I think Michael Haneke's filmmaking is filled with these sort of lingering shots that you perfectly described as "up to you to interpret." Excellent essay as always!
Notice she isn't singing along. It isn't about the song, it's the memory of the time the song evokes. Bergman's beauty is timeless... this shot is deep. Every time I watch this movie- I see something new. It works at so many levels. No movie made before or since has this depth.
@@andym1594 I have probably watched this movie over a dozen times. It was made the year I was born. What impresses me is that, compared to movies of the past 20 or 30 years, the acting is so wooden (especially Bogart!) yet the movie is still utterly enchanting.
Looking through the comments, I don't see a lot of talk about the subtleties of her acting. The minute facial changes where she goes from wistful nostalgia to regretful melancholy just by looking away and letting her smile fade. That's why this scene works and Curtiz was smart enough to set it up, or at least see it when it happened.
Something similar happens during the "Marseillaise" scene. As Laslo walks up to the band we see her looking apprehensive, then as they play she looks horrified and finally as everyone joins in she almost visibly swells with price and love. It's a quite amazing performance from minute changes in expression.
I saw Casablanca in a theater a few years ago. I told friends that seeing a full screen close-up of Ingrid Bergman's face, especially this shot, was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen in a movie! Absolutely stunning.
I've experienced the same thing. Agree completely. Another similar experience was seeing Grace Kelly approach the camera early in the movie "Rear Window". Saw it in the theater when it was re-released in the 80's.
Yeah, I kinda struggled with that while editing this video - wanted to bring the viewer into the right space to absorb the shot. It's a shame I had to duck the audio. I thought the film was public domain actually, but turns out only the screenplay is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
If you need an actress to look beautiful with tears in her eyes, Ingrid is your girl. No one was better at romantic melancholia or the tearful goodbye than she. It was her trademark.
I learned recently that she grew up as an orphan. Her mother died when she was 2 1/2, her father died when she was 14. Then she went to live with her father's sister, but she died six months later. Her two elder siblings died before she was born. She was the only one left in her family since she was 14. Losing all of her family at such a young age is why she 'living in an ache'. Maybe this is why she played many emotionally sufferings characters so well. Even when she was supposed to be happy, whether in movies or in real life, a slight melancholy presented her eyes and aura.
There is no put down in calling her a girl. I am sure she called herself a girl many, many times, and always in those times when she spoke of herself with the greatest affection
@@cozyandahalle That was true for 1943. It's 80 years later now and ebvery female I know above the age of 20 prefers "woman". As a male, I wouldn't want to be called a boy when I was in my 30s. I realize you meant no offence. I meant it only as a gentle nudge.
I am 78yy [years young] and watched Casablanca at least once a year for 5 or 6 decades. . . .and not once did it ever occur to me that the shot was out of the ordinary or special or took a "long" time. . . . .it is simply integral to the movie as the rest of the scenes are. . . . . .Casablanca if a "CLASSIC OF CLASSICS". . . .Timeless, beyond time.
I'm two years your senior, and I couldn't agree more about Casablanca. It's a perfect work of art, the greatest movie that has ever been, and probably will ever be. Timeless indeed.
@@cufflink44 Thank you, and total agreement. Even as a child watching Casablanca. I knew, as in KNEW, it was a very special film to see, on Black and white TV in the 1950s. From your junior by two years. . . . .
@@edroth7612 Right. I think maybe second on the list for me would be "All About Eve." That's another B&W film I can watch over and over and enjoy every time.
You are correct, 25 seconds well used, not a second of the entire movie is superfluous. Greatest movie ever in my humble opinion and just last year saw it on the big screen for the first time. How can it be wasted screen time when you are looking at the beautiful Ingrid Bergman.
The first time you see this film, you have no idea what she’s thinking during that shot. In subsequent viewings, her expression becomes incredibly deep and appropriate to the romantic history. During filming, she was kept off-balance by the constant re-writes and shifts in character development, so the overall integrity of her performance was a minor miracle - one of many in that great movie. Peak Hollywood.
I think the nature of the film was an accident of 'Hollywood" at a peak production period. It was seen as a B film, and accordingly given a tight schedule and low budget, with apparently not enough time to complete the script before film production started. Most acting for the times seem over the top and typecast; but here, there's an ambiguity forced on the two stars, by not knowing before hand what was meant to happen. This plays out right to finish, with two alternate endings filmed, and a test audience selecting the well known one over the [very rarely shown] happy ending.
To add - in an odd way, the constant rewrites are the genius stroke of luck elevating this and other scenes to all time classics; forced to respect both potential outcomes of the film as an actor in a movie without money for reshoots, she is all but forced to amplify the philosophical indecision of the situation as a character. A greater budgeted, lesser film would have likely tweaked this scene and used this as a great hard sell for the twist. 80 years past, this lives on because the lack of deception, the pure uncertainty, makes it human and engages the audience all at once. Then you add Bergman’s talent, and the moral quandary is so acutely felt it transcends time, era. What a film
I have watched Casablanca so many times during my long life, and every time Rick looks at Ilsa and there's that music sting I still have tears in my eyes. It's a moment that seems to reach deep into the soul. It's not just about Rick and Ilsa but also about one's own loves that might have been, roads never travelled . . .
At the root of longing is a miracle that allows our dreams to come true. The key to miracles is forgiveness of others and self letting the past lead us up to what we need to learn instead of being stuck in our failures.
There is a lot going on. Bergman was very beautiful. A sad beautiful woman will catch any man's eyes, Her microexpressions progressing subtly across her face say so much! Remorse, loss, longing. When she looks up at Rick and the tears are there, wow. This is some very fine acting.
When Bogart sees that, he subtly changes from sternly annoyed to processing a turmoil of thoughts and micro reactions in less than one second. Very good actor!
Bergman acted with her eyes. She did begin in silent movies. You can turn off the sound and know exactly what her character is experiencing internally.
I taught a film class for 20 years and always began with "Casablanca." The students started with bored looks and chins on hands, became interested when Rick arrives at the piano immediately after this scene, and got hooked when Victor Laszlo drowns out the Nazi chorus of Deutschland Uber Alles. Your presentation was eloquent and spot on. Thanks for the edification.
Were you ever tempted to turn off the projector during a great scene and tell the class “Eh, you’re clearly not interested. Let’s go back to the text” to harvest the whines of lament ? ;)
Nicely done. You remind me to see this movie again. Most shocking in your video is your statement that there are some people who have not seen Casablanca. The horror!
Those "Portrait" closeups without blinking never get old. La Bergman was at home here projecting the inner private life of this woman. She was a natural. Hitchcock used it in several movies also. That was bread and butter for La GARBO in "Queen Christina," especially in the final shot. Closeups provide a private moment for the viewers to identify with the actions of the actor. The PRIZE of the great closeups are also the craftsmanship of the great cinematographers like (Ernie Haller) and the lighting designers. Old Hollywood movies 🎬 are the foundation for the greatest closeups in history. Thank you for your magnificent post!!!
Not only her gaze, and the mouth open, but the very slight eyebrow rise which shows an eye-widening, part of the recollection. This could have easily been over-acted. I wonder how many takes they did to get this shot. It is critical for the character's presentation--her internal conflict is introduced and just grows and grows and it is what the entire movie hinges upon.
Ohhh her acting is so exquisite. The subtle shifts of emotion, the twinkle of her earring, the way her eyes moisten and glitter, yet she does not drop an actual tear. Hats off to cinematographer and lighting as well.
