Casablanca: A New Perspective
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techniques. The early part of the 20th century saw a factory style of film
production, but as the years went by, director's began to employ new and untried
techniques in their pictures. One such technique which these director's
implemented was a new approach to the use of the camera and camera angles.
"Casablanca," an Academy Award winning film of 1942 saw director Michael Curtiz
manipulate the camera in ways others had not. He uses the close-up, point-of-
view shot, and creative shot motivation methods in his film starring Humphrey
Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, to create an American cinema classic.
The first camera technique Curtiz uses to help narrate the film is the
close-up shot. The close-up can effectively convey the story to the viewer
without the use of excessive dialogue. In this instance, the viewer is
introduced to the main character, Rick, through the use of the close-up. The
first scene in "Rick's Cafe," shows people gambling and making illegal deals to
leave Casablanca. An employee of the cafe bring a check to a man seated at a
chess table to sign. The signature reads, "OK. Rick." By using this shot, the
director makes clear to the reader, without any dialogue, that the man signing
the check is Rick. This technique, however, is just the first of many used by
Curtiz.
The point-of-view shot is used by director Michael Curtiz to place the
audience directly into the action. By placing the camera at the exact location
and height of the character, the viewer of the film is 'inserted' into the
character's body, making the scene more personal. Curtiz uses a slight
variation of this type of camera placement when Capt. Renault and Rick are
having a discussion about Victor Laslo's arrival in Casablanca. The camera is
placed just above and aft of Renault's shoulder. The audience can now see
Renault's body reactions, as well as having Renault's...
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