It all started when Kane started running for Governor of New York, on the party line of improving the corrupt ways set up by the current Governor of New York, Jim W. Gettys. However, Gettys uses Kane's so called “affair” with Susan Alexander to blackmail him, which ends his marriage with his wife, Emily and this also brings an end to his bid for governor in just one tiny mistake. In that event of the scandal, Charles Foster Kane marries Susan Alexander and commits all his energy into building her career as a grand opera singer, even though she is not even nearly talented enough.…
Movie Citizen Kane is about Charles Foster Kane, and his life story and it's kind of told by a reporter asking his “friends” order rather than make all them people whom he may have known deeper than just saying hello to. The movie starts off with Kane laying in bed and then dying while saying the famous quote from the movie “Rosebud”. Then it goes to reporters watching the news on the March which is a bit basically a short five minute documentary on Kane's life. Then after that they saw the reporter Jerry Thompson to go question for people about if they knew anything about “Rosebud”. The first person Mr. Thompson interviews is Susan Alexander. The first time he shows up she is drunk. And she basically yelled at him to leave and so he does.…
Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane employs a conventional narrative structure combined with a rounded group of sequences throughout the film. These portray Kane’s life and create a three dimensional character. The effect of which being that the viewer is more drawn to the identity of the central character and becomes invested in the journey of how he arrived at his current position. This essay will discuss in detail how Welles’ acheives this by using narrative structure, music and direct embodiment through flashbacks and music to not only convey a lifelike and relatable persona in Kane, but also how it explores the audience’s relationship with identity and citizenship.…
The classic masterpiece, Citizen Kane (1941), is probably the world's most famous and highly rated film, with its many remarkable scenes, cinematic and narrative techniques and innovations. The director, star, and producer were all the same individual - Orson Welles (in his film debut at age 25), who collaborated with Herman J. Mankiewicz on the script and with Gregg Toland as cinematographer. Within the maze of its own aesthetic, Citizen Kane develops two interesting themes. The first concerns the debasement of the private personality of the public figure, and the second deals with the crushing weight of materialism. Taken together, these two themes comprise the…
The extraordinary film, Citizen Kane, was directed by Orson Welles in 1941. Orson Welles is not only the director of the film but the protagonist as well. This film was very different for the industry during the time it was released, it brought forth many new camera techniques. The film introduces the film with a dead screen, which was something completely new to the audience. Once the film starts, the camera tilts up the fence to “enter” the famous castle and it also adds some some suspense because the fence has “no trespassing” signs. The camera the goes through a series of lapse dissolves to show all aspects of the house until it finally goes inside the house to where Charles Foster Kane is.…
Citizen Kane is the pioneer movie which open another way to make movies with great mise-en-scene and perfect various elements for characters, narrative, and themes. Memento will not be sussess if the other movies before experience it genre. No chronological feature and dead man in the start of the movie with perfect subject main characters in the center and effects of cameras swirling movements,production designer around him make this movie highly in the context of all components working together for…
In 1941, the sophisticated and classical screenplay, Citizen Kane was released to the public in America. The motion picture is known to be as probably one of the world’s most famous and highly-rated films, with its remarkable scenes, and use of literary devices. Director, star, and producer of the film were all the duty of one man by the name of Orsen Welles. He stars as Charles Foster Kane, who was ripped away from his parents during childhood, then went on to live a very lavish lifestyle, but never knew what real happiness was. Throughout Citizen Kane, Welles presents the idea of the American Dream as living a rich and prosperous lifestyle, but illustrates at how unsatisfactory that this “dream” really is through the use of lighting, sound,…
Citizen Kane (1941, Orson Wells) was a very insightful movie. There could be much to write about on the narrative of this movie and has been for years. I am going to first write about the development of Charles Foster Kane. When we are first really introduced to him and his goals we meet him in Mr. Thatchers office where he turns down many wealthy holdings he was entitled to. Instead, Kane asks to run a newspaper. His reasoning is that he wants to “look after the interests of the underprivileged.” with this newspaper, Kane exposes many stories that the rich and powerful would have rather left swept under the carpet. Kane is portrayed on the surface as a nice guy with a great agenda, but underneath all of this there is more. Throughout…