This artistically triumphant close-up was probably a happy accident that was a byproduct of a directing/editing move done in service of another artistic decision. So the shot is not only amazing, but has an amazing backstory. ‘As Time Goes By’ was chosen by Hal Wallis because it was a song specified in the original unproduced play adapted into the movie. But the film was still being shot when Max Steiner, the studio’s leading composer, was assigned to write the score. Steiner was familiar with the song and loathed it, and he also wanted the royalties that would come from using a song of his own. Max demanded the song be changed. There was a tussle of studio higher-ups. But Wallis prevailed: he successfully kept the song in, on the basis that the sequence in which Dooley Wilson performs it onscreen was already shot and featured in many shots including the dialogue, and the whole sequence would have to be reshot; and allegedly, Ingrid Bergman had cut her hair for another role. I’ll bet money that this 25-second close-up was intentionally put in the rough cut to help accentuate Wallis’s position that it was too difficult to reshoot this sequence. (Needless to say, this tussle ended happily for all concerned: Max Steiner vowed to make lemonade from this lemon of a situation, and wrote a score that incorporated the tune of ‘As Time Goes By’ everywhere in various versions, reflecting various emotions and events, tying the film together brilliantly; and Max’s score earned him great praise and an Academy Award nom. 🎼😂
Interesting bit of background! I also wondered if this was one of those shots where Ingrid wasn't aware they were rolling, and that's why she seems so authentically detached.
yes, more stillnesss "now" perhaps, but most of my friends consider more modern movies TOO LONG now [even if Epics were already a thing way back when, but we weren't born yet t' see them in theaters, anyway. AND they gave INTERMISSION that is none in Hobbits and things for a breather and drink refill, etc].
neat to see this scene broken down! I love how you compared the effect of still film frames to paintings, that makes me think of those shots really differently
That stood out for me, too. In film, though, you have the music and subtle movement to enhance the moment. I do see the comparison with still painting, in the sense that it trusts the viewer to interpret.
One of my most favorite films and I like much of what you have to say about it. My one note: The film is NOT set at the height of WW2. That's the whole idea for much of the dialogue which talks about how America is sleeping while the rest of the world falling apart. It's set 1940-41 before American entered the war, all of mainland Europe under Nazi control and England was fighting alone.
Britain was the largest empire of the time, which used two world wars to occupy europe and eastern Asia. of course, Americans didn't want to help Britain and russia to occupy even more colonies, or to make America worldwide empire (while it was already the local one). FDR fooled Americans by starting war against japan with Hall's note. and USA still struggles with the consequences of USA becoming world's largest empire, which killed millions of people fighting for freedom, from japan to Iraq. just ask himse;f - how much people was killed by USA since then, and how much of them attacked USA (rather than its colonies or occupation armies)
It's a great shot. It becomes an anti-frame by the end as she looks out of the shot instead of into the shot (some people call this short-siding). Along with her expression, this gives a sense of unease despite the cheery music.
Thank you for your explication about those 26 seconds of silence and stillness. I watched the movie so many times and I know it by memory. What we can say...Casablanca will remain as one of the best movie have been done in the cinema history with that gorgeous, beautiful Ingrid Bergman and with Bogart that impersonates the perfect partner for Ilsa. We have also to remember all the other actors that made this film a masterpiece.
Let’s not forget the cinematographer. Of course Bergman’s key light perfectly placed and there’s just the right amount of rim light but there’s one other piece of magic. As she moves there’s a couple of lovely soft flared highlights on her earrings. That the character of those highlights is not only to do with the beautiful subtle lens diffusion that’s been chosen but also because of the very subtle use of an ‘Obie’ light just above the lens. Jewels need an on-axis light to sparkle like that. Oh, and it also picks up and adds sparkle to the tears. Now, watch the scan again and see how this sparkles had to the magic. The only place where you can see the Obie’s apparent on her skin is inside her ear
I thought about talking about the cinematography in this video, but while reading about it I realized it needed to be its own separate video, because there's so much to talk about. I was thinking maybe a video about how "leading ladies" were shot in those days. In the wider shot where we see Ilsa talking to Sam, she has insane specular points in her eyes that really jump off the screen.
@@theartofstorytelling1I’d love you to do the leading ladies subject, including the casting, hair, make up and costuming of these goddesses, we simply don’t shoot leading ladies like this any more as standard, nor gown them, we don’t really make too many movies with such idealism of looks or character, though it proliferates in fashion modelling, advertising and music promotion and it’s how many social media influencers painstakingly try to present themselves. And it’s on the red carpet, but you rarely see those actresses looking like that in the movies they’re nominated for. I suppose it’s a reflection of the role of women in society nowadays.
Without knowing very much about lighting, I always had a sense that Casablanca has very complicated yet masterful lighting in every scene that makes the blocking and composition just really work. Part of why it’s a classic.
@@theartofstorytelling1That would be a terrific video. I remember reading that Marlene Dietrich had very specific lighting requirements of her own and could tell whether everything was correctly set by feeling the heat of the lamps on her skin.
One shot that comes to mind is at the end of Tootsie when Michael sits next to Les at his favorite drinking establishment. Les is watching TV, Michael sits next to him, Les briefly gives him a welcoming one-of-the guys nod, Les turns back to the TV, and then his face slowly and silently changes as he realizes who it is. Great job by director Sydney Pollack and Charles Durning as Les.
If you have not seen "Casablanca" --- STOP RIGHT NOW! Find it! Watch it! Watch it on the biggest screen possible, in a darkened room, with no distractions. It will change your life.
Not just a close up on a beautiful face, but a close up on a quiet, private moment. One of the most beautiful bits of film ever. Also look at a particular close up of Ingrid and Gary Cooper in For Who the Bells Toll. Stunning!
There's also the fact that Ingrid Bergman had one of the most beautiful faces in the history of humankind... So a long close-up of her face was not a difficult choice to give the audience the contemplative moment you mentioned.
The long still shot is also difficult to watch on some level, because we have been told from childhood not to stare at someone, especially if we see difficult emotions going through their face. We are not supposed to intrude, and yet we’re forced to in shots like this.
It's interesting (but off the subject), but I've heard that disabled people say that people don't look at them. I explained that people are taught not to stare, and when we see a person who seems unusual our training tells us to look away. The only suggestion given was that you look at them for the usual amount of time. Of course the problem is that we're not consciously aware of how long we're looking. I read of a mother who, when her kids wouldn't quit staring after asking them to, started a conversation with the disabled person her kids were staring at.
It may be that what makes Casablanca such a great film is that you get both ends of the spectrum, the emotion in Ingrid’s face without saying a word and the fact that there’s more great dialogue in two minutes of Casablanca than most other films have in their entirety. The silence reminds me of one my other favorite movies, Jeremiah Johnson, which has long shots of the mountains without a word being said. As Jeremiah said during the movie “There’s nothing wrong with silence.”.
Absolutely, Another great moment in Casablanca is Rick's nod. A pivotal moment that shifts the entire dynamic of the story without a single word. It's masterfully executed.
This is a totally outstanding shot. I have often wondered if any modern day actresses could carry off such a long period of stillness and silent emotion - I can't think of one who might, but who knows. Happy to see this video recognising this beautiful cinematic moment.
Curtiz was a very deft director. He knew we could read all the melancholy and regret in Bergman's face, just as we could read all the pain in Bogart's when he first sees her. It was a masterclass of directing and acting. I never tire of Casablanca. I see new things with every viewing. Thanks for sharing your video.
