Does Casablanca Follow the Continuity Editing Rules
A comparative essay on the production contexts of Casablanca (1942) and Bonnie and Clyde (1967).
Do Casablanca and Bonnie and Clyde reflect their production contexts?
Both Casablanca and Bonnie and Clyde reflect their production contexts of their era to an extent. When defining the so-called "production contexts", it is important to understand that Casablanca adheres to the Classical Hollywood style, which was heavily influenced by various political and social factors, including a tendency to create films that would appeal to the general masses, along with the Hays' Code of 1932. On the other hand, the production context of Bonnie and Clyde is one that marks a departure from this Classical Hollywood style and is influenced by the French New Wave, which led to a new wave of films in the late 60s and throughout the 70s.
In the opening sequence of Casablanca, we see the film reflect its' production context. The opening soundtrack of the film contains African music, which bleeds into the patriotic French song, La Marseilles, suggesting a blend of the adventure genre and a patriotic film. There is also an element of the documentary genre, as the soundtrack accompanies scenes of real life footage of refugees fleeing France. While blending genres was often unusual for the production context, Casablanca needed to appeal to as many people as possible to encourage the masses to support the war effort, so it is likely that the director was attempting to appeal to all audiences- fans of every genre- in order to spur on American support for the Second World War.
Furthermore, another way in which Casablanca reflects its' production context is through how the narrative begins. The opening of the film is wholly exposition, with information being introduced via obvious visual indicators such as maps and establishing shots establishing Rick's cafe and where most of the action of the film takes place. The spectator now knows everything about the backstory of the film and does not leave room for questions. This contrasts the opening of Bonnie and Clyde, where we open on an extreme close up of Bonnie's lips.
By restricting the frame to this shot type, we do not understand what we are being shown and where we are, leaving the spectator in a state of confusion. Resulting from a lack of wide shots and establishing shots, we are ceremoniously placed in an unknown location in what we can assume is Texas, given we are already aware of the urban legend. Penn effectively uses this cinematic technique to create ambiguity and restricts our understanding of the narrative and the setting thus far. This reflects its' production context of being inspired by the French New Wave as films such asBreathless andCleo from 5 to 7 would often posit that the audience did not have to understand the film on a surface level and information should not be presented to the audience clearly- it was up to the audience to decipher the meaning of the film on an analytical level.
Casablanca differs in this regard as the use of tracking shots are methodical in following and showing all the crucial pieces of information and the use of cross-cutting between various characters to establish the basic pieces of information about each story strand. An example of this is cutting between a Romanian couple wishing to leave Casablanca and a thief stealing money, both of which will come into the story as elements of the narrative. Casablanca therefore reflects its' production context as this style of filmmaking, that is, Classical Hollywood, was produced in a Fordist manner whereby films were created extremely quickly and as efficiently as possible as a means to appeal to as many of the spectators as possible to increase the capital earned from the film.
Another way in which Casablanca reflects its' production context is through its' editing. Casablanca uses continuity editing throughout the entirety of the film, a style of editing that most Hollywood films used at the time to immerse the audience into the narrative and story. This is prominent in the scene where Ugarte and Rick speak at the bar.
Through shot-reverse-shot dialogue, the sense of the dynamism of conversation is created and is realistic. Other techniques such as the 180 degree rule and establishing shots of locations also contribute to continuity editing. The impact of this is a type of "invisible" editing that does not draw attention to the filmmaking itself. Casablanca reflects this aspect of the production context as films were made to be as immersive as possible to telling compelling and convincing stories as easily as possible. Bonnie and Clyde, on the other hand, reflects its' production context by containing examples of discontinuous editing.
Editor Dede Allen uses jump cuts near the beginning of the film where Bonnie is frustratingly bored. This creates a sense of unease and nervousness that was present amongst the youthful demographic (16-25) of people who were anxious about the implications of the controversial Vietnam War. Bonnie and Clyde's use of jump cuts also pays reference to the techniques of the French New Wave, such as a sequence in which subsequent shots are edited like machine gun shots and are in jump cut fashion.
Moreover, Casablanca's lighting also mirrors the Classical Hollywood style and its' production context therefore. Low-key lighting creates pools of shadows, of which is used to establish a noirish element in the film. This is exemplified in the scene where Rick drinks alone at a table in his bar.
The noir style of lighting reflects the dominating noir genre of the period, a genre of film that reflects the brooding and reflective American population. At this point in time, Americans were confused and depressed about the situation in Europe and Casablanca therefore reflects a population in terror of the evils in Europe. Shadows of bars and Venetian blinds also create the impression of imprisonment. Curtiz here is reflecting the imprisoning and cruel nature of the Vichy regime, urging people to join the war effort and fight for the Free France movement. This reflects its' production context as the War Office began approving films and moved the release date of the film to specifically coincide with the invasion of North Africa, therefore Capablanca was used as a means of propaganda to mobilise the American population. Similarly, Bonnie and Clyde also use metaphors and symbolism of confinement via the depiction of prison bars in the bed during the opening sequence. Like in Casablanca, Bonnie and Clyde also revolts against a form of oppression and suggests that the world the characters reside in is imprisoning. However, Bonnie and Clyde reflects its' production context as it depicts that society itself is imprisoning these two youthful people. This mirrors the growing resentment of authority in among the young population, therefore Bonnie and Clyde are very much trapped by the government themselves. One could interpret, additionally, that these visual metaphors suggest the constraints of the very same Classical Hollywood system that imprisons filmmaking itself and stifles creativity and freedom.
Continuing with lighting, Casablanca reflects its' production context in how the characters themselves are actually lit. Ilsa, played by Ingrid Bergamn, is always lit on her 'best side' and through a plethora of filters such as gauze, vaseline, stockings, etc. This ultimately makes look perfect at all times and is always shown using a three-point lighting set up. Film stars of this era operated under a star system where the audience would often see films based on who was in them. This meant that the stars had to look as appealing as possible and it is very likely that Ilsa is presented as an example of being subject to male gaze within the camera. Evidence of this clear in the films closing moments, where a tearful Ilsa is lit perfectly as she delivers her goodbye to Rick.
This contrasts Bonnie and Clyde, where characters will often fall in or out of shadow while walking around areas the lighting, which is natural and ambient rather than three-point studio style, is almost never exactly perfect. This is shown in a sequence where Bonnie and Clyde discuss the nature of Clyde's 'work' and both characters fall into shadows or out of them.
This overall reflects the more realistic production of shooting more realistic films in realistic, on-location sets. Texas was used an an accurate location to set the story of Bonnie and Clyde in, which draws heavily from the on-location shooting of the French New Wave and Czech New Wave films. This is contrasted by Casablance being shot in a studio rather than in Casablanca itself. Matte paintings and artificial sets are used throughout especially in the ending which takes place entirely in a warehouse. This mirrors the lack of funding of films of the era as resources were being diverted into the war effort.
To summate, Casablanca and Bonnie and Clyde both reflect their production contexts. Casablanca follows the Classical Hollywood trend through lighting, editing and setting as well as pertaining to a certain style of propaganda film. In contradistinction, Bonnie and Clyde uses similar techniques to mirror a sense of rebellion against institutions and breaks away from the restrictive and conventional production code and ethic set up by the Hollywood studios of the era.
Source: https://brandonkfilms.wordpress.com/2019/07/24/casablanca-bonnie-and-clyde-comparative-analysis/#:~:text=Casablanca%20uses%20continuity%20editing%20throughout,Rick%20speak%20at%20the%20bar.
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