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Citizen Kane Assassination Scene Analysis

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The film Citizen Kane written, produced, and starring Orson Welles is the most innovative film of the Hollywood cinema era. The use of verbiage, cinematography and real life events occurring during the time of the films release encompassed a vast amount of talent in its right which led to Orson Welles win of Best Original Screenplay at the 1942 Academy Awards. In the beginning of Citizen Kane we hear voice over narration to emulate a news anchor who gives vivid detail of Charles Foster Kane and his life. This first scene opens in a dark room where a team of reporters are trying to unveil the importance of Kane’s final word on his deathbed “Rosebud”. In this scene the director uses hard light to create deeper shadows and soften borders. Throughout the film in more serious moments of monologue the actors are either fully or partially covered in shadow while speaking. To demonstrate the serious tone being set, the viewer doesn 't have lightening to show the actors emotion so it engages the viewer to want to pay closer attention to the scene. A scene …show more content…

According to film critic Roger Ebert, what added to the greatness of this film was that it gives the history of a period as well as having a story unfold. “Citizen Kane covers the rise of the penny press (here Joseph Pulitzer is the model), the Hearst-supported Spanish-American War, the birth of radio, the power of political machines, the rise of fascism, the growth of celebrity journalism.” The amount of thought given throughout the film as well as the different uses of lighting, camera angles, fading, composition, and more truly set this film apart from all the rest that were produced during the classic Hollywood cinema era. Many artists have stated they draw on personal experiences for their work, which makes one question whether Welles symbolism between Rosebud his sled and the sadness he feels about his youth is something he conjured up to seem relatable to the every man or if he knows the feeling all too

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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.

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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”.

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I agree that Welles used intersting camera work to communicate certain elements of the story. I notice that the shots were always centered around the mother of Charles Foster Kane. The angles portrayed her as having much more say over what happens to the child over the father, who remains barely in the shot for a large portion of the scene. With the camera not movie during the scence in which the paper are being signed, it almost seems like the father is trying to push himself into focus but is only treated as a bystander with no say in what happens. I also found it very compelling how stone faced the mother was during the entire scene.

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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.”

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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.”

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This uneasiness around the main character of the film makes it very hard to watch. I felt restless, and as if there was always something missing as I watched. I believe that that was done on purpose, but for that reason I dislike the film. Charles Kane was played by Orson Welles.

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Citizen Kane A review by team 5 (Robert Werlein, Keeley gray, and Nick Mackay) Citizen Kane, released in 1941, was written, produced, and directed by Orson Welles with the assistance of Herman J. Mankiewicz in writing the screenplay, co producer George Schaefer, cinematographer Gregg Toland, music by Bernard Herrman, and the editing of Robert Wise. Welles starred in his own film along with Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane, Ruth Warrick, Dorothy Comingore, and George Coulouris. Citizen Kane is set in the United States of America (for most of the film), tells the story of an empire directed by Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles).

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The RKO studies 1941 release of Orson Welles, co-writer, and director of, Citizen Kane, and ended up with a film like none other. The plot of Citizen Kane follows a reporter, Mr. Jerry Thompson, as he searches for the meaning behind Mr. Charles Foster Kane's last word, “Rosebud.” As Mr. Thompson makes his way around to the different people in Kane's life he comes upon Mr. Thatchers, guardian of Kane, memoirs. One of the stories found within the pages of Mr. Walter Parks Thatcher's memoirs is that of this particular frame. The scene surrounding this frame is focused on the relinquishing control of the newspaper held by Mr. Charles Foster Kane to Thatcher & Company caused by Kane's depletion of funds caused by the beginning of The Great Depression.

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The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare and 1941 film Citizen Kane possess many similarities in themes and characters, despite the completely different settings and plots. Both main characters are ambitious and determined to achieve a goal, even to a certain point where they lose everything truly meaningful to them. While Macbeth strives to become king of Scotland, Charles Foster Kane attempts to become popular and influential. Both Macbeth and Citizen Kane desire to be powerful members of their respective societies and receive respect and recognition from their acquaintances. In both works, they acquired everything they thought they wanted, yet realised they could not have what they truly desired, essentially ending up with “nothing of value”.

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The use of contrast and the play with light and darkness is fascinating. It has a great psychological effect on the audience. The Don Corleone’s office is submerged in darkness and the characters in the scene come in and out of the light, thereby directing the focus onto them. A very large part of the film is shot in low key lighting, to emphasize on the theme of the film which is essentially, the life story of the Mob in

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