Coward Kane
Orson Welles created a masterpiece. Orson Welles created Citizen Kane. Orson Welles created a change. Orson Welles created. Like the series of sentences jigsawed together, Citizen Kane is a film with a plot infused with build- ups of megalomaniac Kane’s life is what rhetorically drew in the audience. Through the realistic relationships of Charles Kane the audience were given the taste of an accumulated story line of who he was. Welles infiltrated the subconscious of his viewers through filming strategies, props and specific song choices. Through the relationship between Charles (Charlie) Kane and his second wife Susan (Suzie) Alexander, Welles painted a film through the progression of shots filmed in soft focus to deep focus portrays
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The camera tells the audience Kane is vulnerable as the frame places Kane and Susan stand next to each other as equals. (Image 1.1) The next scene is also shot in soft focus as Kane and Susan are seen sitting next to each other. (Image 1.2) Here, Kane is shown relaxed and in appeal of Susan because she knows nothing of his fame or infamy. To him Susan represents a sense of unconditional untainted love, something that he was never able to obtain with his money. Kane is able to empathize with Susan when she tells him of her mother’s dream for her to pursue a career in opera. Kane recognizes that they share the experience of having a mother who tried to decide the paths of their child’s life. The following scene (Image 1.3) is the last soft focus scene that will be shown within the relationship of Kane and Susan. As Susan performs a segment of Il Barbiere di Seviglia: Scene IV A Chamber in De Bartolo’s House, Kane is shown in a state of tranquility which gives him a sense that peaceful domesticity is possible. The first deep focus cinematography is seen when Kane’s wife Emily and political opponent Boss appear at Susan’s apartment. As the three characters are arguing in the background Susan is seen in front with her back …show more content…
However instead of fixing his relationship problem Kane makes the ultimate decision to throw more money and build Susan a mansion. (Image 1.7) Kane is dressed head to toe white and illuminates in the background as he is dictating to Susan that she can stop singing and they can live in their own world. As Kane builds his great mansion Xanadu he fills it with statues that can never leave him, while distancing himself from Susan. (Image 1.8) Xanadu is so large Kane and Susan has to yell at each other to communicate. The lack of human contact depicts the false self-narcissist Kane erects in attempt to disguise the shame they feel about their internal “shallowness” shows additional strain to their already precarious relationship. Then Susan is found assembling a jigsaw puzzle in attempts to put together the empty pieces in her life as Kane observes her in front of an engulfing fireplace. (Image 1.9) Susan begs Kane to go out into the city, however Kane adamantly refuses to let her out of his sight and chooses to keep her captive. In these scenes deep focus shows Kane is infinitely watching over Susan and controlling her every move like a puppet. Later
Hitchcock has a way of throwing clues in the face of the spectator, yet still allows some room for the spectator to find their own less obvious details. In the same museum scene, Hitchcock shows the viewer exactly what he wants them to see. In a sense, Hitchcock can be very manipulative with the camera. The audience sees the picture containing the women with a curl in her hair holding flowers, and then the direct connection is made by the camera, by showing the curl in Madeline’s hair, and the flowers sitting next to her. The spectator is led to believe that they have solved the mystery and she is truly possessed by the women in the picture. However, Hitchcock does this on purpose to lead the audience away from the truth that she is only acting. It is for these reasons that Hitchcock’s work at an auteur adds a level of depth and intrigue.
In order to suit his needs Hitchcock transports the locale of Vertigo (1958) to the most vertical San Francisco city where the vertiginous geometry of the place entirely threatens verticality itself. The city with its steep hills, sudden rises and falls, of high climbs, dizzying drops is most appropriate for the vertiginous circularity of the film. The city is poised between a romantic Victorian past and the rush of present day life. We were able to see the wild chase of Scottie Ferguson (James Stewart) in search for the elusive Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak) and the ghost who haunts her, Carlotta Valdes in such spots as the Palace of the Legion of Honor, the underside of the Golden Gate Bridge at Fort Point, the Mission Dolores, Ernie’s restaurant,
Mise-en-scène, what the audience sees in a film, is crucial to the movie’s development. Lighting and props are two of the many important aspects of this category. The previously mentioned scene has the goal of representing Kane’s early ideology of what the New York Daily Inquirer will become and provide for its readers. While writing the document, Welles constantly uses lighting to illuminate it for the audience, naturally drawing eyes to the paper even before it is introduced in the film. The lighting of the scene helps viewers identify the document’s value, especially in comparison to Kane as he tends to be less lit then the paper for the majority of scene. The other three cast members, Leland, Bernstein and briefly Sully, continue to be lit but almost never to the magnitude of the paper itself. The first cut of the scene shows Kane writing the document from outside; where a burning gas lamp is the key lighting, allowing the audience to easily notice both the flame and the paper. In the following cut, Kane continually looks at the paper and the gas flame as to signify their imp...
