In the film Citizen Kane we learned the life of Charles Foster Kane, who is a wealthy news reporter. The first scene shows Charles Kane dying as he whispers “Rosebud” while the rest of the film works to solve the meaning of his dying word. The film then shows News on the March, which reveals Charles Kane’s entire life. After Kane begins building his newspaper empire, he meets and marries Emily Norton. Kane runs for political office, yet his personal life starts falling apart when he has an affair with Suzan Alexander. Kane has a flashback of his childhood, where he sees his parents fighting over money and custody of Kane, which in the end Thatcher gains custody. Kane meets and marries Suzan Alexander after he leaves his old wife, and shortly …show more content…
The special effects in Citizen Kane were incredibly good considering that it was made in 1941. Although there were special effects in Citizen Kane there was no CGI in it. Also “Convincing make-up effects made Welles look both younger and considerably older than his real age” (Special Effects in Citizen Kane 3). In fact he was only 25-years-old when the film was produced and they could make him look 20-30 years older than he really was in the film. This proves that they really did have good special effects. Another thing to keep in mind while watching this film is that “Special effects are everywhere in Citizen Kane, but in most cases are hard to identify” (Special Effects in Citizen Kane 3). For example, when Charles Kane was standing by the fireplace in the hotel he rented and when he went up to it, the viewers realized that it was abnormally big for a fireplace. Another example of this is when he went up to the window in Bernstein's office and it was huge compared to an average window. It is just so impressive how they knew how to angle the lighting to make things like the window and fireplace look normal at first glance and then realizing that it is really big, also it is impressive how they had all the right makeup and other supplies to make Welles look older and younger than his real …show more content…
In the film Citizen Kane they were basically reviewing William Hearst’s life the entire time. Back then people didn’t have access to movies like we do now, so this was a big shock for Hearst. This site even states “ Citizen Kane was a brutal portrait of a newspaper magnate William Randoph Hearst ” (William Randolph Hearst’s Campaign to Suppress Citizen Kane 2021). Personally if someone wrote a film about me and exposed my personal life, that would be something to be mad about. Shortly after this he attempted to shut Citizen Kane down. According to this site “ When Hearst learned through Hopper of Welles’ film, he set out to protect his reputation by shutting it down ” (William Randolph Hearst’s Campaign to Suppress Citizen Kane 2021). Even though Welles claimed that it was not a portrait of Hearst’s life, he did not believe him. Shortly after the film was shut down by William Randolph Hearst. The film did portray Hearst as an angry businessman and it was not wrong about
He was also influenced by the moody, low-key photography of John Ford’s Stagecoach. Citizen Kane did not look like most American movies of its era. Each image was well thought out. No shot or sequence was taken lightly. The use of deep-focus, low-key lighting, rich textures, audacious compositions, dynamic contrasts between foregrounds & backgrounds, backlighting, sets with *ceilings*, side lighting, steep angles, epic long shots, juxtaposed with extreme closeups, dizzying crane shots, special effects galore--none of these were new, but Welles used them in such profusion.
“Citizen Kane” was produced in 1941. In the year 1941 there was a lot going on throughout America such as getting over the great depression with FDR. Hitler’s run in Germany also affected the US with WWII, but that didn’t stop the young director Orson Welles. “Citizen Kane” was Welles first Hollywood film and he was only 26 years old when he directed it and acted in it. Welles was known before this film because he had a popular radio broadcast called “War of the Worlds.”
Kane”I don't think there is a word that can describe a man's life. ”(Citizen Kane)This quote describes how the entire film is used to show the life of this man Charles Kane. Charles life in Citizen Kane is shown through special effects and lighting making it a great
The Film Citizen Kane was a groundbreaking film in the 1940’s, the way Orson Wells depicts his film with different lighting, cinematography, choice of camera shots and mise-en-scene throughout this movie truly showed the masterpiece that this film is. In the Film Citizen Kane, it was the first movie that went against true Hollywood cinema by introducing flashbacks throughout the movie to show us how Charles Foster Kane changes throughout the movie. Throughout this movie the audience can see how Charles Foster Kane undergoes a variety of physical and emotional changes from when he was just a young boy all the way until his unfortunate death. Power, that’s all that Kane wanted in the start of the film. In the beginning of the film Kane gets ownership of the struggling New York Daily Inquirer, Kane suggests that he wanted to use journalism to apply to the public and protect the interest of ordinary people.
(Citizen Kane, 1941) Kane’s parents used the power of money as an accessory for giving him away to a billionaire. Since that day, the protagonist went through a traumatizing experience, insecurity and redisposition due to his parents’ actions, which marked the beginning of his tortuous need, to be loved. This unreturned love created a sense of fear and mistrust to love something or someone, only to experience abandonment again was something Kane never got a chance to learn. Citizen Kane broke all the rules because of Welles, there were no
Directed by Orson Welles, the 1941 motion picture “Citizen Kane” is the story of the rise and fall of a great, influential man. The opening scenes of “Citizen Kane” are quite different from what follows during the rest of the film. Fading in and out of different landscapes instilled mystery. This mysterious vibe was carried on during Charles Foster Kane’s death through the use of shadows, quiet music, and close up shots. Isolated in his vast empire of a home, Kane uttered only one word before he passed: “rosebud.”
