Citizen Kane Essays

Citizen Kane Essay
Orson Welles' cinematic classic, Citizen Kane, is a film that centers on a group of reporter's
investigation into the meaning of Charles Foster Kane's last word, "Rosebud." Through their
investigation of his last words, the team of reporters, is presented with an almost, but not quite,
complete picture of "Citizen" Kane's life. By assuming that the man's last word was as grandiose
as his life, the reporters miss out on the bigger, more holistic picture, which is Charles Foster Kane's
life. The reporters' emphasis of attention on what turns out to be a small and trivial, although they
never find that out, aspect of Kane's life, make Citizen Kane a perfect example of the pitfalls of
over–interpretation....show more content...
Whenever something is broken down into its component parts and these component parts are
analyzed and interpreted individually, some of their meaning is lost. For example, a doctor who
specializes in the heart, a cardiologist, knows a whole lot about a small aspect of the greater whole,
the human body. By studying the heart in isolation, with no connection to the rest of the body or its
organs, some of the hearts "meaning" is lost. Just saying that the "heart pumps blood" is meaningless
to the layperson ignorant of biology. The questions of why the heart pumps blood, what is blood,
and how does the heart interact with other organs still remain. Not to mention more specific
questions such as how other organs, such as teeth, which an orthodontist would be more likely to
know, are effected by and affect the heart. A movement within psychology, known as Gestalt
psychology, summed this holistic ideology up nicely with its tenet "The whole is greater than the
sum of its parts."
It follows from this argument that if a piece of art is broken down into its component parts to be
analyzed and interpreted, the form or structure of the artwork is ignored. By focusing one's attention
on specific and possibly trivial aspects of the piece of art's content, the piece's overall structure is
not considered. In respect to Citizen Kane the over–interpretation of "Rosebud," leads the reporters
to ignore the structure of
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Film Analysis: Citizen Kane
Throughout the movie Citizen Kane, Welles uses framing and the visual aspect of movies to
bolster the theme he is trying to convey. Perhaps the most striking example of this is when Kane is
sitting at the dinner table with his first wife, Emily. At first, the table is a normal size, and the two
can have a conversation and live happily. However, as Kane becomes more engrossed in his
business and the love of power takes over his life, the table grows to the point where the couple is a
whole room's length away from each other. This also shows in this emotional distance and lack of
conversation.
This scene is especially indicative of how Kane's life has been ruined by his quest for power, and
how his lack of a childhood affected his life. He was

Historical Analysis, Citizen Kane: Camera Movement Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, was
an exemplary and ground–breaking work. In narrative structure and film style, Welles challenged
classical Hollywood conventions and opened a path for experimentation in the later 1940s. Gregg
Toland's deep–focus cinematography and Welles' use of low–key lighting are often discussed aspects
of the movie. True, these were areas of innovation, but when watching the movie in class I was
particularly struck by the use of camera movement, or "mobile framing" as described in Film Art.
In this historical analysis, I will take a detailed look at how Welles and Toland use camera
movement to develop and challenge the Hollywood style. By referring...show more content...
Murnau, in The Last Laugh uses camera movement subjectively when the doorman is drunk and
hears the sound of the trumpet. This is unique, and shows how some filmmakers used the technique
for more experimental ends (just as Lang would use sound in his film M). But in America, in a film
like Wings, the spectacular camera movement in the French nightclub happens only once, and it just
establishes a space before the action begins. With the coming of sound, in movies like Applause,
camera movement became clumsy and difficult. Mamoulian still tried it to make his film look more
fluid, but it often was distracting. In Citizen Kane, Welles and Toland blend camera movement with
the drama of the scenes, and use it more spectacularly. They extend the device in two directions,
and in doing so they challenge Classical Hollyood's convention of Invisible Style. A good example
is the introduction to El Rancho, where Susan Alexander works as a singer. The camera begins on a
sign outside the restaurant and then climbs upward to the roof. Then it glides forward, through
another sign, and approaches a skylight. When it reaches the skylight, Welles uses an "invisible"
dissolve to cut to a high–angle long–shot of the interior of El Rancho. This camera movement calls
attention to itself as a spectacle. Not only is it unusual to begin a scene by climbing up a building
and floating across its roof, the cut through the glass window (skylight) is obviously impossible.
Welles uses the