10. Next the shot changes to a full shot of Devlin and Alicia where she continues to stand. The camera follows them up as they now both fully rise, thus revealing more than just there faces in over 9 shots. Alicia states that they should go outside, while Devlin has a drink in hand. She then asks if Devlin is going to finish his drink. Devlin says that he is and takes down the rest of the drink leaving only a few drops, as Alicia gazes into his eyes.
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
All directors of major motion pictures have specific styles or signatures that they add in their work. Alfred Hitchcock, one of the greatest directors of all time, has a particularly unique style in the way he creates his films. Film analyzers classify his distinctive style as the “Alfred Hitchcock signature”. Hitchcock’s signatures vary from his cameo appearances to his portrayal of a specific character. Two perfect examples of how Hitchcock implements his infamous “signatures” are in the movies, A Shadow of a Doubt and Vertigo. In these movies, numerous examples show how Hitchcock exclusively develops his imagination in his films.
Alfred Hitchcock’s unique sense of filmmaking and directing has allowed him to become a very famous and well known film maker of his time. He uses similar recurring themes, elements, and techniques in many of his films to engage the viewers in more than just the film, but the meaning and focus behind the story.
Sex, love, depression, guilt, trust, all are topics presented in this remarkably well written and performed drama. The Flick, a 2014 Pulitzer Prize winning drama by Annie Baker, serves to provide a social commentary which will leave the audience deep in thought well after the curtain closes. Emporia State Universities Production of this masterpiece was a masterpiece in itself, from the stunningly genuine portrayal of the characters of Avery and Rose, to the realism found within the set, every aspect of the production was superb.
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.
In your view, how does Welles’ portrayal of the complex nature of happiness contribute to the enduring value of Citizen Kane?
object as she slowly takes a sip. In a later scene, Mrs. Sebastian pours the
There are two other scenes that exemplify Hitchcock’s technical competence and ability to connect his vision with the film’s subject matter. A turning part of the film is when Alex realizes he has married an enemy to the Nazi party. He drudges up the staircase, a central facet of a Hitchcock film, to break the news to his mother. Alex, sitting in a chair, delivers the line “I am married to an American agent”. The image of Alex is an overhead close up shot in low-key lighting. This scene denotes a shift in Alex’s character. He is no longer trusting of Alicia because now she poses a threat to his façade for the Nazis.
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.
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. Throughout the scene, Kane is shadowed with darkness upon his face, emphasizing how ‘dark’ he is. Conversely, oftentimes light is directly on Susan, portraying her innocence and how ‘light’ of a character she is. Within this scene, Welles shows Susan wearing white and Mr. Kane wearing a dark colored suit, an overt portrayal of light versus darkness. Susan wearing a white, light colored ensemble portrays her as the submissive one with a lighter, happy-hearted spirit. Wearing a dark suit, Charles Kane is depicted as an overbearing and controlling person....
Welles who would like to set up lights himself placed a grave importance on the lighting of the film. The lighting helped to compliment many of the films scenes by adding an effect of emotion. In scenes where the shadows would be more apparent there was normally something dark occurring, such as the scene where Kane is seen standing on his own after his second wife leaves him. As said by Roger Ebert “Welles created a gloomy dark visual the film world had yet to see.” The use of these techniques is seen by some as the pioneer or predecessor to the genre of noir that soon followed the film’s release. In addition, Kane had brought a great influence for French critics and filmmakers. Many began to use Welles techniques to create cinematic works of their own. This was known as the French New Wave a movement that combined philosophical and artistic themes in film. Along with the lighting Welles made sure to place musical soundtracks throughout the film a technique that hadn’t been used too often. These soundtracks helped add to the scenes and give them their own atmosphere. The musical soundtrack played a vital role in conveying the emotion of the film. In many of the scenes that contained their own sound a greater message was being conveyed than what the film was showing. Welles was very clever in his way of piecing the scenes