Essay #2: Citizen Kane Review
Orson Welles’ production of Citizen Kane revolutionized film making by mastering the art of using cutting edge techniques to make it one of the most single revolutionary and groundbreaking films in the history of movies. Citizen Kane, released in 1941, is thought to be the single most revolutionary and groundbreaking film in the history of movies (Rotten Tomatoes). Welles used many techniques in the production of the film that were never even thought of before that point. In this way, the film Citizen Kane is an extremely innovative film and definitely pushes the limits of its genre at the time. Welles completely changed the course of the production of film by introducing a completely new way of writing, directing, and through his use of techniques.
Citizen Kane is a drama. The film is made to keep you searching for the meaning of the last words spoken by the world’s richest and most influential man. Everyone wants to know the meaning behind the simple word “rosebud”. What is the significance of such a simplistic word? Why did that word mean so much to the man that it was his dying word? During the investigation of the words meaning, the film goes through many flashbacks of Kane’s life from different people’s point of view (H2G2). This was an innovation to the making of a film. Before Citizen Kane, it was not normal to have the point of views of multiple different people. This use of multiple narrations is now widely used, and is seen in many well-known movies such as Goodfellas, Casino, and The Thin Red Line. The techniques Orson Welles used when writing this film completely changed the idea of what a drama movie could be. He also introduced the idea of showing the end of the story in the beginn...
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...ng until I started to realize the subtle techniques being utilized by Welles and his amazing shots he constructed. Like a flawless painting, every scene was drawn out and portrayed perfectly to capture the viewers’ emotions and thoughts. If the viewer likes and appreciates the art of film making, then they are sure to recognize the innovative aspects of Citizen Kane and how it has affected modern day film and culture.
Work Cited
"Citizen Kane." Citizen Kane. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2014. .
""Citizen Kane" - The Film." . N.p., 14 June 2007. Web. 5 May 2014. .
"Citizen Kane." - Rotten Tomatoes. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2014. .
KNAPP, JEFFREY. ""Throw That Junk!" The Art of the Movie in Citizen Kane.." 122: 110-142. Web. 5 May 2014.
...ormation of novel to film, sees Hitchcock’s responsibility as auteur. Suggesting Hitchcock as ‘creator’, attributes to Vertigo’s “perfection” (Wood, p.129) as Wood argues. Stylistic features known classically to Alfred Hitchcock movies is also what defines Hitchcock as a classic auteur, his style generates a cinematic effect which mixes effectively with his use of suspense. In returning to Cook’s discussion, she references Andrew Sarris, who argues that the “history of American cinema could be written in terms of its great directors,” (Cook, p. 411) showing the legitimacy of authorship in popular American cinema. Ultimately Cook goes on to address the changes in authorship from the 1950’s until today, featuring developments in authorship within Cinema. Overall, both Cook and Wood presented a balanced discussion on the legitimacy of Alfred Hitchcock’s auteur status.
Mise-en-scène, cinematography and editing are used in all forms of cinema. Within the “Declaration of Principles” scene of Citizen Kane, lighting, blocking and panning are three of the main sub aspects that work in unison to consistently demonstrate important aspects of the film. Welles uses these attributes to portray to the audience how this younger Kane is an important newspaper owner, with an even more important document. He creates a scene that has a heavy emphasis on panning to continuously preserve a frame that centers Kane while also lighting the document so viewers can constantly see the important plot and characters of the movie.
Citizen Kane is a personal story about a news tycoon from the early 1900’s ‘Charles Foster Kane’s’ last word “Rosebud”. This word sparks an investigation by reporters who interview people from Kane’s past putting the pieces together to uncover the mystery of the word and its importance. Bordwell goes in detail about the difference of subjective vision and objective realism and the part they play in Citizen Kane. Orson Welles borrows elements from both forms and balances them which Bordwell calls “the films great achievement” (Bordwell, 1971). Cutting from elements of realism such as the ‘News on the March’ scene (Lumieres realism).