A lot of the living history of this movie gets lost in later viewings. The idea behind the shot is profound regret and loss, something a lot of people could identify with during the war. Bergman was from a country that worked closely with the nazis at the start of the war. Many of the cast were war refugees
@@theartofstorytelling1 there's more...the woman guitarist who starts off La Marseilles, the national anthem of Free France, was a recent refugee and those tears are real...those people in the audience were and some of the main cast were refugees from Germany and the occupied countries. Not a soul in that room wasn't currently adversely affected by the war... That rousing chorus, was as real as it gets, and nobody was acting, except the poor guys who got to be the German baddies. And consider this too - the events of the story were taking place at the then "present" day, so this wasn't some nostalgia piece, no rosie-eyed glow of the good old days, after we know how it all ended. The events of the movie and the filming and release were maybe off by a year, it was a "ripped from the headlines" movie, and not a single person in that cast or crew knew that the Nazis would lose. The filmmakers were running on hope. Knowing that, this whole section makes me weep.
@@marieroberts5664 It is always interesting to hear ideas about how people at the time viewed the war. My father served in the First World War and was a forty-something family man during WW2. I was born after the war, but we often talked about it. He always said that even in the "darkest" days of WW2 he never had any doubt that the allies would prevail in the end. He said the Germans and the Japanese were formidable, but most Americans at the time were confident they eventually would be overwhelmed by superior industrial capacity and manpower. Which, of course, is what happened.
They let the light reflect in the moisture of her eyes for a second which always makes me wonder "Is she about to cry?" and then they don't let it reflect, leaving me to continue to look for the reflection and being denied, I continue wondering until the end of the shot. So Good! RIP, Ingrid!
I have always loved the last scene in The Graduate. Initially, they are full of excitement over what just happened, what they just did. The camera lingers, and the excitement kind of dwindles. The camera lingers some more, and the excitement over what they just did starts to turn to "What did we just do?" and "Now what?" Oh, boy.
Great acting, great directing, great lighting, great writing... it's rare for all these elements to come together, but when they do the result is exquisite and transcendent.
I'm delighted to see this great shot finally get discussed in depth and with the detail it deserves. It's an extraordinary choice by Curtiz, a master of the medium, beautifully acted (as you say) by Bergman. She is not only ridiculously beautiful, her face becomes a canvas upon which we project our own feelings of longing, lost love, melancholy. You're so right when you say it gives the romance in the film an incredible gravitas. I think this shot is why the romance resonates for so many. There's another shot, later on, not nearly as long, where Curtiz uses Bergman's face/reaction to create depth of character. it's a close-up of Ilsa staring at her husband as he leads the restaurant in singing La Marseillaise. She stares at him with admiring, shining eyes, terrified for him, yet so proud. It's her gaze which makes us completely believe Victor Laszlo is a heroic character. Curtiz knew what he had in Bergman, and he knew exactly how to use her abilities. Just brilliant.
I am not sure if it's exactly the kind of shot showcased here but I will always love those 3 slow shots of the mountain during Fantasia 2000's Firebird Suite. I was so little when I first watched that film but that finale always moved me to tears
My favorite scene in all of Hollywood history is in North by Northwest. Before the crop duster swoops in, when Cary Grant has just been dropped off by the bus. What follows is a master class in building suspense, making the audience uncomfortable by doing nothing at all. The silence is disconcerting and sucks the audience in. Love it!
It’s a great shot. A longer shot is at the end of The Perfect Days, a minute and a half big close up on the main characters face, while he drives a van. His face silently communicates a whole sequence of emotions including tears at one point. Amazing acting from a character who you get to know and like during the first half of the film even though he doesn’t speak until later.
I really love and appreciate the cinematic value of long shots. The opening scene of Touch of Evil where we are forced through the streets from an overhead POV, watching numerous scenarios play out below. Judy Garland swanning through the house at 5135 Kensington Ave, St. Louis, MO turning out all the oil lamps as the boy next door watches her adoringly. My favorite long shot of all time is the opening six minutes of episode 6 of The Haunting of Hill House where Mike Flanagan masterfully swaps his adult actors in and out of the frame with their child actor counterparts. It's so fascinating how each director (Orson Welles, Vincent Minnelli, and Flanagan) uses this technique for their individual creative visions.
One of my favourite films. My husband, who's a long time film and television editor, taught me a lot about this - helped me appreciate film so much more.
In Mike Leigh's "Topsy-Turvy" (1999) there is a shot which culminates in a very tight close-up of Jim Broadbent (Gilbert) as he is inspired to write "The Mikado," while Leigh allows the instrumental introduction to "Behold the Lord High Executioner" to sound; the shot is over 30 seconds, I think.
She was used to these silences and stares.She could stand them.And she filled the whole cinema with her stillness and her memories. Plus you present her with silence around her which isn't real.I like this scene but absolutely love the way she talks to Sam.First requesting the song and then the singing. It's magical...
What happens is...her face. It is like listening to the entire length of Bryan Ferry's Boys and Girls in 25 seconds. The romance is so dark and thrilling, but entirely unattainable. I love the final extended cab ride shot in Michael Clayton. Kind of the whole history of the movie itself in George Clooney's face.
The image of her earring twinkling like a bright star in the night as her head turned ever so slowly, reminding me of earth”s rotation & the passage of time, was so captivating, while you could also see her remembering & thinking of so much.
Anne Bancroft's long monologue in "Garbo Talks" as she lays in a hospital bed as the camera slowly zooms onto her face has always stuck with me as a fantastic single scene in an OK film.
The Director of Casablanca, Michael Curtiz, won the Academy Aware that year for good reason -- such as choices like this one. Casablanca also shows that Curtiz is a master of the set piece, such as the Marseilles scene. If you look at Curtiz's filmography, one notices that Curtiz is a highly underrated talent.
This movie was based on an unproduced stage play, featured a song from that play that the composer for the movie hated but was stuck with, was set during a war that was never shown, didn't have an ending until it was time to film one and in its final scene featured a flat canvas painted to look like an airplane, with dwarves dressed as mechanics "working" on it and the roof of an aircraft hangar painted on glass. It also featured a magnificent cast at the height of their powers, some of the most memorable dialogue ever recorded and absolutely beautiful cinematography. That's how to create one of the greatest movies of all time.
I think of the ending of Drive as an example of cinematic stillness which I personally love - on my first watch I wasn’t sure if I was witnessing the death of the protagonist, and in a way, it is, in the sense he’s leaving behind a life he could have had with Carey Mulligan’s character. Adding in the track “Real Hero” is another big part for why I think the scene is so emotionally resonant.
Rick experiences a similar facial expression when Sam plays the same song. Rick is sitting at the table getting drunk in recollection his lost love with Ingrid . You'll notice he starts to word out something then suddenly stops. These are the little things that made this movie a timeless classic. I can't count how many times I've seen this movie.
You want stillness as cinematic stilless? Barry Lyndon! Those scene intro shots, starting out on a still face and zooming out to take in the entire 18thCentury landscape...
The writing, directing and overall pacing of this film are so tight and efficient, like so many of the films of that era, that this long moment creates a kind of emotional black hole that sucks us in: We don't know it, but there is something going on here. It's effectively setting up the main conflict in JUST THAT ONE SHOT. Incredibly efficient and masterful. Yes, the confidence Curtiz had is astounding, but Owen Marks, the editor, is likely more to credit for holding this shot in the edit for so long. Perhaps they collaborated, I'm sure there's a historian who knows, but Marks edited some heavy-hitters in his day, so it's no fluke that he cut this one so wonderfully. And also, speaking as an actor, there's a little trick that can do wonders which is not blinking for as long as you can (which you've keenly pointed out). It can add so much discomfort and tension inside the actor that translates directly into the performance. I'm not trying to take away from Bergman in the slightest--in fact, I'm praising her technique--Bogey does it in several performances too. I think this was not uncommon in those days because "the close-up" was a standard shot in the recipe book of making a film. Great video! I'll be on the look for more :)
A long shot of Ellen Burstyn's face, holding the hand of her father as he dies, in the movie Resurrection, has lingered in my mind for years. As you watch her face, you realize the exact moment he dies without ever seeing him. It is there on her face. A truly remarkable film moment from a marvelous actress.