Reflection Of Citizen Kane
The 1941 film Citizen Kane was written, directed, co–produced and starred by Orson Welles. The
film won an Academy Award in 1942 for Best Screenplay and was also nominated for 8 other
categories in the same year. The black and white movie was a hit for its time. The film challenged
the traditional narrative and technical elements of the classic Hollywood cinema on multiple levels,
especially for this time period in history. One of the first traditional narratives that Welles challenged
was the order of events in the movie. Most films present their stories in chronological order, Citizen
Kane does not do this. The film opens with narrated scenes of the entire life of Charles Foster Kane,
however the series of events goes from the later...show more content...
The plot duration is the time it took for Jerry Thompson to interview Kane's ex–wife and friends in
search of answers on Kane's life and death, this took approximately one week. And then the screen
duration is the entire movie, this would be almost 2 hours in length. (Barsam, Monahan 143) The
setting in the movie is the time and place of the story. Citizen Kane showed multiple settings a
many different times. The death had a setting of Kane alone in his home in his later years, in the
1940s. Other settings included an estate in Florida called Xanadu, where Kane and his wife Susan
lived in his later years. Another setting was a music hall that Kane owned and where Susan
performed for audiences, this as well was in his later years. His younger years included settings of
his businesses are also shown throughout the first of the film. Thompson's interviews of Kane's
ex–wife, his colleagues, his friends and even his butler provide settings of their locations (after his
death) and then their flashbacks to Kane's life including those time periods and settings. Another
way that Welles challenged the technical elements of the Hollywood cinema was through the
mise–en–sce`ne. Mise–en–sce`ne is the staging or the action of putting on a scene. One of the
concepts in putting on a scene or staging is the illusion created from the lighting and camera angles.
In one scene in the movie, Kane is in one door way watching his wife Susan leave out of their home,

Citizen Kane Techniques
Citizen Kane is directed, produced by and stars Orson Welles and was made in 1941. Citizen Kane
follows the life of famous newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane and was a very controversial film
for its time. Citizen Kane does not come under one specific film genre but falls under the heading of
several interesting genres, which include biography, narrative, detective and news–paper reporter
genre. 'Film Noir' is also associated with Citizen Kane as it has many genres but also a very specific
style that differs from the classical norm of Hollywood movies. This movie became extremely
significant for its time and changed the face of film history. Orson Welles brought about a new way
of filming with his use of low angle shots, three point lighting,...show more content...
'Kane's investigation ploy carries us toward analyzing how causality and goal–orientated characters
may operate in narratives' (David Bordwell, 1979, p. 78). Citizen Kane has five narrators, Susan
Kane's second wife, Leland a close friend who gives a personal input, Raymond who was Kane's
butler, Bernstein his friend and employee and finally Thatcher the banker who became his legal
guardian. Thompson had tracked each individual down to recover as much information as possible
on Kane to include in his investigation. Each account is varies quite a lot as every narrator had a
different opinion on Kane. Using numerous narrators can work extremely well as it gives different
sides to the story and diverse opinion which helps in having an unbiased investigation. The plot of
Kane becomes more complex due to the fact there is numerous sides to different stories coming from
individual narrators. This form of narration has important effects for the film. 'While Thompson uses
the various narrators to gather data, the plot uses them to both furnish with story information and to
conceal information' (David Bordwell, 1979, p. 88). The fact that Welles uses five narrators shows
the audience that not one person themselves can be aware of all the information. This technique of
narration works particularly well in this film. The fact that there are numerous accounts

