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Citizen kane genre analysis
Analyze the movie citizen kane
Analyze the movie citizen kane
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The debate over Casablanca and Citizen Kane has been a classic argument between film critics and historians alike, and this is because both of these pieces are timeless pictures that have managed to captivate audiences well after their era. On a broad spectrum analysis this is an apples and oranges debate as the two films both have great cinematographic value but for different reasons. However, the real question at hand is which film is the greatest? Which film transformed the future of American film making? It is these questions that I as many others have, will attempt to answer in the following essay as I explain why I believe Citizen Kane is the greatest film ever made.
Citizen Kane was produced, co-written, directed, and lead acted by Orson Welles in 1941 at the young age of twenty-five. The story is based on real life publisher and tycoon William Randolph Hearst, though Welles was hesitant to admit it. None the less this didn’t stop Hearst from stopping all mentioning of Citizen Kane in his papers, and attempting to stop RKO from releasing it. Luckily this didn’t occur, though the film did have difficulty showing the film at major theatres.
The film opens with the camera panning across Kane’s deserted estate in Florida called Xanadu. The imagery has a dark, camera focuses on the old man’s mouth as he utters that mysterious word "Rosebud." He then drops the globe, which rolls onto the floor and shatters. You can see the nurse in the reflection of the broken glass as she covers him with a sheet. This entire scene is a major plot point in the film, the meaning of the snow globe and his dying words tie into the rest of the story in a very intricate, underlining manner. I also think it displays the inventive use of lighting ...
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...atly throughout the film; Kane, for example, ages from 25 to 78. Makeup artist Maurice Seiderman invented many techniques to age the characters in the film. Welles had a complete body cast made and used it to create custom-fitting body pads and facial appliances that show Kane aging gradually over 27 different stages of his life. The level of detail is astonishing: Welles wore special milky bloodshot contact lenses to make his eyes look old, and 72 different facial appliances, including hairlines, cheeks, jowls, bags under his eyes, and 16 different chins. Some pieces even had artificial pores that matched those in Welles' own skin.
Many other innovations of technique came from this film, such a technique known as the “wipe” where on image is wiped off the screen by another, as well as other innovations which resulted from Greg Toland’s experimental camera angles.
Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, was an exemplary and ground-breaking work. In narrative structure and film style, Welles challenged classical Hollywood conventions and opened a path for experimentation in the later 1940s. Gregg Toland’s deep-focus cinematography and Welles’ use of low-key lighting are often discussed aspects of the movie. True, these were areas of innovation, but when watching the movie in class I was particularly struck by the use of camera movement, or “mobile framing” as described in Film Art. In this historical analysis, I will take a detailed look at how Welles and Toland use camera movement to develop and challenge the Hollywood style. By referring to other movies viewed in Professor Keating’s class, including The Cheat, Wings, Applause, Double Indemnity, The Last Laugh and Bicycle Thief, this paper traces one aspect of innovation and diffusion in the movie many call the greatest film ever, Citizen Kane.
The way that a movie is pieced together by the director/producers has a huge impact on the viewer’s experience. Stylistic elements are used to help engage the viewer; however, without these techniques the viewer will most likely loose interest. In this essay I will be taking a look at a scene within the movie Casablanca directed by Michael Curtiz in 1942. Casablanca is a classic film that is reviewed to be one of the greatest movies of all time. This could be due to the notable quotes used throughout the movie, or its ability to follow a historic, comical, and romantic storyline throughout the course of the film. It caters to several different viewers, making this movie favorable to many. This scene in Casablanca uses specific editing techniques
In cinema, lighting, blocking and panning drastically influence what an audience will notice and take away from a scene. Orson Welles’s 1941 Citizen Kane has numerous examples of effectively using these aspects within mise-en-scène, cinematography and editing to portray the importance of specific events and items in the film. The scene where Kane writes and then publishes his “Declaration of Principles” (37:42-39:42) in the New York Daily Inquirer after buying them focuses on important elements of the film, aiding the audience by combining lighting, blocking and panning to define significant roles and objects that further the movie as a whole.
Beginning the mid 1920s, Hollywood’s ostensibly all-powerful film studios controlled the American film industry, creating a period of film history now recognized as “Classical Hollywood”. Distinguished by a practical, workmanlike, “invisible” method of filmmaking- whose purpose was to demand as little attention to the camera as possible, Classical Hollywood cinema supported undeviating storylines (with the occasional flashback being an exception), an observance of a the three act structure, frontality, and visibly identified goals for the “hero” to work toward and well-defined conflict/story resolution, most commonly illustrated with the employment of the “happy ending”. Studios understood precisely what an audience desired, and accommodated their wants and needs, resulting in films that were generally all the same, starring similar (sometimes the same) actors, crafted in a similar manner. It became the principal style throughout the western world against which all other styles were judged. While there have been some deviations and experiments with the format in the past 50 plus ye...
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
The film Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, is a great example of how a man can be corrupted by wealth. Through the characters in the film we can observe how Charles Foster Kane, an idealistic man with principles, can be changed and misguided by wealth and what accompanies wealth. The film takes places during the late 19th century and early 20th century, a time in American history when the world is changing and wealth is a great power to change it with. Through the story telling of Kane’s life we are able to see how wealth changes, not only Kane’s ideals, but his actions and how he perceives the world.
Citizen Kane is a valued text because it explores the challenging ideas of power and vulnerability.
Jacobs, Lewis. “Refinements in Technique.” The Rise of the American Film. New York: Teachers College Press, 1974. 433-452. Print.
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.
Happiness is shown to be achieved during childhood, so Kane’s yearning for his childhood contributes to the enduring value as all humans go through the human condition of aging. Orson Welles’ use of the motif of the snow globe appears several times throughout the film to symbolise Kane’s childhood that was cut short by Thatcher taking him away to his luxury mansion. The snow globe is
The highly acclaimed Citizen Kane creates drama and suspense to the viewer. Orson Welles designed this film to enhance the viewer’s opinion about light and darkness, staging, proxemics, personal theme development, and materialism. Creating one of the most astounding films to the cinematography world, Welles conveys many stylistic features as well as fundamentals of cinematography. It is an amazing film and will have an everlasting impact on the world of film.
The story of Charles Foster Kane was truly one that could go on as timeless. Born in poverty Kane was given away with the promise of having a better life. In a material point of view Kane lived a very fulfilling life filled with anything he ever wanted. Although throughout the movie, Kane despised the situation in which he was brought up in. Being placed under the care of his mother’s banker really influenced the way he viewed the world. He considered himself a people’s person a sort of hero for those in worse situations than his own. The mass appeal for this character along with the truly original storyline and plenty other factors led many people everywhere to gain a huge appreciation of this movie. Despise its early failure following its
this one letter in a circle can now sum up his life, that people just
In this essay the following will be discussed; the change from the age of classical Hollywood film making to the new Hollywood era, the influence of European film making in American films from Martin Scorsese and how the film Taxi Driver shows the innovative and fresh techniques of this ‘New Hollywood Cinema’.
From its perspective on politics during World War II and a sacrifice of love for the greater good, everyone can find the charming film of Casablanca to be full of dignity and decency. We as people identify strongly with characters in a film due to the moral qualities we share or sympathy we have for them, which does not make it a mystery that Casablanca is one of the most popular films ever made. This film which was debuted in 1943, was composed by Joan Alison and Murray Burnett and was directed by Michael Curtiz. Casablanca, plunges deep into a narrative that touches base on war, love, and right from wrong. This film evokes many qualities of a Classical Hollywood Cinema but adds a twist on special effects, usage of camera movement, and an emphasis on music.