If I recall correctly, not once in this movie does Rick or Ilsa say I love you--they get roaring drunk and say they hate each other. But they mean I love you, it's just so hard to say. In another movie, From Here to Eternity, the renowned lovers are having a spat and the Deborah Kerr says you don't love me, and Burt Lancaster replies, "Love you? I haven't been so miserable in my life." The point being that in movies, there has to be conflict and tension, and human beings resist admitting to vulnerable feelings.
Back when I was an undergraduate at University of Colorado, we had the World Affairs Conference every year for a week. One year Roger Ebert took several days to disect Casablanca scene by scene. It was memorable.
Among many other lessons, Casablanca shows how humor can be - and has been throughout theatrical history - a part of dramatic storytelling. Besides being a story of lost and found love set against a dead-serious background of war and its peril, it's also a classically funny film at many points. The emotional roller coaster is part of why I'm so drawn to it. While everyone involved seems to have thought of the film as nothing more than another in a rapid-fire series of subjects produced using many of the same cast, I think it's just that very fact - that this was a studio running at full bore on a tight schedule with no time or money to waste, and that just happened to have artistic and technical geniuses on tap and ready to rumble - that allowed this lightning to be put into a bottle. These folks had no idea they were crafting the perfect movie; they just put on their pants every day and did it.
In those days there were no computers for computer generated images so, we had actors, actresses, directors, cameramen, producers and the whole team. They gave us the great movies that we continue to enjoy even today. I have read that not all actors can do a take with the camera so close to them!
I thought you meant that the scene had nothing going, just the closeup. But the scene has the music in the background, and that does bring something happening in the shot, and the 25 seconds do not seem so long.
"His Only Son" (2023) was such a pleasant surprise in this respect. Long dialog-free or low dialog takes that allowed the audience to connect emotionally with the characters.
25 seconds. Wow I never knew that! Seems that I pictured her whole romance during that time, and it was all in a blink of an eye. Going to watch it again 👍😀. Thanks.
I'm 71. Only 3 days ago my workmates were asking me who was the most beautiful woman to me when I was younger. That was tricky at first as there are so many. But after a bit of a think it was Ingrid Bergman. I explained that she was just the most beautiful woman, mesmerising, and that they should watch Casablanca and find out for themselves.
I have a copy of Casablanca and I have lost count of how many times I have watched it. Its well over 100 times though. What appeals to me is that despite a war raging across the world, there is still time even though a small chance to live normally. Possibly to even find love. But it tells and excellent story about changing your perception Rick starts as a "I only take care of me" kind of man. As the story unfolds he becomes a Patriot and does the right thing despite any discomfort it causes him. The scene where the germans sing their national song only to be drowned out by the french people singing their national song gives me goose pimples every time. Casablanca is my go to movie when it comes to "It isn't over until we win or we are dead trying movie."
In the early 90s I was working on a team that was making a 50th anniversary documentary about Casablanca. At some point I became aware that this shot is very long. I'm not sure I had ever really noticed it before that. I knew it was long, and still, but not HOW long, so I timed it and couldn't believe it was that long. Partly because of what a bold thing that was to do, and partly because the space is so full with her acting and with the music. I've been talking about it for 32 years, so it's nice to see someone examining this shot. One note: As Time Goes By is a 'standard' now, because of Casablanca. But it was not terribly well-known at the time. It was about 20 years old or so and had never been a hit. But the author of the play "Everybody Comes To Rick's" had written it into the play and composer Max Steiner was made to use it more or less against his will.
There's a lot more movement happening in the acting but I love the extended push in on Adele Haenel's character listening to the orchestra at the end of Portraig of a Lady on Fire. The length of the shot gives the viewer time to be bowled over by the emotion of it, and still have plenty of time to reflect on everything they're thinking and feeling about the movie. Its a punch in the gut, with time allowed to let the pain set in.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Cinephiles: what are some other examples of cinematic stillness?
I would say the pie eating scene from A Ghost Story.
I think Michael Haneke's filmmaking is filled with these sort of lingering shots that you perfectly described as "up to you to interpret." Excellent essay as always!
Birth
Gene Wilder in "Everything you always wanted to know about s*x" ?
ruclips.net/video/waXR1OmhRL4/видео.htmlsi=s5lW5bhhQzsX8Xdj
For comic effect, Gene Wilder in "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About S*x" (Search for "Gene Wilder longest funniest silence" )
Lingering on Ingrid Bergman's beautiful face can never be a mistake. It works because nobody gets bored looking at that face
You are correct, believe whether you male or female (I'm the latter) you will feel that way.
Notice she isn't singing along. It isn't about the song, it's the memory of the time the song evokes. Bergman's beauty is timeless... this shot is deep.
Every time I watch this movie- I see something new. It works at so many levels. No movie made before or since has this depth.
@@andym1594 There is a reason it is on top or very close to the top of all times greatests movie.
@@andym1594 I have probably watched this movie over a dozen times. It was made the year I was born.
What impresses me is that, compared to movies of the past 20 or 30 years, the acting is so wooden (especially Bogart!) yet the movie is still utterly enchanting.
@@andym1594 Wow, I never thought that Ilsa might sing along with Sam. That would have been awful.
Looking through the comments, I don't see a lot of talk about the subtleties of her acting. The minute facial changes where she goes from wistful nostalgia to regretful melancholy just by looking away and letting her smile fade. That's why this scene works and Curtiz was smart enough to set it up, or at least see it when it happened.
Beautifully said ❤
I wish our time spans hadn't been shortened.
Something similar happens during the "Marseillaise" scene. As Laslo walks up to the band we see her looking apprehensive, then as they play she looks horrified and finally as everyone joins in she almost visibly swells with price and love. It's a quite amazing performance from minute changes in expression.
I saw Casablanca in a theater a few years ago. I told friends that seeing a full screen close-up of Ingrid Bergman's face, especially this shot, was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen in a movie! Absolutely stunning.
Not the Stanford Theater was it?
I've experienced the same thing. Agree completely. Another similar experience was seeing Grace Kelly approach the camera early in the movie "Rear Window". Saw it in the theater when it was re-released in the 80's.
to have watched it in a theater
Almost out of context and with no sound the shot still hits hard. What a masterpiece.
it is even more powerful than with sound
Yeah, I kinda struggled with that while editing this video - wanted to bring the viewer into the right space to absorb the shot. It's a shame I had to duck the audio. I thought the film was public domain actually, but turns out only the screenplay is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The movie had sound
Greatest picture of all time.
If you need an actress to look beautiful with tears in her eyes, Ingrid is your girl. No one was better at romantic melancholia or the tearful goodbye than she. It was her trademark.
It is seen in the movie Notorious as well. No one has done it so beautifully!
I learned recently that she grew up as an orphan. Her mother died when she was 2 1/2, her father died when she was 14. Then she went to live with her father's sister, but she died six months later. Her two elder siblings died before she was born. She was the only one left in her family since she was 14. Losing all of her family at such a young age is why she 'living in an ache'. Maybe this is why she played many emotionally sufferings characters so well. Even when she was supposed to be happy, whether in movies or in real life, a slight melancholy presented her eyes and aura.