Argumentative Essay On Citizen Kane
Film critics, scholars, and organizations all over the world tend to select Citizen Kane as the the
greatest film ever made. While some may argue that this claim is utterly subjective, it raises the
question of what makes a movie great. It is undeniable that elements such as the plot,
cinematography, and acting can make films better than one another but two rather unspoken
elements are a film's influence and implementation of new traits. This is where it ultimately garners
its reputation. Citizen Kane is one of the greatest and most influential cinematic films made because
of its creative originality, exceptional coherence, underlying message, and innovative camerawork.
The film was released in the year 1941, which was an interesting time period for both the film
industry and the United States in general. The Great Depression took its devastating toll on the
world a mere decade in advance to the film's release, and Orson Welles, like every American at the
time, held certain political beliefs regarding the disaster. He was a fervent supporter of President
Roosevelt's New Deal, which involving public works programs and social security to bring
Americans out of poverty (Street, 1996). Welles' New Deal liberalism and desire for America to
intervene in the World War II were both these policies were opposed byWilliam Randolph Hearst
and his notorious yellow press. His press produced stories for entertainment rather than information
and were biased when it came to certain political issues. Given the correlation between Kane and
Hearst, it is clear that the film is an attack on Hearst's political beliefs, business activities, and
journalistic style. It is no coincidence that Citizen Kane was being produced at the exact peak of the
isolationist vs. interventionist debate in America (Street, 1996). Critics claim that most studios
would not have allowed such a film to be produced, but the studio which Orson Welles worked with,
RKO, had implemented a strategy to attract new talent and confer artistic respectability on a film
industry which had experienced a turbulent decade with the arrival of the 'talkies' and the
Depression (Jackson, 2016). The contract gave Welles complete control over the project and a
budget of

Citizen Kane: Film Analysis Essay
Since the beginning of the Industrial Age, Americans have idealized the journey towards
economic success. One thing people do not realize, however, is that that journey is not the same
for every individual. For Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles), the main character of Citizen Kane,
directed by Orson Welles, the path towards riches and a fulfilled life is being well liked. He serves
to please others. He strives for that attention. This view cost him his happiness in the end. In this
man's rise and fall through prosperity, Welles shows the futility of striving solely for likeability.
The movie starts out in Kane's childhood home, before his life changed forever. His family is
visited by a rich bank owner named Jerry Thompson (William...show more content...
He does not care to bring honesty to the people, as he insists when he first comes into owning the
newspaper. He wants to control people, to gain massive influence.
This wish for control is also seen in his love life. His first wife is Emily Monroe Norton (Ruth
Warrick), the niece of the current President of the United States. This connection itself gives Kane
more power, even an opportunity to become governor. One can even say that is only reason he
marries her: for influence, not love. When Emily starts to realize this, their marriage continually
deteriorates until they are hardly speaking at all. Kane's second love interest is Susan Alexander
(Dorothy Comingore). The first time they met, he proceeds to control her. He insists that she sing
professionally, even when she argues against it. Their relationship is uncovered, causing Emily to
get a divorce. Kane marries Susan soon after. However, it is the same cycle over again. He tries to
control everything, she gets annoyed, the marriage deteriorates. After he builds Xanadu, the palace,
she is so fed up that she leaves him as well. His desperation for attention and control costs him a
family.
Citizen Kane shows why one should not wish for attention and influence alone. If one tries to take
full control of their life, it will go out of control. It is happiness and being content with life that is
important. If that includes backpacking across the world, then that is that. If it includes making a

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...show more content...
She yearned to see friends and leave Xanadu. Orson Welles was a mastermind in creating scenes
using light. Inevitably this caused the viewer to think thoroughly about what they viewed. Through
staging and proxemics we can understand more about what the director was thinking. Opening the
scene at Xanadu, Susan is seen sitting at the table working on a puzzle while Charles Kane is
standing on a quarter turn. It is shown that Mr. Kane bears dominance over Susan at this point. She
is shown in a few different cuts with a puzzle representing her boredom. At Xanadu, that is the only
thing that she could do besides conversing with her overbearing husband. The proxemics between
Mr. Kane and Susan are quite interesting because Susan is shown further away from her husband as
every part of the scene cuts to a new clip. This represents their distancing. Being at Xanadu
represents the distancing between the Kane's because it is such a large dwelling that they barely see
each other. The distancing is represented physically and emotionally throughout the film. "I thought
we might have a picnic tomorrow and invite everyone to spend the night in the Everglades." (Kane).
"Invite everyone? Order everyone, you mean. Who wants to sleep in tents when they have a nice
room of their own." (Susan). Orson Welles displays the tension between Susan and

