Citizen Kane's Last Word 'Rosebud'

689 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Exploring careers in Acting

The movie "Citizen Kane" is an American drama filmed that came out in 1941. The film was considered the greatest film ever made and topped the American Film Institute's 100 years list in 1998. The movie starred Orson Welles who played the main character Charles Foster Kane. The movie was Welles first motion picture and jumped started is career to becoming one of the greatest actors of all time. The main plot of the movie was not how great of a newspaper typhoon Kane was but his famous word "rosebud". This was his last word before he died. An reporter interviews Kane's friends and associates to find out the mystery behind Kane's very last word. The following of Kane's death a newsreel gives an overview of Kane's life and career but the producer is unhappy with the film due to its lack of who Kane truly was. So he sends out a reporter to gain information to uncover Kane's famous last word "rosebud". While the reporter interviews Kane's most closet companions we get a series of flashbacks of Kane's past. The first flashback we see was when the reporter goes to …show more content…

He dies holding a snow globe that reveals a little cottage which is Kane's childhood home and saying his last word "rosebud". The reporter finally interviews Kane's most notorious butler. The butler recounts that Kane had said "rosebud" after Susan left him, then finds and pocketing a snow globe. The reporter spends most of his time uncovering the meaning of this word but finds nothing and gives up. He thinks that maybe a rosebud is something he couldn't get, or something he lost. No one will ever no. As the film ends the camera reveals Kane's childhood sled with the word "rosebud" carved into it. Now many people have their own thoughts on what the word on the sled meant. But what I think was that when Kane died he said that word not only because of the sled but because it was a symbol representing Kane's true

Show More
Related

  • A Prayer for Owen Meany

    919 Words  | 2 Pages

    Later that year at Christmastime Owen states, “I SAW MY NAME-ON THE GRAVE.”. John and Owen were in a production of A Christmas Carol. Owen was chosen as The Ghost of the Future. When he goes to show Mr. Scrooge his tombstone Owen sees his name on it. However he also sees a date on it which he will not tell anyone about when. As time went on Owen found out more about his death while dreaming. John is scared by this because Owen never let the idea that he will be dieing soon out of his head. Owen, from then on has John help him prepare for his death. Owen manages to convince John to practice a basketball move called “The Shot” which John does not understand why but, does anyway.

    Read More

  • Commentary on Henry Green's Novel "Black"

    1368 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ioned “roses after roses”, which would be a metaphor for the dead amidst the beautiful roses, which is quite similar to the incident about the gun and the rose, and how all the hurtful things are beneath the beautiful things.

    Read More

  • The Significance of Lighting, Blocking and Panning in Kane’s Declaration of Principles

    898 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mise-en-scène, cinematography and editing are used in all forms of cinema. Within the “Declaration of Principles” scene of Citizen Kane, lighting, blocking and panning are three of the main sub aspects that work in unison to consistently demonstrate important aspects of the film. Welles uses these attributes to portray to the audience how this younger Kane is an important newspaper owner, with an even more important document. He creates a scene that has a heavy emphasis on panning to continuously preserve a frame that centers Kane while also lighting the document so viewers can constantly see the important plot and characters of the movie.

    Read More

  • Shadows In Citizen Kane Symbolism

    1153 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Editing And Film Techniques In Orson Welles's 'Citizen Kane'

    1436 Words  | 3 Pages

    Orson Welles ' introduced innovating editing and sound design in the 1940s with Citizen Kane (1941). Welles uses editing and sound to show the audience the passing of time, this is seen the breakfast montage. Welles uses sound bridges during the transitional wipes of fast moving images which fade into the next shot. The sound bridges act as links between the two scenes and make the time difference apparent to the audience. At the beginning of the montage Welles uses a slow zoom combined with romantic music to show the love between Kane and Emily. Both characters appear in the frame together with deep focus and slow paced editing which shows the closeness of the couple in the early years. This is juxtaposed by the end of the montage showing

    Read More

  • Breakfast Montage Clip in Orsen Welles' Citizen Kane

    694 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Orson Welles Show

    874 Words  | 2 Pages

    Orson Welles’ career took place in the mid-thirties to late eighties in the twentieth century. He began his career at age fifteen, starting in Ireland, making his acting debut in the Gate Theater in Dublin. By eighteen, Welles started to appear in off-Broadway productions. It was then that he also launched his radio career. By age twenty, he had presented alternate interpretations of certain well-known plays and movies. At age twenty-two he was the most notable Broadway star from Mercury Theater and, because of this, BBC radio gave him an hour each week to broadcast whatever he pleased. That’s when, at age twenty-five, he broadcast War of the Worlds, which caused panic due to the “Martian invasions”. By the time he came into Hollywood, Welles could write, direct, cast, star, and edit movies without disturbance from the studios. It was during this time he created Citizen Kane- the only movie he completely finished. He retired from Hollywood at age thirty-three in 1948, but still continued to create his own films.