She is not a "girl". She is an intelligent, supremely talented and beautiful WOMAN.
There is no put down in calling her a girl. I am sure she called herself a girl many, many times, and always in those times when she spoke of herself with the greatest affection
@@cozyandahalle That was true for 1943. It's 80 years later now and ebvery female I know above the age of 20 prefers "woman". As a male, I wouldn't want to be called a boy when I was in my 30s. I realize you meant no offence. I meant it only as a gentle nudge.
I am 78yy [years young] and watched Casablanca at least once a year for 5 or 6 decades. . . .and not once did it ever occur to me that the shot was out of the ordinary or special or took a "long" time. . . . .it is simply integral to the movie as the rest of the scenes are. . . . . .Casablanca if a "CLASSIC OF CLASSICS". . . .Timeless, beyond time.
I'm two years your senior, and I couldn't agree more about Casablanca. It's a perfect work of art, the greatest movie that has ever been, and probably will ever be. Timeless indeed.
@@cufflink44 Thank you, and total agreement. Even as a child watching Casablanca. I knew, as in KNEW, it was a very special film to see, on Black and white TV in the 1950s.
From your junior by two years. . . . .
@@edroth7612 Right. I think maybe second on the list for me would be "All About Eve." That's another B&W film I can watch over and over and enjoy every time.
You are correct, 25 seconds well used, not a second of the entire movie is superfluous. Greatest movie ever in my humble opinion and just last year saw it on the big screen for the first time. How can it be wasted screen time when you are looking at the beautiful Ingrid Bergman.
@@davidjones992 Ingrid Bergman . . . . SSSOOOOOO True
The first time you see this film, you have no idea what she’s thinking during that shot. In subsequent viewings, her expression becomes incredibly deep and appropriate to the romantic history. During filming, she was kept off-balance by the constant re-writes and shifts in character development, so the overall integrity of her performance was a minor miracle - one of many in that great movie. Peak Hollywood.
I think the nature of the film was an accident of 'Hollywood" at a peak production period. It was seen as a B film, and accordingly given a tight schedule and low budget, with apparently not enough time to complete the script before film production started.
Most acting for the times seem over the top and typecast;
but here, there's an ambiguity forced on the two stars, by not knowing before hand what was meant to happen. This plays out right to finish, with two alternate endings filmed,
and a test audience selecting the well known one over the [very rarely shown] happy ending.
To add - in an odd way, the constant rewrites are the genius stroke of luck elevating this and other scenes to all time classics; forced to respect both potential outcomes of the film as an actor in a movie without money for reshoots, she is all but forced to amplify the philosophical indecision of the situation as a character. A greater budgeted, lesser film would have likely tweaked this scene and used this as a great hard sell for the twist. 80 years past, this lives on because the lack of deception, the pure uncertainty, makes it human and engages the audience all at once. Then you add Bergman’s talent, and the moral quandary is so acutely felt it transcends time, era. What a film
I have watched Casablanca so many times during my long life, and every time Rick looks at Ilsa and there's that music sting I still have tears in my eyes. It's a moment that seems to reach deep into the soul. It's not just about Rick and Ilsa but also about one's own loves that might have been, roads never travelled . . .
Very true, and beautifully expressed.
Most amazing portrayal of love❤
At the root of longing is a miracle that allows our dreams to come true. The key to miracles is forgiveness of others and self letting the past lead us up to what we need to learn instead of being stuck in our failures.
There is a lot going on. Bergman was very beautiful. A sad beautiful woman will catch any man's eyes, Her microexpressions progressing subtly across her face say so much! Remorse, loss, longing. When she looks up at Rick and the tears are there, wow. This is some very fine acting.
When Bogart sees that, he subtly changes from sternly annoyed to processing a turmoil of thoughts and micro reactions in less than one second. Very good actor!
Bergman acted with her eyes. She did begin in silent movies. You can turn off the sound and know exactly what her character is experiencing internally.
That movie is such a combination of talents, both on screen and off. A rare moment in any industry.
I taught a film class for 20 years and always began with "Casablanca." The students started with bored looks and chins on hands, became interested when Rick arrives at the piano immediately after this scene, and got hooked when Victor Laszlo drowns out the Nazi chorus of Deutschland Uber Alles. Your presentation was eloquent and spot on. Thanks for the edification.
Were you ever tempted to turn off the projector during a great scene and tell the class “Eh, you’re clearly not interested. Let’s go back to the text” to harvest the whines of lament ? ;)
Good comments but Laszlo did not drown out Deutschland Uber Alles. It was "Die Wacht am Rhein". So much for accuracy.
Appreciate the correction, but you don't have to be snarky.
She was really good at looking down....and she was luminous!
It’s Ingrid Bergman mate, doesn’t feel that long :)
👍😂
"I'm being forced to watch Ingrid Bergman for too long"....said no one ever.
She was an exquisite creation. I could watch her stare blankly for eternity, hoping for the slightest expression.
AMEN
@@jamezkpal2361 Just by a still from the movie.
What a great movie! It’s the kind of movie you can watch 100 times and never tire of it.
I have! And I haven't got tired of it.
@@tomriley1499 Me too!
It's a different movie everytime I watch it.
Ninety-five times left! (Lucky me!!!)
Nicely done. You remind me to see this movie again.
Most shocking in your video is your statement that there are some people who have not seen Casablanca. The horror!
Those "Portrait" closeups without blinking never get old. La Bergman was at home here projecting the inner private life of this woman. She was a natural. Hitchcock used it in several movies also.
That was bread and butter for La GARBO in "Queen Christina," especially in the final shot.
Closeups provide a private moment for the viewers to identify with the actions of the actor.
The PRIZE of the great closeups are also the craftsmanship of the great cinematographers like (Ernie Haller) and the lighting designers.
Old Hollywood movies 🎬 are the foundation for the greatest closeups in history.
Thank you for your magnificent post!!!
"I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille!" - Gloria Swanson as the forgotten aging Film Starlet Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard" 1950
@julias.4980 BINGO!!!
"We didn't need dialogue... We had FACES!!!!!"
Not only her gaze, and the mouth open, but the very slight eyebrow rise which shows an eye-widening, part of the recollection. This could have easily been over-acted. I wonder how many takes they did to get this shot. It is critical for the character's presentation--her internal conflict is introduced and just grows and grows and it is what the entire movie hinges upon.
This is the immortal classic ❤ One of the brightest gems of the world cinematographic of all times.
Ohhh her acting is so exquisite. The subtle shifts of emotion, the twinkle of her earring, the way her eyes moisten and glitter, yet she does not drop an actual tear. Hats off to cinematographer and lighting as well.
She’s so beautiful and radiant.
She sure cleaned up nicely. She was really rather plain in real life, but the camera absolutely adored her..
Huh? Did you meet her in real life?
@@Bonkatsu12 I've seen photos and film of her without professional lighting and makeup.
Miyazaki / Ghibli uses stillness and silence for reflection in just about every film. Again, something of a master of it.
this is a more common thing in Japanese aesthetics in general.
