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Cinema’s greatest scene: ‘Casablanca’ and ‘La Marseillaise’
- swerner 9y agoOn top of that, the background music right after that are the first notes of the German national anthem - in minor.
- bradbeattie 9y agoGiven that Casablanca was filmed in 1942, one might argue that the actors' emotions in that scene are more timely than one might first guess.
- mwilliaams 9y agoThe author writes about that. Many of the extras in the scene were refugees of occupied France.
- bambax 9y agoYes, but how ironic that the sinister Nazi officer was played by a German actor who opposed the Nazis and fled his country for fear of persecution of himself and his Jewish wife (Conrad Veidt, also the inspiration for the Joker character in the Batman franchise).
- hk__2 9y agoThere’s a typo in the HN title: it’s 'La Marseillaise', not 'Le Marseillaise'.
- ggm 9y agoI cry at this scene, every time. I start to cry thinking about it. From the wiki, which contextualizes what I was told by my parents (who were young adults in London during the war) Much of the emotional impact of the film has been attributed to the large proportion of European exiles and refugees who were extras or played minor roles (in addition to leading actors Paul Henreid, Conrad Veidt and Peter Lorre): such as Louis V. Arco, Trude Berliner, Ilka Grünig, Lotte Palfi, Richard Ryen, Ludwig Stössel, Hans Twardowski, and Wolfgang Zilzer. A witness to the filming of the "duel of the anthems" sequence said he saw many of the actors crying and "realized that they were all real refugees".[25] Harmetz argues that they "brought to a dozen small roles in Casablanca an understanding and a desperation that could never have come from Central Casting".[26] They were frequently cast as Nazis in war films, even though many were Jewish.
- neves 9y agoMust confess that I was crying when I finished reading.
- acjohnson55 9y agoOh my gosh, I cried again, just watching the clip. The battered pride and defiance are so palpable. I think everyone knows that feeling of when you're getting shat upon for no real reason, and all you want is a little dignity.
- LaMarseillaise 9y agoIt is a truly powerful scene, and I consider it one of the greatest in the history of cinema (as you might have guessed from my username). Thank you for sharing this.
- JBlue42 9y agoSame here. Not sure when I first watched the movie - sometime in middle school - and I can picture and feel the whole thing. Maybe something I've still been chasing in creating emotion in my own works. Thank you for adding the parts about the context.
- mwilliaams 9y agoWhat a great analysis to add even more depth to this great movie.
- ciscoriordan 9y agoFor those of you in SF, it’s playing at the Castro Theatre on December 17 (http://www.castrotheatre.com/p-list.html#dec17 http://www.castrotheatre.com/p-list.html#dec17).
- revicon 9y agoExcellent tip!
- frandroid 9y agoAwesome. My only and excellent experience of the Castro theatre is watching Hitchcock's Vertigo there, just days after my brother-in-law had given me the tour of city, of which I was a visitor. Suddenly you realize how central to the movie the city is. There's what's now a good joke about the Mission, too.
- praneshp 9y agoThank you!
- ekianjo 9y agoDo they play it with the original reels on film projectors?
- CalChris 9y agoIn the scene which sets up the Marseillaise scene, Yvonne comes into the bar with the German officer and he orders the only drink mentioned by name in a movie with a whole lot of drinking, the French 75, named after the French WWI 75mm field gun. gin, Champagne, lemon juice and sugar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_75_(cocktail) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_75_(cocktail) Yvonne finds her moral core when they play the Marseillaise just as Rick later finds his when he has to make a choice.
- ghaff 9y agoI'm not sure the reason but this is the third time that I have seen the French 75 (something I had never previously heard of) come up in either conversation or as a bar special within literally the past two days. One of those times I can write off as awareness but still...
- thomas_howland 9y agoThe Baader-Meinhof phenomenon.
- MrBuddyCasino 9y agoAh, the French 75 - my favourite sparkling wine based cocktail. A good choice for new years eve. Its strong though!
- univalent 9y agoI cry every time I see this scene. Great unpacking of a powerful few minutes of cinema. I could hear the song thundering in my ear just from reading the article.
- frandroid 9y ago*La
- 0xCMP 9y agoI've found that a lot of "this is the best X ever" is often just hype, but when I watched Casablanca for the first time I was super happy to find out that wasn't the case for this movie. All these years later it's still powerful, relatable, and timeless. Great break down of this scene. It's made me want to watch it again.
