Casablanca vs Bonnie & Clyde film form

Cinematography
Mise-en-scene
Editing
Sound
Performance

One of the first and main differences between the films Casablanca and Bonnie & Clyde is
the film era that they were released in. Casablanca was released during the classical
hollywood era, and Bonnie and clyde was released just as the new hollywood era began.
Therefore there are many, various differences between the two, ones that are particularly
seen through aspects of film form such as cinematography, mise-en-scene, editing, sound,
performance, and aesthetics.

An important part of cinematography is lighting. In casablanca, this is something which

particularly plays an important role in setting the overall mood and aesthetic of the film. This
is something which effectively connotes the unspoken emotions and characters’
psychological states in the film, allowing the audience to connect with the characters on a
more profound level. In classical Hollywood films, three point lighting was commonly used,
containing a backlight, a fill light, and a key light. Low-key lighting is when fill light is
removed, demonstrating a mysterious and darker atmosphere in the scene. An example of
this is casablanca can be seen in the sequence where captain renault watches rick play the
piano. Here, there is a particular white light on captain Renault, while Ricks in the shadows.
This could be done to show him as a more powerful but also innocent character in the
moment. This creates juxtaposition since Renault is the antagonist of the story, however this
could be foreshadowing his character development which is visible as the film goes on. Also
the use of shadowing could be implying foreshadowing as well as a connection between the
two characters. Low-key lighting is also used to convey a war-torn world and characters’
inner conflicts in casablanca. The use of shadows throughout the film could be implying the
entrapment of people who were trying to flee nazi persecution but were trapped in
casablanca. Female stars were often lit with a softer, lighter light possibly to convey their
femininity and fragility, as women were often portrayed as vulnerable and submissive in the
classical Hollywood era.

As for the cinematography in Bonnie and Clyde, in contrast to casablanca, realistic

cinematography and more expressionistic devices are used. For some scenes, Bonnie and
Clyde adopts a naturalistic, high-key lighting style. This is something particularly evident in
the shootout scene, in order to vividly depict the violence. In other scenes, an overcast more
dream-like style is used. A great example of this is the scene where Bonnie reunites with her
family. In order to support this dream-like effect, a wide shot is used. The use of this
cinematography is something which could be suggesting how Bonnie's life would be if she
had stayed with her family. Because of the new Hollywood era, in contrast to casablanca,
cinematography is significantly more developed and experimental.
As for mise-en-scene, casablanca takes place in stereotypically romantic and exotic places.
However, these locations become sites of danger and threat. Most action is restrained in
Rick’s bar, a place intended for the feeling of safety and security, though it tends to act as a
prison since characters are stuck inside. Another example would be Paris in the paris
sequence, a place of romantic connotations used to portray the growth of Rick and Ilsa’s
romance. However, this romance is undercut through the intervention of the second world
war which and its beginning in France, making it a place of danger. Filming was done in a
reused Warner Bros studio due to the limited expenses allowed for film during the war,
lighting and mise-en-scene were also something particularly easier to manage in the studio.
Set design and clever use of props is what had made the mise-en-scene in the film, and one
that allows for improved verisimilitude.

In Bonnie & Clyde, use of real texas locations, something greatly contrasting the controlled
studio shooting scene in the classical hollywood era. The use of real locations is something
that greatly helped set the energy and realism to the film. This was also something that had
been inspired by the French New Wave films, for which french directors would bring their
cameras out to film in the streets of paris. The mise-en-scene in Bonnie & Clyde had also
been something that altered the conventions for classical hollywood gangster films; instead
of being set in big cities with nighttime shootouts, bonnie and clyde was set in rural texas
where most violence occurred in broad daylight. The costumes, particularly Bonnie's, had
been inspired by the French new wave as well as form new,popular Hollywood stars. Her
costumes had been impactful to fashion trends at that time.

The editing of casablanca resembled the classical continuity style, one which disguised
transitions from shot to shot, making the film appear as a seamless flow of images,
something which greatly matches the experience of a flashback in the paris flashback scene.
Once we immerse into Rick’s flashback, the editing matches the events of his memory. As
we see the moments of Ilsa and Rick together the clips used are quite long with a slow
fading out from one shot to another, creating a whimsical experience for the audience. In
contrast to this, as clips of the war are being used, shorter clips are used, something which
greatly speeds up the pace of the sequence, connoting the urgency and chaos experienced
at that time. in the opening montage, Casablanca’s opening montage is one typical of
expositions in classical Hollywood films. This is something which is borrowed from
documentary style films, contextualizing the story and grounding the context of that in the
midst of the war. Flashbacks are made with the camera slowly zooming in on the character
before fading out of focus. This was a conventional way of introducing flashbacks in the
classical Hollywood era.

In great contrast to Casablanca’s ‘invisible’ editing, casablanca has a deliberately stylised

type of editing which purposefully draws attention. A great example of this type of editing is
particularly seen in the final sequence. The shots leading up to the shootout include cross
cutting and rapid editing techniques. The quick cuts juxtapose the long shots of the birds
flying away before a rapid closeup on Bonnie and Clyde’s panicked faces. This type of
editing is effective in the unique way that it allows for the audience to fully immerse into the
film. The final shots of this are filmed at a canted angle, very different to the usual long shots
used to end classical hollywood films.
Classical Hollywood films such as Casablanca commonly use non-diegetic,incidental music
in order to heighten drama and provoke emotional responses from the audience to these
dramatic movements. Therefore, most music matched the events portrayed on screen. This
is different to Bonnie and Clyde where not all music is incidental, thereby improving the film’s
realism.

The entire score of Casablanca was mostly based on the song ‘as time goes by’, making it a
sound motif seeing as it had been used in key moments of the film to remind the spectator of
Rick and Ilsa’s love. The use of this orchestral and symbolic song is also something that
gives us context of time since this genre of music was commonly used during the classical
hollywood era. Right before the parisian sequence, Sam plays it on the piano at the bar,
something that he was told prior not to do by Rick as it reminds him of painful memories. So
now as the song plays, Rick delves into those memories that have become painful for him,
giving us the perfect sound setup for the parisian flashback, something that moves the
narrative forward for the audience as we are getting a better insight into their relationship
and its significance to Rick. As for the non-diegetic sound in this sequence, shouting of
people and explosions are being used, allowing the audience to fully immerse into the
environment that is being shown to the audience. Additionally, throughout the whole film,
sound is greatly used through the witty, snappy dialogue; one which cleverly intertwines
personal as well as public narrative.

Contrary to Casablanca, in Bonnie & Clyde, the musical soundtrack involves contrapuntal
sound, meaning music is able to be contradictory to the event going on. An example of this
is seen in a violent scene with upbeat, happy music. The use of bluegrass is also something
which evokes the period of the great depression as well as the deep south locations.
Interesting sound techniques such as sound bridges were used, and heightened diegetic
sound to shock the spectators.

Finally for performance, Humphrey Bogart effectively brought psychological realism to the
depiction of rick, as well as his own acting style which adds to the uniqueness of the
character. Ingrid Bergman's performance effectively conveys inner turmoil and conflict that i
Ilsa faces in the film. Both bogart and bergman’s acting was seen as ‘natural’ in that era of
classical hollywood. In contrast to this, the performance style of faye dugaway and Warren
beauty in Bonnie & clyde is seen as more self-conscious, reflecting changes in acting styles
in the emergence of the new hollywood era.