This artistically triumphant close-up was probably a happy accident that was a byproduct of a directing/editing move done in service of another artistic decision. So the shot is not only amazing, but has an amazing backstory. ‘As Time Goes By’ was chosen by Hal Wallis because it was a song specified in the original unproduced play adapted into the movie. But the film was still being shot when Max Steiner, the studio’s leading composer, was assigned to write the score. Steiner was familiar with the song and loathed it, and he also wanted the royalties that would come from using a song of his own. Max demanded the song be changed. There was a tussle of studio higher-ups. But Wallis prevailed: he successfully kept the song in, on the basis that the sequence in which Dooley Wilson performs it onscreen was already shot and featured in many shots including the dialogue, and the whole sequence would have to be reshot; and allegedly, Ingrid Bergman had cut her hair for another role. I’ll bet money that this 25-second close-up was intentionally put in the rough cut to help
accentuate Wallis’s position that it was too difficult to reshoot this sequence. (Needless to say, this tussle ended happily for all concerned: Max Steiner vowed to make lemonade from this lemon of a situation, and wrote a score that incorporated the tune of ‘As Time Goes By’ everywhere in various versions, reflecting various emotions and events, tying the film together brilliantly; and Max’s score earned him great praise and an Academy Award nom. 🎼😂
Interesting bit of background! I also wondered if this was one of those shots where Ingrid wasn't aware they were rolling, and that's why she seems so authentically detached.
Improvised? or maybe even lazy? low budget weekly popcorn B-Flick now considered High Art, after all.
yes, more stillnesss "now" perhaps, but most of my friends consider more modern movies TOO LONG now [even if Epics were already a thing way back when, but we weren't born yet t' see them in theaters, anyway. AND they gave INTERMISSION that is none in Hobbits and things for a breather and drink refill, etc].
neat to see this scene broken down! I love how you compared the effect of still film frames to paintings, that makes me think of those shots really differently
That stood out for me, too. In film, though, you have the music and subtle movement to enhance the moment. I do see the comparison with still painting, in the sense that it trusts the viewer to interpret.
One of my most favorite films and I like much of what you have to say about it. My one note: The film is NOT set at the height of WW2. That's the whole idea for much of the dialogue which talks about how America is sleeping while the rest of the world falling apart. It's set 1940-41 before American entered the war, all of mainland Europe under Nazi control and England was fighting alone.
And Rick represents America as he finally enters the war.
@@LDR1100RS But it was filmed and released in 1943---more deeply into the war
Britain was the largest empire of the time, which used two world wars to occupy europe and eastern Asia. of course, Americans didn't want to help Britain and russia to occupy even more colonies, or to make America worldwide empire (while it was already the local one). FDR fooled Americans by starting war against japan with Hall's note. and USA still struggles with the consequences of USA becoming world's largest empire, which killed millions of people fighting for freedom, from japan to Iraq. just ask himse;f - how much people was killed by USA since then, and how much of them attacked USA (rather than its colonies or occupation armies)
@@z140140 Dude, we're talking about a movie. Take your self-loathing and USA hatred someplace else.
It's a great shot. It becomes an anti-frame by the end as she looks out of the shot instead of into the shot (some people call this short-siding). Along with her expression, this gives a sense of unease despite the cheery music.
Thank you for your explication about those 26 seconds of silence and stillness. I watched the movie so many times and I know it by memory. What we can say...Casablanca will remain as one of the best movie have been done in the cinema history with that gorgeous, beautiful Ingrid Bergman and with Bogart that impersonates the perfect partner for Ilsa. We have also to remember all the other actors that made this film a masterpiece.
Let’s not forget the cinematographer. Of course Bergman’s key light perfectly placed and there’s just the right amount of rim light but there’s one other piece of magic. As she moves there’s a couple of lovely soft flared highlights on her earrings. That the character of those highlights is not only to do with the beautiful subtle lens diffusion that’s been chosen but also because of the very subtle use of an ‘Obie’ light just above the lens. Jewels need an on-axis light to sparkle like that. Oh, and it also picks up and adds sparkle to the tears. Now, watch the scan again and see how this sparkles had to the magic. The only place where you can see the Obie’s apparent on her skin is inside her ear
I thought about talking about the cinematography in this video, but while reading about it I realized it needed to be its own separate video, because there's so much to talk about. I was thinking maybe a video about how "leading ladies" were shot in those days. In the wider shot where we see Ilsa talking to Sam, she has insane specular points in her eyes that really jump off the screen.
@@theartofstorytelling1I’d love you to do the leading ladies subject, including the casting, hair, make up and costuming of these goddesses, we simply don’t shoot leading ladies like this any more as standard, nor gown them, we don’t really make too many movies with such idealism of looks or character, though it proliferates in fashion modelling, advertising and music promotion and it’s how many social media influencers painstakingly try to present themselves. And it’s on the red carpet, but you rarely see those actresses looking like that in the movies they’re nominated for. I suppose it’s a reflection of the role of women in society nowadays.
Without knowing very much about lighting, I always had a sense that Casablanca has very complicated yet masterful lighting in every scene that makes the blocking and composition just really work. Part of why it’s a classic.
So much adulation around cinema is devoted to Directors - their mistakes are proven and forgiven by the camera operators.
@@theartofstorytelling1That would be a terrific video. I remember reading that Marlene Dietrich had very specific lighting requirements of her own and could tell whether everything was correctly set by feeling the heat of the lamps on her skin.
One shot that comes to mind is at the end of Tootsie when Michael sits next to Les at his favorite drinking establishment. Les is watching TV, Michael sits next to him, Les briefly gives him a welcoming one-of-the guys nod, Les turns back to the TV, and then his face slowly and silently changes as he realizes who it is. Great job by director Sydney Pollack and Charles Durning as Les.
If you have not seen "Casablanca" --- STOP RIGHT NOW! Find it! Watch it! Watch it on the biggest screen possible, in a darkened room, with no distractions. It will change your life.
Like all art, negative space invites the viewer to participate in the creative process. Ingrid was profound at looking away.
Not just a close up on a beautiful face, but a close up on a quiet, private moment. One of the most beautiful bits of film ever. Also look at a particular close up of Ingrid and Gary Cooper in For Who the Bells Toll. Stunning!
For Whom The Bell Tolls
@@jamesmcinnis208 For 'whom' ... of course, thanks.
@@johnheppenstall4904 And only one bell. Hemingway, from a poem by John Donne.
@@johnheppenstall4904Do you feel thoroughly corrected now? 😅
There's also the fact that Ingrid Bergman had one of the most beautiful faces in the history of humankind... So a long close-up of her face was not a difficult choice to give the audience the contemplative moment you mentioned.
The long still shot is also difficult to watch on some level, because we have been told from childhood not to stare at someone, especially if we see difficult emotions going through their face. We are not supposed to intrude, and yet we’re forced to in shots like this.
Interesting! Definitely a psychological element to looking too long at a person's face
You can see the thoughts inside her head as they play out. They say a movie camera in your face will do that.
It's interesting (but off the subject), but I've heard that disabled people say that people don't look at them. I explained that people are taught not to stare, and when we see a person who seems unusual our training tells us to look away. The only suggestion given was that you look at them for the usual amount of time. Of course the problem is that we're not consciously aware of how long we're looking.
I read of a mother who, when her kids wouldn't quit staring after asking them to, started a conversation with the disabled person her kids were staring at.
It may be that what makes Casablanca such a great film is that you get both ends of the spectrum, the emotion in Ingrid’s face without saying a word and the fact that there’s more great dialogue in two minutes of Casablanca than most other films have in their entirety. The silence reminds me of one my other favorite movies, Jeremiah Johnson, which has long shots of the mountains without a word being said. As Jeremiah said during the movie “There’s nothing wrong with silence.”.
Absolutely, Another great moment in Casablanca is Rick's nod. A pivotal moment that shifts the entire dynamic of the story without a single word. It's masterfully executed.
This is a totally outstanding shot. I have often wondered if any modern day actresses could carry off such a long period of stillness and silent emotion - I can't think of one who might, but who knows. Happy to see this video recognising this beautiful cinematic moment.
