1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

In class we discussed how Casablanca was one of the most famous films about love. It was a perfect balance of comedy, romance and suspense. It won a number of awards including best picture and director. It starred AFI’s number one male actor and we discussed how influential the film was. Taking place in a time of war, it dealt with a true background story of WWII. We talked about how even today there is still Casablanca themes used in some TV shows.

2) Find a related article and summarize the content. (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) You can use the library or the internet. We will discuss suitable references in class. Cite the article and copy the URL to your journal entry. You should also mention the title of the article and author directly in the answer. Summarize in your own words the related article but do not plagiarize any content.

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/610/Casablanca/articles.html

“Why Casablanca is Essential” written by Bret Wood describes how legendary Casablanca was and still is. He compares “If Citizen Kane (1941) represents the pinnacle of artistic derring-do and Gone With the Wind (1939) epitomizes the colorful bombast of the American epic, then Casablanca is surely the film that defines cinematic cool”. Casablanca was a film that Wood describes to have an “invisible style” which grabs the audience’s attention by creating a seamless and lush universe. It was a story that seduced the audience with the plot instead of visuals and special effects.

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

It supported the way I thought about the film. If I were watching this film in the year it was released, I can completely understand why everyone was so involved in the film. Based on a play “Everybody Comes to Rick”, Director Michael Curtiz did an outstanding job by winning all the awards he won with this film, as well as landing on the top 100 films of all time. The invisible style as mentioned really does give a seamless connection world.

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of 4 things: the screening, class 3 discussions, text material and the article. I am less interested in whether you liked or disliked a film, (although that can be part of this) than I am in your understanding of its place in film history or the contributions of the director.

As mentioned in the class text “Casablanca by far the best of wartime films that deal with the issue of resistance movements” (Foster 195) and it is easy to see why. In class we discussed how it has a perfect balance of comedy and suspense as well as all the romance going on. The article mentions on how it is essential and important even after all these years. Casablanca is one of few films that will be relevant even after many years.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM

1) ( X ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) ( X ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

3) ( X ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.

4) ( X ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.

5) ( X ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) ( X ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) ( X ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) ( X ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.

Name: __Renato Segatto_________________ Date: _____4/22/2014____________________