Casablanca: The Classical Hollywood Film
Casablanca: The Classical Hollywood Film
Many film experts agree that Casablanca (1942) is the ultimate example of the classical Hollywood style of filmmaking. What is it about this film that makes it as potent to audiences today as to audiences over sixty years ago? The classic Hollywood style, which is characterized by strong narratives that "Â…are structured around characters who have specific, clearly defined goals and deal with their triumph over various obstacles that stand in the way of the attainment of goals." according to John Belton, author of American Cinema/ American Culture (1994). Classical Hollywood style is still used in film today, although it is hard for the untrained eye to spot it, as one its qualities is its invisibility.
Although character-driven plots are the central element, there are a number of other elements that combine to form what is known as the classical Hollywood style. The audience can usually identify immediately with at least one of the central characters and, even if they are not remotely like the character, can still imagine themselves in his or her shoes (Sikov, 1994). Casablanca attempts to draw the audience in and let them know the character that they are meant to identify with. About nine minutes into the movie, the audience receives their first glimpse of Rick: his arm clad in a white tuxedo sleeve enters the screen where their own hand would be (as long as they are right handed) clasping a pen and proceeds to scrawl "OK Rick" on a gambling form. Until this point the audience has been an objective observer of events happening in and around Casablanca and have heard others talk about Rick, but now, suddenly, they are Rick. It happens so quickly and subtly that the audience barely realizes that they are now entirely focused on this character. The director does something similar with the character of Ilsa Lund, but instead of point-of-view identification, he uses strong emotion to connect the...
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