In Citizen Kane, Orson Welles explores the consequences of obsession. Such obsessions include Kane’s desire to win the love of others, regaining his lost childhood, Kane’s obsession with his reputation and public image, and Thompson, the journalist, seeking to unravel the mysteries of Kane’s life.…
The Movie Citizen Kane, considered by many to be one of the greatest movies of all time, is one of those movies that tells its story visually just as much as it tells us verbally. One such sequence is the Jigsaw puzzle sequence which shows us the dwindling marriage of Charles Foster Kane and Susan Alexander Kane as we see her building jigsaw puzzles that once was a past time. Now it is the only thing that keeps her going as she lives in a palace that feels more like a prison. This sequence is probably the best in the film in terms of visual analysis.…
In the film Citizen Kane, Herman J. Mankewicz and Orson Welles are the screenwriters. The genre for this film falls under drama and mystery. Throughout the film there were many lines from Jedediah Leland that contain a strong and powerful significant. A line that stood out the most was stated by Jedediah Leland he mentions, “That’s all he ever wanted out of life was love. That’s the tragedy of Charles Foster Kane.…
When looking at the film Citizen Kane, it uses mise-en-scene to help paint a better picture throughout the film. Mise-en-scene, better known as staging, is the overall look and feel of a movie (Barsam;Monahan p.542) The first example that comes to mind when thinking about mise-en-scene is when Charles Kane Foster is running for office, he is giving a speech and in the background is a large poster of his face. For the majority of the film there are very few shots taken where Kane is not present somehow or someway, which really drives home the idea that he is this larger than life figure. He feels that he is unstoppable and very powerful, but the idea that he is in nearly every shot shows us that without having to say it. Another great example is that the film is shot from mostly, a low angle. This is important in the film, especially when it comes to Mr. Kane, because it gives him this larger than life persona. Kane viewed from a low angle gives us this view of him being powerful, and important, something we learn by just looking at the film. Throughout the film we see a change in Mr. Fosters’ second wife, and the use of design and mise-en-scene tell the story of the toll life has taken on Miss Alexander. When we first meet Susan, the cinematographer uses a nice design trick to show her young lively nature. The scene where Mr. Wells goes to Miss Alexander’s apartment, they cast a soft light on Mr. Kane giving him more of a greyish quality, showing his age, and in my opinion his increasingly dark character. Meanwhile, they hit Miss Alexander with a hard light to show her youth, and innocence. Towards the end of the film, after Kane’s passing we see Susan drinking herself into oblivion, but what is key here is not the dialogue as much as how we see her. First, the camera comes in at a high-angle portraying her as small, visually showing us that this is obviously not a high point for her, and she is miserable. Next they use a soft light on her to show…
While, some critics say that Welles could never top "Citizen Kane", such movies as "The Trial", "Touch of Evil", and "The Lady from Shanghai" are considered classics and monumental feats in cinema production. However, movies like "The Stranger", "Chimes at Midnights", and "Mr. Arkadin" were…
Throughout the movie Citizen Kane, we follow a man named Charles Foster Kane. We are shown through the eyes of other people that had interacted with him during his life. Kane is shown to be a successful businessman that can acquire any material possession that he has ever wanted. However, as we discover a deeper understanding about him, we begin to figure out that he was a man that just wanted to venture back to his childhood. This is where he felt safe, secure and he didn’t feel that he was alone. “I was on my way to the Western Manhattan Warehouse, in search of my youth. You see, my mother died a long time ago and her things were put in storage out West. There wasn't any other place to put them. I thought I'd send for them now. Tonight, I…
Most notably, the film Citizen Kane (1941), which is considered one of the best films ever produced. From then to the late sixties, with his 1962 film production of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial, Welles created noir films located in various places, but all with similar themes, motifs, and stylistic choices. However, the noir cinematographers deserve just as much credit for the development of the style. Hailing from various countries around the globe, cinematographers and editors Russell Metty, John Alton, and Jean-Pierre Melville advanced…