Essay about Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is one of the world's most famous and highly–rated classic film masterpiece. Although
it was not a commercial success at the time of its release it has always been praised by film critics.
The film had a budget of $800,000 and was directed, produced, as well as acted by the twenty five
year old Orson Wells. Wells used innovative and unique cinematic techniques inCitizen Kane that
would influence the film making for all eternity.
One cinematic technique that Wells used was the Montage, the cinematic technique used to provide
a lot of information in a very short amount of time or to show the passing of time. There are many of
these used throughout the film which include the use of newspaper reels, opera shows, and my
...show more content...
The first examples of Well's use of dissolves and fades was in the beginning and end of the movie
with the scenes of the gates to Xanadu. He uses a serious of shots which dissolve or fade into each
other to get closer and closer to the gates or fences of Xanadu.
Lighting was a key cinematic technique that Well's used to project a character's persona in the
film. He used shadows to hide or mask the faces of the seemingly corrupt characters, like the
reporters who are trying to find the meaning of rosebud. He also used backlighting, when light is
cast onto the characters from the opposite side of the camera, to create silhouette's .Single source
lighting was another technique used to focus the viewers attention on a important prop or action
that was taking place. For example, when the reporter is allowed to see the book of Kane there is
one window through which all it's light is focused on the book emphasizing its importance.
Wells also like to use deep focus, where both foreground and background can be kept in focus
simultaneously. This cinematic technique gives the audience a choice of where to look at rather
than them being guided to see what the director wants you to focus on. One of the many scenes that
used deep focus was when the mother is signing off her son Kane. In this particular scene all three
planes are in focus– the mother at the front, father at the door, and young Kane

Citizen Kane Narrative Structure
Charles Kane, a newspaper mogul, died at his home in Xanadu. His last dying words were
'Rosebud' which no one had any idea what they meant. A newspaper reporter is given the task to
investigate what the word meant. He had to interview many people including Kane's friends like
Jedediah Leland and his concubine Susan Alexander who only shed some light on the mystery of
Kane's life but no information about the Rosebud word. Citizen Kane is the movie that has received
lot applause for centuries despite flopping at the box office in 1941. The narrative structure line
non–linear form, the mise–en–scene composition, and the cinematography put the film in high
regard.
The structure in the film Citizen Kane is non–linear in that it does not follow any planned order. The
story is well formulated and presented using flashbacks that pertain different times in the life of
Kane (Welles). These flashbacks are unplanned search that they offer the viewer an incomplete
glimpse of Kane's life and essentially adding more suspense. It takes the form of the memory when
a person tries to remember an event that took place a long time ago. The use of the non–linear
structure helps to portray how complicated the life of Kane was. It is vital to note the film uses
several narrators. The mystery of Kane's life is also being put together like a puzzle (Welles). The
audience is with the journalist in the quench to find what the mystery word meant to Kane. The
layout of the story is also planned with

Essay On Citizen Kane
This film was directed by Benjamin Ross in 1999. The film is about a movie that was released
about sixty years before this production. It is odd to me that in those sixty years, no one had chosen
to create this film until Ross thought about it. It is weird to see a movie about another movie. It is
obvious that a recreation is never the same than the original work, but I feel like this movie truly
demonstrated some of the aspects and difficulties that Orson Welles experienced for his film, "
Citizen Kane." If I were Orson and had gone through these many hardships for a movie, I probably
would have given up. Orson's determination was greatly shown through this movie. Although it is
ranked as one of the worst movies due to its camera work and imaging, I think it did a great job in
visualising Orson's dreams. It is strange that Orson decided to create a movie based on a man who
simply "offended" him. I also find it admiring that he decided to go after a man who was much
"larger and important" in the...show more content...
"RKO 281" shows us that he destroyed many cameras and even broke through the wooden floor
in order to get the perfect angle to shoot his scenes. There were many people, who were either on
William Randolph Hearst's side or did not want to engage in any serious matters with him, who
attempted to stop Orson's film from ever being seen. I think that it is somewhat "invasion of
privacy" that Orson created this movie based on a man's life, but I do not find it illegal because
Hearst was a public figure. This film was very successful and although I have not seen it, so I can
not state my opinions on it, it is ranked as number one on the Best 100 Films. To be ranked
number one in anything positive, is extremely admirable. Having a movie ranked number one is
even better because, as we saw in "RKO 281," directing and acting in a movie simultaneously, as
Orson did, must be a difficult