- benbreen 9y agoAgreed. It's interesting to me how some cultural products are completely dated and "of their time" when you experience them decades later, whereas others remain timeless. I'm reasonably sure that Casablanca will still be receiving praising like this in the 2210s. Part of what makes it so compelling for me is exactly what the author identifies toward the end -- a lot of the actors in this movie really are WW2 refugees, and you can see it in their performances. It's impossible for me not to cry when I watch the scene in question.
- cm2187 9y agoAnother example of these timeless movies I think is Bringing up baby (1938) which is still hilarious.
- gozur88 9y agoI don't see why movies should be any less "classic" than books. A Tale of Two Cities was published in 1859 and is still a classic - why not Casablanca many years after its creation?
- coldtea 9y agoBecause books are a more or less mature art (we've been writing for millennia). Movies, on the other hand, can date because of technological changes (silent vs spoken vs color etc), ways of acting (we don't expect modern actors to act in the theatrical way of those in early cinema), different editing techniques (a 70s series like Kojak looks unbearably slow compared to a modern police series), and even what they were allowed to say (movies being more heavily censored than books can look way more quaint the older you go). An overuse of special effects and fast editing since the 80s has also done much to alter the tolerance of modern audiences for subtler movies.
- helloworld 9y agoBefore a scene is shot, who figures out where the camera will focus? Is that primarily the director's job -- or the cinematographer's? In this scene, I'm struck that there are so many crucial close-ups: of Renault, Ilsa, Rick, Yvonne, and Laszlo. I'm assuming that someone planned that. Maybe with storyboards?
- pokler 9y agoI imagine it varies from movie to movie. Generally, the director of photographer is in charge of the camera and lights, but how much independence they have depends on the director.
- pvg 9y agoIn the case of Casablanca, it seems a given Curtiz would have had that planned in advance and would been directly involved in the technical details of the shot. There's a bit about his style on his Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Curtiz#Directing_style https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Curtiz#Directing_style
- sowbug 9y agoI don't have an answer to your question, but I remember watching some commentary by a person involved in the making of the film. This is about the final pivotal scene where Captain Renault must quickly decide whether to implicate Rick as the killer of Strasser. The first version of the scene had the police arrive just as Renault shouts to "round up the usual suspects." Whoever was in charge of the film (I assume the director) said this was all wrong, and told the editor to instead add a dramatic sequence of short cuts back and forth between Rick and Louis, showing that Rick was desperately wondering what Louis would do -- praying he wouldn't turn him in -- and Louis was thinking basically the same thing, realizing he had the option to switch sides in the moment. As with the Marseillaise scene, this is minutes and minutes of incredible storytelling condensed into just a few frames of dialogue-free film. And apparently (finally getting to your point), it wasn't originally filmed that way; they probably had a bunch of shots of each actor glaring in various directions, and they used them in the editing room to powerful effect. If anyone has a link to the interview I'm describing, I'd appreciate watching it again.
- neves 9y agoAnd do not forget the power of the music. Nice read below: Why La Marseillaise is the only song that matters right now The French national anthem is the greatest anthem there is, and its history will likely only increase your admiration for it, writes Alex Marshall. http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20151117-why-la-marseillaise-is-the-only-song-that-matters-right-now http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20151117-why-la-marseillais...
- toomanybeersies 9y agoI think that one of the reasons that La Marseillaise is so rousing is because of its tempo. Most national anthems have a comparatively glacial tempo, whereas La Marseillaise is generally played at ~120 BPM, a marching tempo. Il Canto degli Italiani, the Italian national anthem, is similar.
- f_allwein 9y agoI remember reading that the Germans were supposed to sing the Horst Wessel Lied, Nazi Germany’s unofficial anthem, but in that case, the studio would have had to pay royalties to the Nazis. So instead they chose Die Wacht am Rhein, which is apparently royalty free...
- mozumder 9y agoThis is the greatest scene, and not the scene where Arnold rips off Richter's arms in the elevator in Total Recall and Richter falls to his death and Arnold throws him back his arms and yells "See you at the party Richter"?
- lolive 9y ago"Consider this as a divorce." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rziE39JWfs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rziE39JWfs
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- timthelion 9y agoNothing like some good old black and white, two sided European nationalism to bring tears to the eyes, is there?
- edoloughlin 9y agoTry reading the article. Maybe also research what La Marseillaise stands for.