Love this channel, appreciate the content man
You are a wonderful film teacher! Love this!! Thank you 🙏
Curtiz was a very deft director. He knew we could read all the melancholy and regret in Bergman's face, just as we could read all the pain in Bogart's when he first sees her. It was a masterclass of directing and acting. I never tire of Casablanca. I see new things with every viewing. Thanks for sharing your video.
Not only is that film a masterpiece, each scene, each shot, each line, are all a work of art.
A lot of the living history of this movie gets lost in later viewings. The idea behind the shot is profound regret and loss, something a lot of people could identify with during the war. Bergman was from a country that worked closely with the nazis at the start of the war. Many of the cast were war refugees
Ah that's a great detail I wasn't aware of
@@theartofstorytelling1 there's more...the woman guitarist who starts off La Marseilles, the national anthem of Free France, was a recent refugee and those tears are real...those people in the audience were and some of the main cast were refugees from Germany and the occupied countries. Not a soul in that room wasn't currently adversely affected by the war... That rousing chorus, was as real as it gets, and nobody was acting, except the poor guys who got to be the German baddies.
And consider this too - the events of the story were taking place at the then "present" day, so this wasn't some nostalgia piece, no rosie-eyed glow of the good old days, after we know how it all ended. The events of the movie and the filming and release were maybe off by a year, it was a "ripped from the headlines" movie, and not a single person in that cast or crew knew that the Nazis would lose.
The filmmakers were running on hope.
Knowing that, this whole section makes me weep.
@@marieroberts5664 It is always interesting to hear ideas about how people at the time viewed the war. My father served in the First World War and was a forty-something family man during WW2. I was born after the war, but we often talked about it. He always said that even in the "darkest" days of WW2 he never had any doubt that the allies would prevail in the end. He said the Germans and the Japanese were formidable, but most Americans at the time were confident they eventually would be overwhelmed by superior industrial capacity and manpower. Which, of course, is what happened.
@@leestamm3187 thank you! But now I'm a little worried, because the comment that you replied to has disappeared!
@@marieroberts5664 It's still there. Try entirely exiting RUclips before looking again.
They let the light reflect in the moisture of her eyes for a second which always makes me wonder "Is she about to cry?" and then they don't let it reflect, leaving me to continue to look for the reflection and being denied, I continue wondering until the end of the shot. So Good! RIP, Ingrid!
I don't know how this video ended up in my suggested video feed... but it was more than enough to make me a subscriber. Thank you.
I cry every time I see that shot. Kind of thing that makes you self reflective as time goes by.
I have always loved the last scene in The Graduate. Initially, they are full of excitement over what just happened, what they just did. The camera lingers, and the excitement kind of dwindles. The camera lingers some more, and the excitement over what they just did starts to turn to "What did we just do?" and "Now what?" Oh, boy.
Great acting, great directing, great lighting, great writing... it's rare for all these elements to come together, but when they do the result is exquisite and transcendent.
I'm delighted to see this great shot finally get discussed in depth and with the detail it deserves. It's an extraordinary choice by Curtiz, a master of the medium, beautifully acted (as you say) by Bergman. She is not only ridiculously beautiful, her face becomes a canvas upon which we project our own feelings of longing, lost love, melancholy. You're so right when you say it gives the romance in the film an incredible gravitas. I think this shot is why the romance resonates for so many.
There's another shot, later on, not nearly as long, where Curtiz uses Bergman's face/reaction to create depth of character. it's a close-up of Ilsa staring at her husband as he leads the restaurant in singing La Marseillaise. She stares at him with admiring, shining eyes, terrified for him, yet so proud. It's her gaze which makes us completely believe Victor Laszlo is a heroic character. Curtiz knew what he had in Bergman, and he knew exactly how to use her abilities. Just brilliant.
I am not sure if it's exactly the kind of shot showcased here but I will always love those 3 slow shots of the mountain during Fantasia 2000's Firebird Suite. I was so little when I first watched that film but that finale always moved me to tears
My favorite scene in all of Hollywood history is in North by Northwest. Before the crop duster swoops in, when Cary Grant has just been dropped off by the bus. What follows is a master class in building suspense, making the audience uncomfortable by doing nothing at all. The silence is disconcerting and sucks the audience in. Love it!
Your gift of empathy aids you as a great art critic. Well done.
It’s a great shot. A longer shot is at the end of The Perfect Days, a minute and a half big close up on the main characters face, while he drives a van. His face silently communicates a whole sequence of emotions including tears at one point.
Amazing acting from a character who you get to know and like during the first half of the film even though he doesn’t speak until later.
Exactly what I was thinking about.
Great vid... Just became your newest Subscriber...!!! 👍🏽 👍🏽 👍🏽
I really love and appreciate the cinematic value of long shots. The opening scene of Touch of Evil where we are forced through the streets from an overhead POV, watching numerous scenarios play out below. Judy Garland swanning through the house at 5135 Kensington Ave, St. Louis, MO turning out all the oil lamps as the boy next door watches her adoringly. My favorite long shot of all time is the opening six minutes of episode 6 of The Haunting of Hill House where Mike Flanagan masterfully swaps his adult actors in and out of the frame with their child actor counterparts. It's so fascinating how each director (Orson Welles, Vincent Minnelli, and Flanagan) uses this technique for their individual creative visions.
Too long? Looking at her? Too short by half is more like it. Hypnotically beautiful.
"Silence is NOT emptiness. There are some lessons which sound... cannot teach." --Artemis (DD1)
🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨
The use of lighting throughout the movie is a masterclass in itself.
One of my favourite films. My husband, who's a long time film and television editor, taught me a lot about this - helped me appreciate film so much more.
In Mike Leigh's "Topsy-Turvy" (1999) there is a shot which culminates in a very tight close-up of Jim Broadbent (Gilbert) as he is inspired to write "The Mikado," while Leigh allows the instrumental introduction to "Behold the Lord High Executioner" to sound; the shot is over 30 seconds, I think.
The end of Call Me By Your Name did this brilliantly.
I was just going to say that.
I see ingrid, I click
A winning thumbnail strategy
That was really worth watching. Thank you for filming work to get the entirety of the procession. 🙏🏾🎯
She was used to these silences and stares.She could stand them.And she filled the whole cinema with her stillness and her memories.
Plus you present her with silence around her which isn't real.I like this scene but absolutely love the way she talks to Sam.First requesting the song and then the singing.
It's magical...
What happens is...her face. It is like listening to the entire length of Bryan Ferry's Boys and Girls in 25 seconds. The romance is so dark and thrilling, but entirely unattainable. I love the final extended cab ride shot in Michael Clayton. Kind of the whole history of the movie itself in George Clooney's face.
The image of her earring twinkling like a bright star in the night as her head turned ever so slowly, reminding me of earth”s rotation & the passage of time, was so captivating, while you could also see her remembering & thinking of so much.
Anne Bancroft's long monologue in "Garbo Talks" as she lays in a hospital bed as the camera slowly zooms onto her face has always stuck with me as a fantastic single scene in an OK film.
long lingering shots that do "nothing"?
Hayao Miyazaki has entered the chat...
Train scene of “Spirited Away” has entered the chat
The Director of Casablanca, Michael Curtiz, won the Academy Aware that year for good reason -- such as choices like this one. Casablanca also shows that Curtiz is a master of the set piece, such as the Marseilles scene. If you look at Curtiz's filmography, one notices that Curtiz is a highly underrated talent.