Essay Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
After watching the movie "Citizen Kane" I realized why this movie was named one of the best
films ever. Yellow journalism was in an era from the 1880 to the 1900 and it featured flashy
journalism of that time, which made editors write about invented stories. Which went to big
headlines on subjects that weren't true. The two big writers of that time were William Randolph
Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. During the film Kane is depicted as a yellow journalism at different times.
One example is when they put out the article "Charles Foster Kane Defeated, Fraud At Polls". From
that headline you would believe that he was beaten by some illegal purpose, but it was just a
headline getting people to read the article and the enjoyment of...show more content...
If you were a true friend, I don't believe you would write something negative about your friend's
wife.
Last, one of the biggest parts of the film was the word rosebud. We didn't get to know what it
meant until the last scene of the film. But, it was his sled I believe that was something that he
loved and felt that he belonged to. It reminding him of his family and home. That was probably
one of the only things he really cared about. I guess while he was lying there dieing he thought of
his sled rosebud, because of all the good times he had with it, and how he had a family that loved
him at one point in his life.
There are many unique and innovative techniques used throughout the film. Some were sequencing
which are different shots that represent purpose like flashbacks to another time period. Another that
was interesting was the use of the newsreel footage. Also the many different angles that were used,
and how the lighting and shadows were a big part of the film.
The whole film was done through something called sequencing. They started the film at the end of
someone life and by the end of the film you know everything. They had one character trying to find
out what his last words meant. By going to friends and family and asking them questions. During
each visit with someone they went to a flashback explaining the certain time period in his life along
with all his

Citizen Kane Research Paper
Citizen Kane
A well–known film that had top ratings and many awards globally, called Citizen Kane, was
released in September of 1941 in theatres across the United States. Orsen Welles played a significant
part in the film. Welles was the producer, director, and star of Citizen Kane. Orsen Welles helped to
describe the American Dream by using literary devices and symbols throughout the film. When
American's think about the American Dream, many relate to one another on their views, which is to
live a successful and happy lifestyle. Few Americans might have some exceptions to the others, but
success and happiness is the general idea of the American Dream. Citizen Kane on the other hand,
understands that the "dream" is not as simple as everyone thinks it is. Orsen Welles presents the
American Dream as a successful and enjoyable...show more content...
Flashbacks consist of a scene or scenes in literature that takes the story back into a past tense time
period. In Citizen Kane, the movie starts out with the scene of Foster Kane dropping a snow
globe as he fell over to his death bed. The snow globe was an illustration of Foster Kane's
childhood going back to the snow scene. The whole film was a flashback of Charles Foster
Kane's life and Orsen Welles always created scenes to show that his childhood was simple and
happy, whereas when he grew up the illustrations were more complicated and unsatisfying. These
flashbacks help to represent the point of view that Orsen Welles engaged his audience in. Welles
used flashbacks to show that the American Dream is not as great as it appears. The American
Dream was shown more in Foster Kane's childhood than in any other time in his life, which is why
Welles used flashbacks throughout the film to inform his watchers the reality of the so called
"dream". Orsen Welles helped portray the point of view with the use of flashbacks in the film Citizen

Citizen Kane Essay
The film Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, is a great example of how a man can be
corrupted by wealth. Through the characters in the film we can observe how Charles Foster Kane,
an idealistic man with principles, can be changed and misguided by wealth and what accompanies
wealth. The film takes places during the late 19th century and early 20th century, a time in
American history when the world is changing and wealth is a great power to change it with.
Through the story telling of Kane's life we are able to see how wealth changes, not only Kane's
ideals, but his actions and how he perceives the world.
The corruption of idealism by wealth can be seen throughout the film, especially through the thoughts
...show more content...
When his second wife leaves him Kane realizes the corruption wealth has done on his life and says
"rosebud" because he wants to return to his sled, his childhood, to return to the beginning when
wealth has yet to corrupt him. Citizen Kane is the story of a man's great ideas to make the world
better, but unable to because of the corruption wealth brought him.
Citizen Kane is set at a time in American History where the world is changing and money is at the
center of that world. For example, during this period of time wealth has become more important
in America has more new money arrives. Kane is a part of this new money sweep across America
and like everyone else is stretching his power and wealth. He stretches it so much that he loses
sight of his objection, which is replaced by his obsession to be in control and make all the
decisions, a power which he finds through wealth. But it is because of this obsession that his
idealistic world is corrupted. Furthermore, the film revolves most around a newspaper. A newspaper
reaches everyone and during this time one of the only few mass media. It is through the newspaper
that Kane stretches his wealth and influence. He is corrupted by the power that the newspaper gives
him. In addition, Kane is constantly surrounded by beautiful things and people, until the end of the
movie when

