Citizen Kane Cinematography Essay

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Extract analysis of cinematography within Citizen Kane [12:30-24:30]
This essay is an analysis of a key sequence in Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941). The sequence begins in a projector room where Mr. Thompson is introduced, it then follows onto introduce Susan Alexander Kane. Lastly, the scene goes into a flashback from a journal written by Thatcher. Arguably “Citizen Kane upsets our usual sense of hierarchy in story-telling” (Mulvey, L. f23) the way Orson Welles constructed these introductory scenes is important in order for a feeling of tension and mystery to be created for the rest of the film. The decision to begin in the newsroom, visit Susan then Thatcher creates disorder. The cinematography used in these scenes are a big contributor …show more content…

A long shot is used to establish the surroundings however; the lighting blocks off a lot of what can be seen. This limits any clear understanding of how many people are there and who they are, this is done to keep the story focused on Kane and rosebud not some background characters. Even in close up shots the faces still cannot be seen due to the characters being silhouetted against the bright light coming from the projectors. The light looks god-like as it shines down onto Rawlston from a low angle showing his authority as he shouts orders. Mr. Thompson is introduced in this scene and throughout the film, Thompson is never shown. He is either blocked by shadows or just shot with his back facing the camera, as shown in this scene and the following scenes. As suggested by Bordwell and Thompson “the plot’s handling of Thompson makes him a neutral conduit for the story information that he gathers” (Thompson, and Bordwell, P.122). Up until this point, the newsreel has shown a purely commercialized image of Kane. Mr. Thompson is the device that is used to find a deeper understanding of the situation. This effect also allows the protagonist to still be Kane even after his

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