After viewing the film Citizen Kane, it is clear the director, Orson Welles, created a picture unlike any other during this era on its release in 1941. The film is about the dying last words of Charles Foster Kane, a man who rose to fame from nothing. A journalist is on a mission to find what these words mean, and through stories from main characters, the audience is taken on Kane’s journey. Whether it’s the use of shadows and lighting, camera angles, or sound, Welles creates a picture comparable to noir films from this era. One of the noticeable similarities when comparing Citizen Kane to other films during this era is the use of shadows and lighting. Often in film noir, the use of light and shadow reflects on the good and evil side of humanity. The film noir Rebecca, utilizes this to reveal to the audience about the characters. The evil Mrs. Danvers is shown in the dark as the good Mrs. De Winter is shot in the light letting the audience see how the characters personalities are. Citizen Kane adapted this shadow use and explored even further. Not only would the characters be shot in light and dark to foreshadow a downfall or reveal information, but their shadow would cover another person. By doing this, the audience …show more content…
Many of the camera angles from the noirs are comparable to the angles from Citizen Kane. Larger than life characters and femme fatales are shot from a low angle in noirs. The directors do this as these characters are almost “too good to be true” in a sense. Double Indemnity is a prime example of this shot as Mrs. Dedrickson’s overall plan is too good to be true. She is shot from a low angle showing the power she has over Walter as he is lured into her trap from this effect of dominance. Citizen Kane’s larger than life character is Charlie Kane, and he is shot from a low angle many times. This is showing the power and effect he has on others and how his fame is “too good to be
Billy Wilder’s film Double Indemnity uses a considerable amount of German Expressionism techniques. A crystal clear example of this is at the end of the film when Walter goes to meet Phyllis at her house, when he opens the door a long and sharp shadow appears across the wall. This is a technique used in one of the most famous german expressionism films Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. In order to get this effect, Wilder is using low-key lighting so the shadow is obvious to the audience. In this film, long and sharp shadows as well as inky blackness often appear on the screen, this is a major characteristic of german expressionist films. The mise en scene reinforces the darkness in the style and tone. These films emphasize
For most aspects in life, we take lighting and general vision for granted. When we flick a switch we
Citizen Kane is a personal story about a news tycoon from the early 1900’s ‘Charles Foster Kane’s’ last word “Rosebud”. This word sparks an investigation by reporters who interview people from Kane’s past putting the pieces together to uncover the mystery of the word and its importance. Bordwell goes in detail about the difference of subjective vision and objective realism and the part they play in Citizen Kane. Orson Welles borrows elements from both forms and balances them which Bordwell calls “the films great achievement” (Bordwell, 1971). Cutting from elements of realism such as the ‘News on the March’ scene (Lumieres realism).
Citizen Kane is a 114-minute film school providing lessens after lessons in deep focus and rear projection, extreme close-ups and overlapping dialogue. Although appearing as a biographical movie (Biopic), it refused to follow the conventional
Citizen Kane, is a 1941 American film, written, produced, and starred by Orson Welles. This film is often proclaimed by critics,filmmakers, and fans as one of the best if not the best film ever made. Citizen Kane is an unbelievable film becuase of how advanced it is compared to other films of its time. In the film, the producer used many different narrative elements to capture the audiences imagination. It truly is astounding how the filmmakers used certain editing techniques, sounds, and different narrative elements to illustrate the story and the plot. Although the plot isnt exactly captivating to the present day audience, this film is still amazing due to how much work and effort went into making it.
This camera angle was used because it emphasized how sad, defeated and upset Kane because none of the townspeople would help him fight the four antagonists. Long
Film noir (literally 'black film,' from French critics who noticed how dark and black the looks and themes were of these films) is a style of American films which evolved in the 1940s. " The Internet Movie Database LTD. Film noir typically contains melancholy, and not so moral themes. Another characteristic of film noir is just because the main character has the title hero, that does not mean that he will always be alive at the end of the book, or that the hero is always "good." Marlowe in The Big Sleep is a prime example of this concept.
