Casablanca

Music is an integral element in the movie Casablanca. It is the vehicle for introducing certain tones and dramatic moments as well as flashbacks. The film itself is one of mystery, danger, romance; music only adds to these elements and heightens their intensity. One important aspect of the music is the prevalence of diagetic music, that which both audience and actors can hear.

The most important and frequent of the diagetic music is the song "As Time Goes By," the song which represents Ilsa and Rick's past romance. This song plays many times throughout the movie by Sam the piano player in the diagetic manner. It first makes an appearance when Ilsa comes to Rick's bar and sees her old friend Sam. As he plays it, Ricks himself enters and he and Ilsa lock eyes, allowing the audience to see the connection between the two, the connection that is strengthened by the song that is playing. Later on, Rick asks Sam to play it for him while he is reminiscing about Ilsa and lamenting about seeing her again. Whenever this song plays the audience knows that it represents the lost love of Rick and Ilsa, and brings whatever dramatic moment they are in back to the old days of their love.

Other types of diagetic music also play a significant role. Sam is constantly playing piano throughout the movie, whenever a scene takes place in the bar area. Rick or the police chiefs may be having a serious, dramatic conversation, the camera might pan over the outside with guards and planes, but whenever the scene returns to Rick's cafe the piano keeps playing. This establishes the theme of Rick's cafe overall: that it is an escape from the outside world, an escape from the war and tragedy that is going on outside. As long as the people stay at Rick's, listening to the piano and drinking and laughing, they don't have to deal with the hardships and reality of life. Even after gun shots are fired in the bar, the piano keeps on playing like nothing happened, keeping everyone in the fantasy world of Rick's cafe.

As far as the underscore is concerned, several different tunes are used for plot transitions. Dramatic. high pitched music plays when the planes fly over Casablanca as well as during Rick's flashback to Paris when the occupation is coming in. This kind of underscore is used to signal to the audience the danger and intensity the scene carries with it. Similarly, slow paced, lower pitched music is used to invoke a love scene or a tender moment. Finally at the end of the film, the underscore plays a slow, yet somewhat upbeat tune to announce the end as well as a resolution to the plot.

Overall, music is a very important element in the movie Casablanca. It announces major transitions and signals emotions in the characters and audience. Without the signature song "As Tome Goes By," Rick and Ilsa's love connection and pain of lost love would not have been as deeply felt by both the characters themselves and the audience as well. The piano playing of Sam constantly reminds the audience of the location and plot of the film. And finally, the underscore helps the audience to know when an important or dramatic scene is taking place. Without the music, Casablanca might not have been the outstanding film that it is.