Citizen Kane Significance

I remember the very first time I watched “Citizen Kane” (RKO, 1941). I had heard so much about the film, about how great it was, a cinematic masterpiece. It was the late nineties and I was in my mid thirties. I always loved movies and felt I should watch the truly great films from before my time to round out my cinematic education, so to speak. With great anticipation, I bought a copy of the film and watched.

I also remember the way I felt after I had finished the film. I remember thinking that the story was outstanding, the life of Charles Foster Kane was a study in ego, conquest, and loss. And I remember the sled of the younger Charles Foster Kane being thrown into the fire and destroyed. The flashback to his childhood and him playing in the snow drove home the loss of innocence and freedom experienced only as a child. And I remember thinking that the movie, while really well done, was a bit over rated. (“Citizen Kane”, RKO, 1941)

That thought was, however, due to my ignorance. Watching a story out of sequence was nothing new to me, after all, I had already seen “Pulp Fiction” (Miramax, 1994). The chronology of a story being turned on its head had been done more than once.

Orson Welles’ use of sound was as new to cinema as was the out of chronological order story line. But it was the chronology that was the most prevalent and most noticeable. In today’s cinema this type of story line has become less and less uncommon. That being said, it is not effective unless used properly. Both “Citizen Kane” (RKO, 1941) and “Pulp Fiction” (Miramax, 1994) were the gauge by which others are measured. The only difference between the two was the fact that Orson Welles felt the need to give the audience visual aides to follow along where as Quentin Tarantino did not. Hence, the news reel used by Welles “News on the March”, a parody of “The March of Time” (“Looking at Movies”, Pg141) series seen in movie