In the sequence, Wells uses low angles to showcase his characters and their status in the film, especially the shots with Mr.Carter and Kane. These shots are filmed at a low angle to depict how powerful Kane really is, with these shots they portray him towering over Carter, making it appear that he is capable of taking out whoever stands in his way. The low angles in this film are meant to isolate Kane and those who are around him to express that he is the king. Low angles shot are also seen when Leland confronts Kane about his egocentric personality after losing the election. This shot creates dramatic tension, but it still does not fail to make the shot about Kane because of the streamers and posters that surround them, which are a reminder of Kane and his loss. Though conflict arises from this scene, it is easy to see that even if Kane is being criticized, he still holds dominance.
Sarah Street said, “in Citizen Kane Welles is criticizing fundamental contradictions within monopolistic journalism and political rhetoric.” He wasn’t only showcasing his talents in film he was conveying a real message to the public. He was criticizing the way people’s agenda can truly affect the world as seen through Hearst these individuals have great power, but often lack honesty in the way of doing things. Another critic Armstrong says the script “asks you to ponder the meaning of someone's life. What makes living worthwhile? What makes a person happy: money, love, power? How do we make sense of that life--by what was said, what was done, or by what is left?” This great description entails many of the other elements Welles wanted to face. Although Kane had all he ever wanted what did he accomplish and what was he missing and searching for all his life. This draws back to the main search in the story for Rosebud. Welles while creating a wonderful visual piece also had the thrilling unique story to go along with
Throughout the course of a lifetime, a common phrase heard is “don’t judge a book by its cover”. This phrase indicates the fact that it is nearly impossible to truly evaluate the life and feelings of a person just by what can be seen about them. This is the case in the film Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles. Charles Foster Kane is a man who would appear to the general public as having it all. A very popular man, Kane owns a successful newspaper company for which he is known worldwide. He builds a gigantic mansion for his second wife and himself, surrounded by intricate and expensive statues. Kane seems to be perfect in every single way, and one may think that he is the happiest man alive. However, Charles never had the things that
Alfred Hitchcock’s film Shadow of a Doubt is a true masterpiece. Hitchcock brings the perfect mix of horror, suspense, and drama to a small American town. One of the scenes that exemplifies his masterful style takes place in a bar between the two main characters, Charlie Newton and her uncle Charlie. Hitchcock was quoted as saying that Shadow of a Doubt, “brought murder and violence back in the home, where it rightly belongs.” This quote, although humorous, reaffirms the main theme of the film: we find evil in the places we least expect it. Through careful analysis of the bar scene, we see how Hitchcock underlies and reinforces this theme through the setting, camera angles, and lighting.
Noir (french film noir) is a cinematic term applied to the Hollywood crime dramas of the 1940s and 1950s, which capture the atmosphere of pessimism, mistrust, frustration and cynicism typical of American society during World War II war and the first years of the Cold War. The term "black film", or "film-noir," was first used in 1946 by the French critic Nino Frank to designate a style that gained popularity in American cinema in the mid-1940s . It is characterized by a criminal plot, a dark atmosphere of cynical fatalism and pessimism, blurring the line between hero and antihero, relative realism of action and dark lighting of scenes, usually night scenes. Women usually act as false characters that can not be trusted; on the other hand, they motivate the main male characters ,or they are represented as a ‘’perfect wife’’ which is silent and submissive. Femme fatal
This was Welles’s first feature film, in which was considered by many to be the greatest film of all time. In this film, the story takes place surrounding the life and legacy of Charles Foster Kane, in which is played by Welles. This character reflects on aspects of Welles's own life in the way that, Kane's career started off as an idealistic social service, but overtime evolved into a ruthless pursuit of power. The story is told through the research of a newsreel reporter seeking to solve the mystery of the last word ever spoken by Charles Foster Kane, which was "Rosebud.” Citizen Kane is particularly praised for its aspects of cinematography, music, and narrative structure.
The backgrounds are lit uniformly, thus shadows are almost absent from his film. By doing so, the characters are always illumined and presented for
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 continue until death. Welles conveys many stylistic features as well as fundamentals of cinematography through use of light and darkness, staging and proxemics, personal theme development and materialism within the film, Citizen Kane. Welles prominently portrays his figures with a specific amount of light or darkness, stunningly affecting whole scenes stylistically. The scene at Xanadu establishes Mr. Kane as an overbearing, controlling character.