- timthelion 9y ago"La Marseillaise" is the French national anthem. Here are the words in English: "Arise, children of the Fatherland, The day of glory has arrived! Against us tyranny's Bloody banner is raised, (repeat) Do you hear, in the countryside, The roar of those ferocious soldiers? They're coming right into your arms To cut the throats of your sons, your women! To arms, citizens, Form your battalions, Let's march, let's march! Lest an impure blood Soak our fields! What does this horde of slaves, Of traitors and conspiratorial kings want? For whom are these vile chains, These long-prepared irons? (repeat) Frenchmen, for us, ah! What outrage What fury it must arouse! It is us they dare plan To return to the old slavery! To arms, citizens... What! Foreign cohorts Would make the law in our homes! What! These mercenary phalanxes Would strike down our proud warriors! (repeat) Great God! By chained hands Our brows would yield under the yoke Vile despots would have themselves The masters of our destinies! To arms, citizens... Tremble, tyrants and you traitors The shame of all parties, Tremble! Your parricidal schemes Will finally receive their reward! (repeat) Everyone is a soldier to combat you If they fall, our young heroes, The earth will produce new ones, Ready to fight against you! To arms, citizens... Frenchmen, as magnanimous warriors, Bear or hold back your blows! Spare those sorry victims, Who arm against us with regret. (repeat) But not these bloodthirsty despots, These accomplices of Bouillé, All these tigers who, mercilessly, Rip their mother's breast! To arms, citizens... Sacred love of the Fatherland, Lead, support our avenging arms Liberty, cherished Liberty, Fight with thy defenders! (repeat) Under our flags, may victory Hurry to thy manly accents, May thy expiring enemies, See thy triumph and our glory! To arms, citizens..." It is a patriotic military song about defending France from attackers. It's not fundamentally different from many other such verses in the anthems and patriotic texts of competing nations. The Quran contains similar wording when describing calls for Jihad to defend the fatherland. While the Nazi's were evil, that does not mean we should be brought to tears by any nation which stood against them. Stalin's propagandists also wrote hymns which brought tears to many a Russian's eyes during and after the war. And France was far from perfect at the time of WWII. Hitler is still admired by a large minority of Arabs because the Nazi's helped "liberate" former French colonies! [1] I'm not picking on the French here though. My point is, that we shouldn't be confused in our passions into worshiping "something anything so long as it's against the Nazis". While it is not true that "the enemy of your enemy is your friend". In a broader sense, it is not true that every ally is your friend. And you should not equate a champion with their cause. Flawed reasoning: "Communism is the main force against capitalism, therefore if I want to fight capitalism I should become a communist." More flawed reasoning: "Russia has the most troops fighting against Hitler. Therefore, if I want to fight Nazism I should become a Russian." More flawed reasoning: "Hitler attacked France, therefore, if I lived in France and feel harmed by Nazism, I should love France." (Remember, France was all for getting rid of the Jews [2]. They just didn't like being invaded... ) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relations_between_Nazi_Germany_and_the_Arab_world https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relations_between_Nazi_Germany... [2] "The evacuation of European Jewry to the island of Madagascar was not a new concept. Henry Hamilton Beamish, Arnold Leese, Lord Moyne, German scholar Paul de Lagarde and the British, French, and Polish governments had all contemplated the idea." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposals_for_a_Jewish_state#Madagascar_plan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposals_for_a_Jewish_state#M...
- SagelyGuru 9y agoMy grandfather was a real Czechoslovak resistance leader, like the fictional Victor, which adds extra poignancy to "Casablanca" for me. Unfortunately the reality was such that the Germans were unlikely to release such people. My grandfather was tortured and executed as "an enemy of the Reich".
- dudul 9y ago"Qu'un sang impure abreuve nos sillons" translated by "let’s water the fields with impure blood." is often a very misunderstood line. A lot of people claim this song is racist because they think the "impure blood" mentioned belongs to the enemy. This is both wrong and an anachronism since there was no racial theories at the time when this song was written. "Impure blood" is in opposition to the pure blood of the nobility, that is the blood of simple peasants and poor people fighting to defend the Revolution. This is the blood of the French revolutionaries that is "impure". This is in the same spirit by which they called themselves "sans-culotte" in opposition to the nobility.
