Shot Number — Shot Type — Movement — Timing — Description
1 — MCU — Static — 15 seconds — Ilsa pleads her case for Rick to give her the travel letters, saying he is their last hope and that they will die in Casablanca
2 — MS — Static — 5 seconds — Rick turns away to light a cigarette while scoffing at Ilsa’s request
3 — MCU — Static — 3 seconds — Ilsa’s expression changes and she turns around to walk toward the back of the room
4 — MS — Static — 3 seconds — Rick takes a drag of the cigarette and turns back around to face Ilsa
5 — MS — Static — 6 seconds — Ilsa is holding a gun and demands that Rick go and get the letters for her
6 — MS — Static — 3 seconds — Rick says that he has the letters with him
7 — MS to CU — Zoom — 4 seconds — Ilsa tells Rick to put the letters on the table
8 — MCU — Static — 3 seconds — Rick says no
9 — CU — Static — 3 seconds — Ilsa again says to put the letters on the table
10 — MCU — Static — 10 seconds — Rick tells Ilsa to go ahead and shoot
11 — MCU — Static — 15 seconds — Ilsa admits she can’t shoot, gets emotional over how she thought she’d never see Richard again, and turns away
12 — MS to MCU — Zoom — 20 seconds — Richard follows Ilsa and they embrace, Ilsa shares how upset she was the day Rick left Paris, she says she still loves him, and they kiss
I watched the movie Casablanca (1942) from the Classical Hollywood genre. It’s about a saloon owner, Rick, and his former lover that ends up coming to his saloon in Casablanca with her husband looking for traveling papers to flee the country for America in order to escape the Nazi’s. They both clearly still have feelings for each other, and one night Ilsa comes to Rick to ask him for the traveling papers. I chose this scene to exemplify the Classic Hollywood genre because of its theatrics and emotional acting, along with the camera shots that were used. This genre, heavily used by the American film industry between 1910 and 1960, is mainly characterized by continuity (or “invisible”) style editing, meaning that the camera work usually never calls attention to itself. The viewer is not distracted by special effects or anything other than the content and acting featured in the film. In the scene I selected, the shots flow easily and naturally; conversation between the two characters is easy to follow and expected. A common theme in this genre is human will and the struggles and obstacles that get in the way of achieving a certain goal. Ilsa is clearly in love with Rick, but the fact that her husband is back (and that Rick knows about it) have been keeping them from being together since they reentered each others lives. She tried to threaten him with the gun in an attempt to get the papers, but her giving in and embracing Rick symbolize crossing boundaries in order to achieve what they both wanted. The scene also demonstrates another element of the genre: having a smaller storyline inside of a larger one, such as their forbidden love inside the plot of getting Ilsa and her husband safely to America.