Film Analysis : ' Citizen Kane ' Essay
To help create his debut film Citizen Kane, Orson Welles assembled a talented group of artists and
technicians who together produced a film that redefined cinema forever. During the film's
production process, Welles himself stated that making a film "is the biggest electric train set any
boy ever had." By this he meant that the production studio was his playground and he intended to
use every tool at his disposal. Starting from the film's very first shot; he proves this to be true. As the
film begins, the camera silently cranes up over the fences that surround Charles Foster Kane's
mansion and then slowly transitions to a montage of palatial estate. In this unique sequence the
viewer understands that they are watching no ordinary film! Since its release in 1941, Citizen Kane
consistently is called one of the greatest films ever made. It also is one of the most analyzed films
ever created as well. In watching the film, a person can select from a countless number of famous
scenes on which to review, comment, admire, and draw conclusions. For this assignment, I chose
my personal favorite scene from the film to analyze in depth. The scene occurs near the end of the
film just as Kane's second wife Susan Alexander leaves him for good. The scene lasts about 3 and a
half minutes in length, consists of 12 shots, contains almost no music, and just one word of dialogue
is spoken. However, even with these limitations, the scene has more impact and film techniques
packed into it

Citizen Kane
Film scholars and historians view Citizen Kane as Welles's attempt to create a new style of
filmmaking by studying various forms of film making, and combining them all into one. However,
Welles stated that his love for cinema began only when he started the work on the film. When asked
where he got the confidence as a first–time director to direct a film so radically different from
contemporary cinema, he responded, "Ignorance, ignorance, sheer ignorance – you know there's no
confidence to equal it. It's only when you know something about a profession, I think, that you're
timid or careful."[48]:80
David Bordwell wrote that "The best way to understand Citizen Kane is to stop worshiping it as a
triumph of technique." Bordwell argues that the...show more content...
The use of flshbscks vlso mvkes whoever is releying their memory v unrelivble nvrrvtor because we
vs the viewer relize thvt sometimes memory distorts fcts.
The film is one of the first ttempts et film noir, which is v genre thvt employs v dvrk moody tone to
ugment the devrk vnd mysterious events thvt vre tvking plvce.
Nvrrvtive frming
Time trvsitions seen in the scene were young Chvrles is being told Mrry Christms by thvthcher
vnd the scene dissolves to show thvthcher now obviously older finishing with Hppy New Yer.
Showing 17 yers pvssing in one scene. Nother exvmple of timed resolve is where the group photo
of the workers et v rivl newspaper dissolve into v olmost identicl photo thvt revels thvt they now
ell work for Kne. Vnother time dissolve fetures kne vnd his first wife Emily who re shown in v
series of sdimilr shots spred out throughout 16 yers
Deep focus
Low vnd high cvmerv

citizen kane Essay
Citizen Kane
In the movie Citizen Kane , young Charles Foster Kane is very energetic, optimistic and has a very
positive outlook on life. At the same time he hates his old and bitter guardian, Mr. Thatcher, who has
secluded himself from the everyday man and the only thing he is after is money and stature. Later on
in life Charles Kane turns into an exact carbon copy of Mr. Thatcher, even though that is exactly
what he wanted to get away from. In this essay I will prove how the used of sound, in the scenes in
ThatcherВЎВ¦s library and Xanadu, as compared to the earlier scenes in young KaneВЎВ¦s
newspaper office, help establish this development in KaneВЎВ¦s character.
The scene in...show more content...
The attendant gives a journal of Mr. Thatcher to the reporter and tells him only to read a specific
number of pages in a limited amount of time. Even in death Mr. ThatcherВЎВ¦s want for control and
his bitterness is shown through the library attendant, and it feels like he had given her instructions
prior to his death as to how to deal with people seeking access to his library.
In the second scene we see Charles Kane and his Friends pull up in a horse driven carriage in front
of his newspaper building. The non–diegetic sound in this scene is very happy, upbeat, and energetic.
There is a bit of humor and with KaneВЎВ¦s positive energy everything seems very lively. The
sound itself tells us that he is not anything like his guardian Mr. Thatcher. He has a positive outlook
on life and wants to do exactly the opposite of what his guardian wants him too because he still does
not like him and will do anything to get under his skin.
The third scene starts with a non–diegetic sound, which has a close resemblance to that of the sound
in Mr. ThatcherВЎВ¦s library. It is very creepy and bone chilling compared to when we first meet
Charles Kane. The hall is dark and gloomy looking just as Mr. ThatcherВЎВ¦s library. Kane and his
wife seem to be sitting at the opposite ends of the room, showing us the distance that has come
between them since they first met. The