- ekianjo 9y agoNo, please stop spreading revisionist interpretation of the Marseillaise. Here's a book extract back from 1848 that clearly shows that everyone, even back then, understood "sang impur" as the blood of the enemy. That was just 50 years or so after the Marseillaise was created. > Cinq mois sont à peine écoulés et dans la fièvre de civilisation des esprits chagrins disent de dissolution qui nous travaille nous avons tout usé république sociale démocratique bourgeoise gouvernements d avocats de savants dïgnoranls de poëles de utilitaires et au milieu de ce tohu bohu de recherches de tortues gouvernementales l art musical s est tu comme OII le pense bien car il n y avait rien de bien harmonieux dans la rlIarsei laise provoquant à verser le sang impur des soldats étrangers qui ne sont guère plus féroces que nous et ne songent nullement ù venir mugir dans nos canzpagnes Même avant que la guerre civile vint rugir dans la cité chants avaient cesse Il faut espérer qu ils vont reprendre c un des meilleurs moyens de persuader à l Europe pour la France Paris surtout est un objet Œanæieuse curiosité notre capitale peut redevenir le centre des arts et de la civilisation https://books.google.co.jp/books/content?id=OILsHAshyJ8C&hl=ja&pg=PT228&img=1&zoom=3&sig=ACfU3U3kF0iud102auknNjYOMFB9KZmBzw&ci=524%2C199%2C439%2C292&edge=0 https://books.google.co.jp/books/content?id=OILsHAshyJ8C&hl=... It's also painfully obvious that your "sang impur" interpretation is wrong when you read all the other verses of the Marseillaise (not just the chorus), since so many other parts of the song refer to killing the (foreign) invaders. > Quoi ! Des cohortes étrangères Feraient la loi dans nos foyers ! > Tremblez, tyrans et vous, perfides, L'opprobre de tous les partis ! Tremblez ! Vos projets parricides Vont enfin recevoir leur prix. > Que tes ennemis expirants Voient ton triomphe et notre gloire ! And to your point, the Marseillaise is not a racist song anyway, but it's a nationalistic one. It fits extremely well in its era of emerging nations in Europe (spreading the idea that you belong to something bigger than your direct community/village/town/city). France was on the brink of being annihilated at the time of the Revolution by foreign kingdoms trying to take power and restore the monarchy, and it was a song to gather popular support.
- CalChris 9y ago> Casablanca is widely remembered as one of the greatest films of all time, coming in at #2 on the AFI’s top 100 list ... 1. CITIZEN KANE (1941) 2. CASABLANCA (1942) 3. THE GODFATHER (1972) 4. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) 5. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) I just don't enjoy CITIZEN KANE anymore. It's like a film school movie. I watched it maybe 10-15 times when I was younger and I just don't enjoy it anymore. Like so what? GONE WITH THE WIND is the pinnacle of Lost Cause propaganda. I enjoyed when I didn't understand it. (I'm sure glad I didn't watch Triumph of the Will when I didn't understand it.) I damn sure don't enjoy GONE WITH THE WIND now that I understand it. But I can watch CASABLANCA, THE GODFATHER and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA over and over. And this was a good article telling me things I didn't appreciate and still I can go back and watch CASABLANCA again.
- mozumder 9y agoYou're looking at a list from one perspective: AFI's. It's going to be different from the Director's Guild of America's perspective, or BET Television's perspective, Roger Ebert's perspective, or IMDB commenter's perspective, or Teen Vogue's perspective. I personally think 4 of those 5 movies are way overrated, including Godfather. And I'm sure "But I'm a Cheerleader, Too" is going to be near the top of Teen Vogue's list, but is going to be nowhere near anyone else's list. We really need to not think of these lists as authoritative. It's just another data point.
- CalChris 9y agoYes, lists are lists. However, the DGA's list is not so different: 1. The Godfather 2. Citizen Kane 3. Lawrence of Arabia 4. 2001: A Space Odyssey 5. Casablanca 2001 falls apart with that impenetrable ending and I rather like 2001. However, I can't watch it nearly as often as any of the other movies on that list. Once a decade maybe.
- koverstreet 9y agoI like 2001 but I definitely rate Strangelove higher.
- banned1 9y agoPftt! This scene is nothing. The best scene of all times is the bank robbery scene in the movie Heat and what happens after. Al Pacino and Robert Deniro were lethal. It makes me cry every time when Deniro leaves her behind: “Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.”
- kartD 9y agoOMG That movie just went on and on... Also got to say Al Pacino is so insufferable. De Niro was excellent though. My favorite scene is the end in stand up guys (also Pacino is far more mellow and tolerable in that one)
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- timewarrior 9y agoLove this scene and the movie. It's my most favorite movie. I have seen it about 40 times right now, many times in Theater. Stanford theater in Palo Alto screens this frequently and have made many friends there at Casablanca screenings. Another great scene is "The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kiNJcDG4E0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kiNJcDG4E0
- lolive 9y agoI will name one movie and let your infer what the cinema's greatest scene is: MI-SE-RY.