This movie was based on an unproduced stage play, featured a song from that play that the composer for the movie hated but was stuck with, was set during a war that was never shown, didn't have an ending until it was time to film one and in its final scene featured a flat canvas painted to look like an airplane, with dwarves dressed as mechanics "working" on it and the roof of an aircraft hangar painted on glass.
It also featured a magnificent cast at the height of their powers, some of the most memorable dialogue ever recorded and absolutely beautiful cinematography.
That's how to create one of the greatest movies of all time.
I think of the ending of Drive as an example of cinematic stillness which I personally love - on my first watch I wasn’t sure if I was witnessing the death of the protagonist, and in a way, it is, in the sense he’s leaving behind a life he could have had with Carey Mulligan’s character. Adding in the track “Real Hero” is another big part for why I think the scene is so emotionally resonant.
Drive is a very underappreciated movie.
As close to perfect as a film will ever get.
Rick experiences a similar facial expression when Sam plays the same song.
Rick is sitting at the table getting drunk in recollection his lost love with
Ingrid . You'll notice he starts to word out something then suddenly stops.
These are the little things that made this movie a timeless classic. I can't
count how many times I've seen this movie.
You want stillness as cinematic stilless? Barry Lyndon! Those scene intro shots, starting out on a still face and zooming out to take in the entire 18thCentury landscape...
The writing, directing and overall pacing of this film are so tight and efficient, like so many of the films of that era, that this long moment creates a kind of emotional black hole that sucks us in: We don't know it, but there is something going on here. It's effectively setting up the main conflict in JUST THAT ONE SHOT. Incredibly efficient and masterful. Yes, the confidence Curtiz had is astounding, but Owen Marks, the editor, is likely more to credit for holding this shot in the edit for so long. Perhaps they collaborated, I'm sure there's a historian who knows, but Marks edited some heavy-hitters in his day, so it's no fluke that he cut this one so wonderfully. And also, speaking as an actor, there's a little trick that can do wonders which is not blinking for as long as you can (which you've keenly pointed out). It can add so much discomfort and tension inside the actor that translates directly into the performance. I'm not trying to take away from Bergman in the slightest--in fact, I'm praising her technique--Bogey does it in several performances too. I think this was not uncommon in those days because "the close-up" was a standard shot in the recipe book of making a film. Great video! I'll be on the look for more :)
A long shot of Ellen Burstyn's face, holding the hand of her father as he dies, in the movie Resurrection, has lingered in my mind for years. As you watch her face, you realize the exact moment he dies without ever seeing him. It is there on her face. A truly remarkable film moment from a marvelous actress.
The final scene of "The Third Man" is excellent, as well.
If I recall correctly, not once in this movie does Rick or Ilsa say I love you--they get roaring drunk and say they hate each other. But they mean I love you, it's just so hard to say. In another movie, From Here to Eternity, the renowned lovers are having a spat and the Deborah Kerr says you don't love me, and Burt Lancaster replies, "Love you? I haven't been so miserable in my life." The point being that in movies, there has to be conflict and tension, and human beings resist admitting to vulnerable feelings.
Back when I was an undergraduate at University of Colorado, we had the World Affairs Conference every year for a week. One year Roger Ebert took several days to disect Casablanca scene by scene. It was memorable.
Among many other lessons, Casablanca shows how humor can be - and has been throughout theatrical history - a part of dramatic storytelling. Besides being a story of lost and found love set against a dead-serious background of war and its peril, it's also a classically funny film at many points. The emotional roller coaster is part of why I'm so drawn to it.
While everyone involved seems to have thought of the film as nothing more than another in a rapid-fire series of subjects produced using many of the same cast, I think it's just that very fact - that this was a studio running at full bore on a tight schedule with no time or money to waste, and that just happened to have artistic and technical geniuses on tap and ready to rumble - that allowed this lightning to be put into a bottle. These folks had no idea they were crafting the perfect movie; they just put on their pants every day and did it.
makes me want to watch it yet again.
In those days there were no computers for computer generated images so, we had actors, actresses, directors, cameramen, producers and the whole team. They gave us the great movies that we continue to enjoy even today.
I have read that not all actors can do a take with the camera so close to them!
I thought you meant that the scene had nothing going, just the closeup. But the scene has the music in the background, and that does bring something happening in the shot, and the 25 seconds do not seem so long.
I've watched Casablanca on TV and VHS dozens of times. Ingrid keeps becoming more beautiful as I get older.
If you’ve never had a heartbreak in Paris, you won’t understand, right Yvonne?
"His Only Son" (2023) was such a pleasant surprise in this respect. Long dialog-free or low dialog takes that allowed the audience to connect emotionally with the characters.
I also love the ending of 'Michael Clayton' when we sit in the taxi with only ambient sound and George Clooney's face.
Thanks for the video. Very interesting, especially to learn it wasn't in the script!
It never seems long since all us viewers are singing and tapping along to the song
The camera adores her. ❤
Wow! I'm glad I came across your channel. Thanks for your insights and for sharing them. Instant subscriber.
She’s is also expressing the guilt she’s being carrying for having betrayed Rick’s trust.
25 seconds. Wow I never knew that! Seems that I pictured her whole romance during that time, and it was all in a blink of an eye. Going to watch it again 👍😀. Thanks.
I for one can look at Ilsa Lund for hours and be mesmerized.
The camera loved Ingrid Bergman❤❤❤❤❤
She had such an understated elegance about her. Flawless
0:15 wait a minute but wasn't this kind of shot very common in films back then?
Tight shots on faces were pretty common, the length of the hold and emphasis on interiority was pretty new
@@joegibbskins I disagree, I've watched a lot of old films and they hold a lot of shots for dramatic effect.
I'm 71. Only 3 days ago my workmates were asking me who was the most beautiful woman to me when I was younger.
That was tricky at first as there are so many. But after a bit of a think it was Ingrid Bergman. I explained that she was just the most beautiful woman, mesmerising, and that they should watch Casablanca and find out for themselves.
I have a copy of Casablanca and I have lost count of how many times I have watched it. Its well over 100 times though. What appeals to me is that despite a war raging across the world, there is still time even though a small chance to live normally. Possibly to even find love. But it tells and excellent story about changing your perception Rick starts as a "I only take care of me" kind of man. As the story unfolds he becomes a Patriot and does the right thing despite any discomfort it causes him. The scene where the germans sing their national song only to be drowned out by the french people singing their national song gives me goose pimples every time. Casablanca is my go to movie when it comes to "It isn't over until we win or we are dead trying movie."
So sad you have to skip audio for copywright. If ever there was a an example of educational fair use, it’s this.
I actually thought the film was in the public domain when I started making it, but turns out only the screenplay is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
In the early 90s I was working on a team that was making a 50th anniversary documentary about Casablanca. At some point I became aware that this shot is very long. I'm not sure I had ever really noticed it before that. I knew it was long, and still, but not HOW long, so I timed it and couldn't believe it was that long. Partly because of what a bold thing that was to do, and partly because the space is so full with her acting and with the music. I've been talking about it for 32 years, so it's nice to see someone examining this shot. One note: As Time Goes By is a 'standard' now, because of Casablanca. But it was not terribly well-known at the time. It was about 20 years old or so and had never been a hit. But the author of the play "Everybody Comes To Rick's" had written it into the play and composer Max Steiner was made to use it more or less against his will.
There's a lot more movement happening in the acting but I love the extended push in on Adele Haenel's character listening to the orchestra at the end of Portraig of a Lady on Fire. The length of the shot gives the viewer time to be bowled over by the emotion of it, and still have plenty of time to reflect on everything they're thinking and feeling about the movie. Its a punch in the gut, with time allowed to let the pain set in.