2) Casablanca (dir. Michael Curtiz)
The Plot: Expatriate Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) owns the most popular joint in World War II Casablanca, a part of Unoccupied France. Thousands storm the city for the chance to go to America, but only one plane comes and goes, and who leaves is controlled solely by Police Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains). The bar owner alienates himself from the political complicities of the war, but when Czechoslovak underground leader, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), arrives in Casablanca with Rick’s ex-lover, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), Blaine must decide whether to keep the girl he loves, or help the revolutionary Laszlo on his mission against the Nazis.
Why Black and White?: Michael Curtiz and his cinematographer, Arthur Edeson, use the black and white picture to expose the characteristics and ideologies of its central character, Rick Blaine. It represents his cynicism, his frustration, and his confusion with everything that’s happening around him. Whether it be the pressing politics he chooses to abstain from, or the lover who has all of a sudden reentered his life, it’s obvious that Blaine is not a man of simple thought.
The black and white colors also symbolize the desperation of Rick’s situation. Rick is quickly faced by a lot of important and urgent decisions; decisions that will surely affect the rest of his life: will he succumb to the political pressures of the war and Renault? Will he help the radical Laszlo? And if he does, will he be able to handle the loss of Ilsa again? These are questions that Rick and the audience cannot answer until the end of the film, and even then, no certainties can be made.
The film’s artistic form also signifies the war that invades Casablanca as dominating, puzzling and frightening. Curtiz and Edeson chose to represent, rather than present these images. For example, consider the infamous final “beginning of a beautiful friendship” scene: Rick and Renault walk off into a cloud of fog, and as a result, the audience can infer that the war (as well as Rick’s personal journey) is far from over.
Besides, we all remember the monstrosity that was the colored “refurbishment” of Casablanca, right?