Citizen Kane challenged the traditional narrative and technical elements of classic Hollywood cinema mainly in the area of sound. Orson Welles was ahead of his time when he created his works of manipulating sound to transfer meaning in the film Citizen Kane. Welles used concealed hanging microphones to obtain different levels of sound throughout the film. The manner, in which the story was told, from Kane’s death flashbacked to his life of success and ultimate failure, was also a new style of storytelling for films. Welles also used symbolism with his last mumbling word “Rosebud.”
There are many things that make “Citizen Kane” considered as possibly one of the greatest films every made; to the eyes of the passive audience this film may not seem the most amazing, most people being accustomed to the classical Hollywood style, but to the audience with an eye for the complex, “Citizen Kane” breaks the traditional Hollywood mold and forges its own path for the better. Exposition is one of the most key features of a film, it’s meant introduce important characters and give the audience relevant details and and dutifully suppress knowledge in turn. “Citizen Kane” does not follow this Classic Hollywood style exposition, instead going above and beyond to open the film with revealing as little information as possible and confuse/intrigue
Citizen Kane is not necessarily significant for the simple act of viewing in and of itself, but for what it is when you take it apart. This is perhaps why it is abundantly “clear that the average movie fan doesn’t cherish Citizen Kane quite as much as critics, directors and students – that is, people who are obsessed by the nuts and bolts of how films are assembled” and it holds its place in cinema greatness (“What’s so good about Citizen Kane?”, 2015). In many ways, it showed people how to take filmmaking a step further. Its shots, angles, lighting, and deep focus might not seem like anything extraordinary to the average person, but in the name of cinematography, it holds its significance. The impact of citizen Kane’s cinematography goes beyond
Citizen Kane by Orson Welles is a cinematic classic, released in 1941. Citizen Kane challenged traditional narrative and technical elements of classic Hollywood cinema. Kane was narrated by several people that include their take on Kane’s life. The story unfolds by many flashbacks and is told by different perspectives over the years through different narrations. Charles Foster Kane was a millionaire, head of newspapers and died saying “rosebud”.
Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941) challenged traditional narrative and technical elements of classic Hollywood cinema through techniques in cinematography, mise-en-scene and lighting. The mise-en-scene build of Citizen Kane is the pivoting point of the narrative forthcoming and Welles uses every technical element encompassed in this build to span his narrative across 60 years of Charles Foster Kane, the main character 's life. The beginning of this build is founded on the black and white shooting choice which sets an ominous almost 'film noir ' lighting and feel of the opening scene of the castle in Xanadu. This where we see end of Kane 's life, but every aspect of the film 's narrative will revolve around these frames and including the questions of 'who has died '?, 'what was the significance of the snow globe? ', and 'Who is rosebud? '. The camera angle in the deathbed scene is deliberately shot from a low angle, which further implies the importance of the person lying in the bed as well as providing mystery as the viewer is not yet privy to whom has just
Shot Analysis: Citizen Kane Orson Welles, director of “Citizen Kane”, is well known for his unusual directing methods that defied conventional cinematic techniques. Welles provided his audience with original forms of cinematography, narrative structures, and music. The scene I chose to analyze is extremely important to the plot of the film because Kane begins to realize that he is going through some serious financial problems. During the scene, Kane maintains a sarcastic mood, until he finally decides to surrender and signs the papers that transfer the ownership of his media empire to Mr. Thatcher.
Citizen Kane teaches the viewer the lesson that life is what one makes of it, and that wealth does not equate to indefinite happiness. Thus, the messages the film delivers are its most successful aspects and are pertinent, also, to modern society. As a film, Citizen Kane is a classic which has, unfortunately, become outdated, yet offers powerful life lessons to its
In this essay I will be comparing the themes and the narrative techniques used in both films. Starting off with the film “Citizen Kane” as mentioned it is a story of a millionaire, Charles Foster Kane. It begins with Kane’s death and speaks a single word: “Rosebud”. The reporters in the hunt to know
This movie detained the top position for the fifty years until it cut down to succeeding following Vertigo (1958). The movie “Citizen Kane” is typically admired for its obscured plot, packed with the flashbacks that drag feet of the viewers towards the chronology of the life of the Kane, its astonishing performances; its spectacular technical stunts and aerial tricks and its deep-concentrated photography. A small range of if any among the technical possessions are completely unique to the Kane, although Orson Welles and his crew’s masterly use of the so many of them in single movie has built the “Citizen Kane” and weight on almost the whole things that came later than. (bj_kuehl,