Kane’s vulnerability is first exposed in the Boarding House scene where Welles positions us to question its reliability as it is presented through Thatcher’s perspective. Through a psychoanalytical understanding, we view this scene as the internal world of Kane’s snow globe, which represents the crystallisation of childhood innocence in an inaccessible glass box while he is still in control of his power. As Kane is bribed to become the “richest man in America” with the superlative reinforcing the valuing of wealth, the camera pans from the mother to Kane with a power undershot displaying the significance of the moment and its consequences to Kane’s psyche, emphasising the corruption of innocence by wealth, which steals his childhood vulnerability. However, this vulnerability re-emerges as Kane loses control of his power in the scene as Susan walks out as he is portrayed with a low-angle shot but is fragmented by the open suitcase. The visual synecdoche conveys a powerful man’s downfall as his excess power spirals out of his control. Susan looks up at him and she is illuminated and he is in shadow. Although Kane physically dominates her, Susan is now independent, and she can see clearly and be responsible for her own actions now, expressing the reversal of the possession of power. The return of his vulnerability is emphasised in the scene as he destroys Susan’s room with the panning movement of the camera tracking his movement creating a sense of unsteadiness, with his restricted movement in the cluttered room and symbolism of pushing objects off tables demonstrating that he is weighed down by his power and now devalues the commodification of products and women that catalysed his rise and fall of control of power. Power acts as a cover for the vulnerability experienced in childhood, which re-emerges as a result of an overdose
Citizen Kane, is a 1941 American film, written, produced, and starred by Orson Welles. This film is often proclaimed by critics,filmmakers, and fans as one of the best if not the best film ever made. Citizen Kane is an unbelievable film becuase of how advanced it is compared to other films of its time. In the film, the producer used many different narrative elements to capture the audiences imagination. It truly is astounding how the filmmakers used certain editing techniques, sounds, and different narrative elements to illustrate the story and the plot. Although the plot isnt exactly captivating to the present day audience, this film is still amazing due to how much work and effort went into making it.
Orson Welles’ portrayal of happiness in ‘Citizen Kane’ shows the enduring value of the film as happiness is an emotion that is not only sought after by Mr Kane but also by all of humanity. Citizen Kane reflects the life of Mr Kane who tries pave over the void that has been created by losing the emotion of happiness. This is portrayed through his yearning to relieve his childhood and be the child who played in the snow once again, the relationships that he tries to create especially with his wives try to gain marital happiness and his materialistic lifestyle which he tries to see whether money can actually bring happiness. The complex nature of happiness is shown to heavily contribute to the enduring value of the film as happiness is shown to be a constant theme which is universal. The film also being a thinly veiled parody of the life of William Randolph Hearst the newspaper magnate contributes to the enduring value because of the realistic style of the film.
Studies of the Auteur Theory in film have often looked toward Alfred Hitchcock as an ideal auteur: an artist with a signature style who leaves his own mark on every work he creates. According to the theory, it does not matter whether or not the director writes his own films, because the film will reflect the vision and the mind of the director through the choices he makes in his film. In the case of Hitchcock’s earliest films when he was still under the control of his producers, there is still a distinct stamp upon these images. Hitchcock has said that he was influenced by the German Expressionists, and admired their ability “to express ideas in purely visual terms”. It is this expression of thought and psychology that Hitchcock achieves throughout his films, even early on. Even the psychology that is in the films can be particularly a signature of Hitchcock - critics have found throughout his films a fascination with wrongful accusation and imprisonment. They are present in even his earliest films. A particular sequence of Hitchcock’s 1935 film The 39 Steps bears the mark of Hitchcock through the visual expression of the fear of wrongful accusation and confinement.
In conclusion, all these factors made Vertigo a great film and made it much more enjoyable for the audience. All the Hollywood Classical Film characteristics that are used in the film enhance the power of Vertigo. Everyone should see Vertigo, since it is a perfect example of a Hollywood Classical Film. In my opinion Alfred Hitchcock was a genius and Vertigo is one of the greatest Hollywood films ever created.
