Casablanca: Intro to Rick's Cafe Analysis of Film Form

 The scene opens with a long shot of Rick's Cafe, during this wide shot a searchlight passes over the front of the building to create a sense of the cafe being watched closely, and that it may be a dangerous place. The camera then moves to a close-up of the sign, before panning down to the door and moving inside, building immersion as it feels like the audience themselves are entering Rick's. Before focusing on Sam playing the piano and singing there is a long take where the camera consistently shifts from right to left, continuing this sense of immersion as it feels like you are navigating your way through Rick's Cafe. After panning left from two waiters to a table, the scene switches focus from introducing us to the atmosphere and environment of Rick's, to the people that inhabit it. Every shot after this point are still mid shots, with two people talking in focus. Despite the film being entirely in black and white, the lighting makes the scene feel very vibrant, there are many light sources emitting very bright lights in every frame, including chandeliers and lamps. The camera eventually makes its way to Rick's office, where it was going tin the direction of the entire scene. It takes a while before we see his face, first we see just his hand taking the cheque to sign and pen to sign it with, then we see a close-up of his hand as he signs the cheque, as he passes the cheque back there is a cigarette burning in an ashtray, he picks it up and the camera tracks his band back to his face as he puts it in his mouth; the build-up to Rick's reveal creates tension and importance to his character. The camera then slightly zooms out where it is revealed he is playing chess, and there is a shot reverse shot to realise he is playing chess with himself.

The beginning of this scene starts with a fade from the last scene, to highlight that we are entering a new location. Every transition after this point is a cut, as it is all within the same location and time-frame. In the first half of the scene, the shots are in chronological order, meaning it is in a linear narrative structure.and the introduction to Rick's couldn't be in any other order. However, in the second half of the scene where it focuses on multiple different conversations, all of these conversations could be happening simultaneously. Also, in film a lot of conversations tend to be shot reverse shots, where it focuses on each character individually, and cuts between them as they speak; however in this scene rather than doing this, it is one still frame including both characters, I think this is because while the dialogue is important to establishing Rick's Cafe, it is irrelevant to the plot so through the editing not too much attention is drawn to it. However, when the camera finally makes it's way to Rick's office, there is a sequence in which Rick takes a cheque but we do not see his face, only his hand taking the cheque from the man giving it to him and a pen. It then cuts to him signing the cheque. As he hands it back it cuts to another close-up of an ashtray, before it finally pans up to Rick's face. This entire scene builds to this moment and the tension builds more importance and mystery to Rick's character. This is build upon when it zooms out to reveal him playing chess, then cuts to show he is playing chess with himself.

The mise-en-scene of this scene is very conflicting with the content, while Rick's cafe feels quite vibrant and prosperous, what goes on in there directly contrasts with that. The bright lights everywhere makes Rick's feel very alive, especially when paired with the many extras in the background. It is made clear that it is a place for wealthy people through not only this but also the way that people dress, which is effective as it is full of immigrants from Europe who could afford to flee during the Second World War. When focusing in on the first conversation in Rick's, the man on the right is shown to be depressed, which is the complete opposite of the tone of the rest of the bar. We can tell this through not only what he says, ajd the way he carries himself, but also through the fact he is wearing all black in contrast to the man on the left in all white, and he is holding a drink, which is normal in a bar however the way he is holding it suggests he is planning on drinking to escape his problems rather than for fun.  In the second where a woman is getting her necklace appraised, the necklace is clearly an expensive necklace, however due to the nature of Casablanca, this is dismissed, the woman then plays with her wedding ring suggesting she is thinking of selling that next, which is typically the most important piece of jewelry to anyone, showing that she must be desperate. When Rick is first introduced he is smoking and drinking in his office, suggesting that he is very casual and not a traditional businessman. Not only this, but he is also playing a game of chess with himself, which could mean a number of things; it could be that he is lonely, it could be that he doesn't trust anyone else enough to play chess with, and it can also symbolise an internal struggle.

As the scene opens from outside of Rick's we hear the faint sound of Sam singing, but to support the impressiveness of the first half of this scene, it gets louder as the camera gets closer to him, peaking when he is the focus of the scene. After it cuts from Sam to the two conversations, the music is once again faint in the background. The upbeat tone of the music is contradictory to the nature of the conversations. In the first, a man says "Waiting, waiting, waiting. I'll never get out of here. I'll die in Casablanca." This is a very general, expositional statement for the thoughts of all of the refugees in Casablanca. In the second conversation, where a woman is getting her necklace appraised to sell, the buyer says "Sorry madam, but the diamonds are a drug on the market. Everyone sells diamonds, diamonds are everywhere." This dialogue highlights that although the refugees waiting to leave Casablanca are mostly wealthy, this still does not help in their favour. The woman then submits easily with a simple "alright" as there is no hope for her, and there is no way she can change that. This pessimistic dialogue is in complete contrast to the upbeat jazz in the background, which shows that despite the "luxurious" life they are living, none of the people living in Casablanca are truly happy. The sound of the jazz is only heard in Rick's office when the door is opened., showing that Rick is very secluded, and perhaps lonely.

When the camera first enters Rick's cafe, just before it cuts to the next shot, you can clearly see one of the waiters looking directly into the camera This  is usually frowned upon in acting, however in this scene I think it adds to the atmosphere of the scene, as it feels like you really are entering Rick's. When the camera moves through the cafe, there is a lot of things happening in the background at once, people drinking, smoking, talking, walking around and acting in a very realistic way. The scene would work just as well without this level of detail from the extras, but it would feel very lifeless and it wouldn't feel anywhere near as natural or atmospheric as it does. In the first conversation, we learn a lot about the two characters with such little dialogue.The man on the right is clearly desperate, he says "I'll never get out of here. I'll die in Casablanca." which gives us enough information to point to this, however it is in the smaller details that we buy into that. He is drinking to perhaps forget about and numb his problems. He is also slouched over and gripping the table showing that he is miserable. He is wearing all black which drastically contrasts with the man next to him, who is wearing all white and looks as if he doesn't care. In the next conversation,the woman on the right is selling jewelry and getting it appraised. Once again, she looks hopeless due to her blank expression on her face, and the fact she is staring into space and not making eye contact with the man on the left who is appraising her necklace means she has other things on her mind. She is also playing with the engagement ring on her finger, so she could be thinking of selling that next out of desperateness for money. Much like the previous scene, the man on the left lacks empathy. When Rick is first revealed, he is acting very casually. He takes the cheque without even acknowledging the person who gave it to him and instead of signing it how a businessman would usually sign a cheque, he signs it "OK Rick", all while smoking, drinking and playing chess with himself. This gives the impression that he is not a traditional businessman and that he tends to not take things too seriously.