Green, Gary. "The Happiest of Happy Accidents"? A Reevaluation of "Casablanca" Smithsonian Studies in American Art, Vol. 1, No. 2. (Autumn, 1987), pp. 2-13.

Casablanca has the reputation of being an "accidental masterpiece." In this article, Gary Green maintains that the brilliance of the film was no accident at all and that proof of the film's mastery can be found in its visual style, which can be attributed to the director Michael Curtiz. In directing Casablanca, Curtiz placed great importance on emphasizing the atrocities of the war, specifically the monstrous capability for evil of the Nazi regime and their control of the Vichy government. Yet even with the stressed war element, Curtiz visualized the film as a "mood piece", which is certainly reflected in the visual style of the film. Curtiz uses cinematic techniques of the German Expressionist tradition and film noir, such as emphasis of the mis-en-scene and the use of dark lighting and shadow to create meaning in the film. Green suggests that these stylistic ingredients attribute to Casablanca's visual aesthetic and narrative capabilities. Specifically, Green takes note of two ingredients: thematic darkness and the use of the 'triangle'.

Green finds two dominant triangles in the film: a political triangle between Rick Blaine, Louis Renault, and Major Strasser and a romantic triangle between Rick, Ilsa Lund, and Victor Lazlo. In both of these triangles, Rick functions as the focal character, which is visually apparent in the placement of his character in two parallel scenes where the triangles are first introduced in Rick's Café Americain. In both instances, Rick sits in the same spot at both Strasser's and Lazlo's tables. It is here that we see how Curtiz explores the two triangles by giving viewers a visual that lends narrative meaning. This is also evident in the final scene at the airport where he uses two shots and close-ups to show the dismembering of both triangles. Ultimately, Ilsa is visually and narratively linked to Lazlo, while Rick is linked to Renault. This last scene is the darkest visually as it reflects Rick's inner emotions. Curtiz utilizes light and darkness to allow audiences to profoundly connect to Rick as a character in the film and ultimately connect to the values and sentiment that he stands for. It is no coincidence that those values are those that reflect American ideals during WWII. This is the fundamental notion of my thesis; political messages are embedded in the character development and narrative of the film, making it an effective conduit for propaganda.
This article is very helpful for my thesis because it reevaluates Casablanca by delving into the stylistic elements that give the film both aesthetic and narrative value. The motif of the triangle would be an interesting way to analyze the evolution of Rick's character. Throughout the film, he functions as both a literal and figurative focal point of a political and romantic triangle. These two triangles can be seen as a parallel of the two ultimate conflicts in Casablanca, politics and romance, and in the end Rick must choose between the two. Rick's final choice is what ultimately breaks up the triangles-he is no longer the apathetic middleman who is playing a game of tug-of-war, but rather he is a self-sacrificing idealist who chooses to take a political stance and join the fight against fascism. This article enhances my thesis because it shows the ability of stylistic techniques - the visual motif of the triangle along with the darkness that pervades the film - to absorb viewers into Rick's frame of mind and ultimately the political messages that he represents. The result is a profound investment in Rick as both a fictitious character in a drama and a stand-in for a political cause, one that reflects American ideals of anti-fascism and anti-isolationism.

Film Style and Technology in the Forties

Salt, Barry. "Film Style and Technology in the Forties." Film Quarterly 31 (1977): 46-57. JStor. 9 Apr. 2008.

This article discusses the technical side of films in the late 1930s through the end of the 1940s and gives great insight into what was common technique in the era and what was groundbreaking in terms of filmic technique and style. There is a large segment of the article dedicated to the style and technique used in Citizen Kane, with special attention given to Gregg Toland - the cinematographer of Citizen Kane who was largely responsible for the look and feel of the film through his use of special lighting techniques and coated lenses.

Specifically, Gregg Toland was responsible for innovating techniques to increase the range of objects that were in focus in any given shot – a technique called deep-focus. The prevalent use of deep-focus shots throughout the film was rare for its time, and as such Citizen Kane is often credited for starting the trend of heavy use of deep focus with more shallow focus limited to certain close shots in films since. Furthermore, the use of wide angle lenses to give more dynamic framing to the characters was innovative in this film, and is believed to have heavily influenced the look of The Maltese Falcon less than a year later.

Lastly, this article mentions that the average shot length in Citizen Kane is not significantly longer than other films of the period, even though this is not commonly believed to be the case. Citizen Kane has an A.S.L. of about 12 seconds, compared to an average A.S.L. for other films of the period, and Kane only has a few shots that last up near 2 minutes.

Y Chromosome FISH Protocols (GFP protocol, too)

Tavi's FISH protocols and slide preparation guide

PennTags Feed for /tag/technique

Green, Gary. "The Happiest of Happy Accidents"? A Reevaluation of "Casablanca" Smithsonian Studies in American Art, Vol. 1, No. 2. (Autumn, 1987), pp. 2-13.

Film Style and Technology in the Forties

Y Chromosome FISH Protocols (GFP protocol, too)

Tavi's FISH protocols and slide preparation guide

Invitrogen iProtocol Home