All directors of major motion pictures have specific styles or signatures that they add in their work. Alfred Hitchcock, one of the greatest directors of all time, has a particularly unique style in the way he creates his films. Film analyzers classify his distinctive style as the “Alfred Hitchcock signature”. Hitchcock’s signatures vary from his cameo appearances to his portrayal of a specific character. Two perfect examples of how Hitchcock implements his infamous “signatures” are in the movies, A Shadow of a Doubt and Vertigo. In these movies, numerous examples show how Hitchcock exclusively develops his imagination in his films.
Throughout the course of a lifetime, a common phrase heard is “don’t judge a book by its cover”. This phrase indicates the fact that it is nearly impossible to truly evaluate the life and feelings of a person just by what can be seen about them. This is the case in the film Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles. Charles Foster Kane is a man who would appear to the general public as having it all. A very popular man, Kane owns a successful newspaper company for which he is known worldwide. He builds a gigantic mansion for his second wife and himself, surrounded by intricate and expensive statues. Kane seems to be perfect in every single way, and one may think that he is the happiest man alive. However, Charles never had the things that
Orson Welles ' introduced innovating editing and sound design in the 1940s with Citizen Kane (1941). Welles uses editing and sound to show the audience the passing of time, this is seen the breakfast montage. Welles uses sound bridges during the transitional wipes of fast moving images which fade into the next shot. The sound bridges act as links between the two scenes and make the time difference apparent to the audience. At the beginning of the montage Welles uses a slow zoom combined with romantic music to show the love between Kane and Emily. Both characters appear in the frame together with deep focus and slow paced editing which shows the closeness of the couple in the early years. This is juxtaposed by the end of the montage showing
Orson Welles’ career took place in the mid-thirties to late eighties in the twentieth century. He began his career at age fifteen, starting in Ireland, making his acting debut in the Gate Theater in Dublin. By eighteen, Welles started to appear in off-Broadway productions. It was then that he also launched his radio career. By age twenty, he had presented alternate interpretations of certain well-known plays and movies. At age twenty-two he was the most notable Broadway star from Mercury Theater and, because of this, BBC radio gave him an hour each week to broadcast whatever he pleased. That’s when, at age twenty-five, he broadcast War of the Worlds, which caused panic due to the “Martian invasions”. By the time he came into Hollywood, Welles could write, direct, cast, star, and edit movies without disturbance from the studios. It was during this time he created Citizen Kane- the only movie he completely finished. He retired from Hollywood at age thirty-three in 1948, but still continued to create his own films.
To sum everything up this film was one of the greatest films ever made. There are so many different parts of the movie that made other filmmakers take a look at “Citizen Kane” before starting their own film. This film has change many filmmakers decisions on how to portray there film. “Citizen Kane” will never be forgotten and will on in every filmmakers decisions.
The film Citizen Kane is a mystery beginning in Xanadu, Florida, with Charles Foster Kane on his deathbed. Holding a snow globe, he utters “Rosebud” before dying. Reporter Jerry Thompson sets out to tell Kane’s story, as well as discover the meaning of Rosebud. Thompson begins to interview all of Kane’s known friends and associates. First, Kane’s second wife, Susan Alexander Kane, is interviewed, but refuses to speak about her late husband. The story then moves to Charles Kane’s childhood. Mary Kane, his mother, discovers a gold mine on their property in Colorado, bringing them out of poverty. Playing with a sled, Charles discovers he’s being sent away to be raised by a bank in New York. Walter Thatcher arranges a trust fund to be received by Kane upon turning 25. Years
The absolutely stunning film, Citizen Kane (1941), is one of the world’s most famous and highly renowned films. The film contains many remarkable scenes and cinematic techniques as well as innovations. Within this well-known film, Orson Welles (director) portrays many stylistic features and fundamentals of cinematography. The scene of Charles Foster Kane and his wife, Susan, at Xanadu shows the dominance that Kane bears over people in general as well as Susan specifically. Throughout the film, Orson Welles continues to convey the message of Susan’s inferiority to Mr. Kane. Also, Welles furthers the image of how demanding Kane is of Susan and many others. Mr. Welles conveys the message that Kane has suffered a hard life, and will continue to until death. Welles conveys many stylistic features as well as fundamentals of cinematography through use of light and darkness, staging and proxemics, personal theme development and materialism within the film, Citizen Kane.