"Casablanca" Review Blog

Anyone who has seen "Casablanca" knows that music plays a very important role in the movie. Just as in "Gone with Wind" the first thing one usually thinks of is the "Tara Theme", when one thinks of Casablanca it is impossible not to think of "As Time Goes By". From the first time Sam plays it on the piano, to the moment when Rick tells Ilsa goodbye, "As Time Goes By" serves as a leitmotif for Rick and Ilsa's love affair. In scenes where Ilsa and Rick's relationship is going well, such as during the flashback scenes in Paris, the music is in a higher pitch played with violins and piano, when the characters are in conflict, the pitch of the leitmotif is lowered and there is more dissonance.

Another leitmotif within "Casablanca" is a tune recognizable to me as "God Save the Queen", the theme is played whenever official Nazi business is going on, such as the theme in which Lazlo is forced to confront the Nazi officials. This leitmotif is featured in the opening credits as well, it interrupts the African/Middle Eastern style music that is originally in the credits, to represent the Nazi interruption in Casablanca.

Another interesting aspect of music in "Casablanca" is when it is NOT played. While in Rick's cafe there is usually digetic music, in the form of Sam playing the piano, many times during important dialogue any sort of music, digetic or underscore, is noticeably absent. This is an interesting point, the contrast between the noisiness of Rick's cafe, the two noticeable leitmotifs, and the utter silence of certain conversations. For example, when Rick is drinking with Sam after seeing Ilsa again for the first time, there is no music until Rick starts thinking about being in Paris with Ilsa. In this scene when the music starts it is digetic because Sam starts playing the piano, predictably, "As Time Goes By".

Overall, music is an extremely important asset to "Casablanca", whether it is Moroccan themed music to place the setting, or Rick and Ilsa's love theme, the Nazi leitmotif, or merely the absence of it, music in Casablanca helps to paint the picture of a doomed Romance in a war torn world.