Reflection Of Citizen Kane
Orson Welles's Citizen Kane is a revolutionary film. Although it might not look like much to the
modern viewer, many aspects of the film were the first of their kind to appear and are still used today.
One thing I noticed throughout the film was the use of reflections. The movie starts off with a
montage of images of Xanadu, Charles Kane's personal estate. One of the shots includes a
beautiful reflection of the building in the water. When Kane dies and drops the snow globe, you
see the nurse's reflection in the glass as she walks into the room. After Kane convinces the men
from the Chronicle to come work for him at the Inquirer, he throws a party; we can see him dancing
in a reflection of a window. When Kane is in Xanadu, he walks through...show more content...
The camera angles varied greatly throughout the film. Multiple times the camera was close to the
floor looking up at the characters and other times it was very high up looking down. There are also
multiple times within the film that the actors look straight into the camera. This happens when
Leland and Kane are talking about the newspaper declaration as well as when Walter Thatcher
reading Kane's newspapers headlines. Most narratives do not have the actors acknowledge that the
camera is there, however, some TV shows now have actors look into the camera for an added
dramatic effect just as Citizen Kane did.
The beginning of the film also used a shot that had a variety of newspaper headings with someone
flipping through the newspapers in order for the audience to see all the headings. This has been
repeated in many movies since, but now it is done digitally with fancy effects like the papers
spinning.
I also like how there are two intertwined plots throughout the film, that of Kane's life and that of
Thompson trying to figure out what rosebud means. I have seen Citizen Kane before and
watching it for a second time was much better. I was able to pick up on details that I was confused
by before. One of these was the seemingly random screeching cockatoo towards the end of the film.
Watching the other students' reactions made me realize what this cockatoo was for. After it
appeared on screen many people shot up as it seemed they were falling asleep or

Citizen Kane Techniques
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is often called the greatest film ever made. Its use of film techniques often taken for
granted nowadays were completely new and had not been done before. Simple things like ceilings
on the sets and realistic scenes such as the newsreel, which would not stand out in a modern film,
were combined to make a film full of innovative techniques. The director, Orson Welles, developed
the use of deep focus to make the flat cinema screen almost become three dimensional, which added
a realism that had not been explored before.
Right from the start, a viewer can see the innovation displayed by Welles. The opening scene, one of
the most famous in the entire film, begins with the...show more content...
This happens just as Kane dies, so it is both a signal that he has passed away, and a metaphor of the
light of life going out.
The opening scene also contains the first instance of something being viewed through a piece of
glass and of just the reflection of what is going on being seen, in this case, both at once. These
techniques make the audience unsure of what they are seeing and are used at other times throughout
the film.
Realism is a major reason why "Citizen Kane" stands out from other films of the time. However, it
is the way realism and theatrical effects are mixed together that truly marks it out as one of the
greatest films ever made. Ceilings on the set allowed for scenes lit by normal lightbulbs, giving the
appearance of real rooms, but the theatrical spotlights through the windows in the newsreel showing
room and the library highlight parts of the scenery, leaving others in shadow.
The people working on "Citizen Kane" went to great lengths to get authentic–looking film for the
newsreel. It was degraded using sand to give a grainy look as opposed to the smooth film used for
the main picture. Also in the newsreel, the jerky cuts, when Kane spills cement on his coat then is
shown clean, give a more genuine feel to the footage. The newsreel scene can also be viewed as a
parody of an actual news programme of the time, "March of Time". This

Film Analysis: Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film by Orson Welles, who was its producer, co–author,
director and star. The film is about news reporters following the death of a publishing tycoon, they
scramble to discover the meaning of his final word that he spoke: "Rosebud". Citizen Kane won the
title as the greatest film ever made when it topped the 1962 Sight and Sound poll. It held the top
spot for 50 years until it fell to second behind Vertigo (1958). The film is commonly praised for its
intricate plot, filled with flashbacks that shuffle the chronology of Kane's life, its extraordinary
performances, its marvelous technical stunts, and its deep–focus photography. The story telling
technique is one of the techniques that made this movie different

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