    Read More

  • Hollywood's Take on the Civil War

    1907 Words  | 4 Pages

    The film, Gone with the Wind became a cultural phenomenon after its release in 1939. The Civil War based film follows the storyline of Scarlett O’Hara. The lead heroine is dealt with the hardships of love as well as the destruction of her town. Set in the South, the movie stresses

    Read More

  • The Glamorized Mobster

    1229 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Public Enemy (1931) directed by William A. Wellman is a pre-code crime film about how an Irish American mobster Tom Powers (James Cagney) rose in the underworld in the prohibition era as an anti-hero who despites authority and finds respectability suffocating. Although being a womanizer and a gangster, Tom is loyal to his mother and his male associates. Despite the disclaimer in he beginning of the film that claims it to “honestly depict an environment that exist today in a certain strata of American life, rather than glorify the hoodlum or the criminal”, The Public Enemy seems to glorify Tom’s criminal behaviors and high life style by depicting Tom in a sympathetic and yet realistic manner, which violates the Motion Picture Production Code of 1930. All the murder scenes, however, strictly abide by the code and happen off-screen.

    Read More

  • A Summary of the Kane Chronicles

    580 Words  | 2 Pages

    Carter Kane has been traveling around the world since he was eight years old. He was homeschooled by his father, Julius Kane, who was Egyptologist. Julius Kane was hiding a huge secret, he was an Egyptian magician. On Christmas Eve, Carter and Julius head to London to visit Carter's sister, Sadie, who lives as a British student. Both siblings (who look nothing alike) were separated at a very young age, Sadie to live with her grandparents, and Carter with his father. Julius picked up Sadie, and discovered that one out of the two days of the year they get the spend together was going to be occupied by a trip to British Museum. Before heading there, both children spy on their dad talking to a strange man named Amos. They had no idea what the adults were talking about, but when the reckless Sadie popped out to say hi to her dad, Amos disappears. While at the museum, Sadie and Carter noticed that their dad was extremely interested in one specific artifact, the Rosetta Stone. Julius Kane ended up blowing the artifact up by trying to summon Osiris. He also accidentally released the other ch...

    Read More

  • Citizen Kane Mise En Scene Analysis

    711 Words  | 2 Pages

    Citizen Kane is a timeless movie that revolutionized the film industry by bringing new techniques and ways to go about making a film that changed the Cinema forever. Orson Welles created a timeless picture by dedicated himself to the Mise-en-scene, he pushed the boundaries and found different ways to utilize what he already knew. The Mise-En-Scene of this narrative creates a film that is ahead of it’s time and a genius innovation to

    Read More

  • Cinematography and the Film Citizen Kane (1941)

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    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, cinematic techniques, as well as innovations. Within this well-known film, Orson Welles 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.

    Read More

  • Citizen Kane Film Analysis

    1473 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • A Look at Robert Rodriguez

    2392 Words  | 5 Pages

    At 23 years of age, Rodriguez knew he wanted to get started working on a film that would open doors for him. He knew the big directors such as Orson Welles and Steven Spielberg started in their twenties. Rodriguez states, “I’m twenty-three years old. Orson Welles made Citizen Kane when he was twenty-five. Spielberg made Jaws at twenty-six. So I’ve only got about two or three years to make by breakthrough film” (Rodriguez 23). The only problem was money. To earn the money to make his first film, Rodriguez became a human lab rat for Pharmaco Research Hospital in Austin, TX. There, he would lay the foundation for his trilogy of movies.

    Read More

  • Degeneration Of Power In Citizen Kane

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 21st century, the media still has power over the public, even more so than what is seen in Citizen Kane, as there are many more forms of media than just the newspaper. Citizen Kane is largely concerned with exposing the deceit and manipulation inherent in the media. Welles’ statement on ‘truth’ in the media is perhaps best summed up in Kane’s line: “Don’t believe everything you hear on the radio. Read The Inquirer.” Other than the obvious self-aware irony of this line, given by the founder of The Inquirer with a cheeky smile, the line is also a sly nod to Welles’ own history on radio, and particularly the War of the Worlds prank. The 1940s audience would have recognised this intertextuality and appreciated its comment on the untrustworthiness

    Read More

More about Citizen Kane's Last Word 'Rosebud'

Open Document