusing the film success was still prevalent. As I watch the film i saw many diversity in the actors , from white, black, Chinese , french etc. Also the love triangle that was going on between Rick Llsa and Laszlo added romance to the tense atmosphere of people trying to escape, some dying, threats being made and the mellow Rick who took everything as nothing except his love for Llsa. Overall I enjoyed the film and all of its many characters , it was a chaotic, romantic, frantic, mysterious work of art. BRAVO!!!



CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 1) ( ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 2) ( ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 3) ( ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 4) ( ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 5) ( ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 6) ( ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 7) ( ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 8) ( ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper. Name: ________Kebeh Sando______________________________ Date: _____11/1/2015___________