Cinematic Techniques In The Film 'Rosebud'

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Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, debuted in 1941. It is a detective story about the rise and fall of newspaper mogul, Charles Foster Kane. Citizen Kane follows a journalist named Thompson, who conducts a series of interviews to find out what Kane’s last word meant before he died. “Rosebud,” was the last word muttered by Kane and Thompson takes the audience on a journey to find its meaning. Within this voyage, the spectators relive sixty-five years of Kane’s life. Citizen Kane was one of the first films to break away from the classical principles of cinematic storytelling. The film follows a unique and complex structure where the story unfolds in an intricate matter. Citizen Kane was also innovative with its use of visual and sound elements. …show more content…

Where conflicts are resolved and mysteries are solved. However, the ending of Citizen Kane does not offer concrete closure to the story being told. Welles weaves a maze-like story, where the audience becomes a detective and tries to solve the mystery of Rosebud, with Thompson. When the story comes to the end, Rosebud is revealed only to the audience but with no real explanation as to why this word has been driving the story. Conversely, Rosebud is never exposed to Thompson, so it leaves the story of Citizen Kane quite open-ended. Audiences in the 1940’s found this ending leaving them with too much uncertainty. Welles artistic design of Citizen Kane was ahead of its time. His decision to end the film with no clarification of the meaning of Rosebud was deliberate. Welles dares the spectators to question if Rosebud holds the same importance to the story, as they believed it did throughout the film. “Rosebud serves a very important motivating function in the film. It creates Thompson’s goal and thus focuses our attention on his delving into the lives of Kane and his associates. Citizen Kane becomes a mystery story; but instead of investigating a crime, the reporter investigates character. So the Rosebud clues provide the basic motivation necessary for the plot to progress.” Instead of giving audiences an exact answer to the ending, Welles invites spectators to come to their own …show more content…

The film is in black and white so Welles had the opportunity to play with overexposure and shadows to make up the atmosphere of the film. The lighting techniques set a mysterious mood throughout the film, which complements the plot and the sound elements. “By the use of low-key selective lighting and patterns of staging and framing, Thompson is made virtually unidentifiable.” Welles manipulated the lighting in Citizen Kane to enhance the realism that was brought forth by the use of deep focus shots and the use of sound. This was done so the audience would not focus on Thompson but on the action of the scene. Reiterating that Welles wanted the spectators to “become” the detective. “Welles chose to use light and shadow to specifically tell the audience what to focus on.” His dark choice of lighting added a feeling of suspense and realism, which supported his plot and complimented his camera techniques and sound

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