Assignment 11: Casablanca & The Bicycle Thief

a) The cinematography in Casablanca is very beautiful in its simplicity. Like Roger Ebert say it's not a film filled with shots that would change the medium like Citizen Kane. The cinematography is one of Michael Curtiz's main ways to communicate the mood of the film to audience considering that he didn't speak a word of English. Ingrid Bergman is shot primarily from her left side and her isolated shot have a slight blurriness to them to make her look dreamlike.

b) The German anthem is played to represent the Nazis and is very militaristic to me. The French national anthem is sung and is very triumphant and brave considering the Germans were sitting in the same room.

a) It is shot in a very stark and realistic way compared to Casablanca. It is meant to show the realism of the situations of people in post-war Italy. One of the ways it challenges classic Hollywood narrative is that the hero is a poor person and it isn't a rags to riches so there isn't a "and they all lived happily ever after" ending.

b) The beginning of the film is very optimistic and the situation looks really good for Antonio. He has a job offer and method of transportation which is a lot in postwar Italy which was devastated by unemployment and poverty after World War II. The end of the film shows what can happen when unfortunate circumstances arise and the desperation that forces people to do bad things. All the optimism is long lost from the beginning and the future is looking really bleak.