Two films, although created years apart yet have a lot in common, including their content of it’s narrative techniques. Both films, even though black and white with strokes of genius of cinema offer a vast stretch for study. I will be looking at Sir Orson Welles “Citizen Kane” (1941) and Akira Kurosawa’s “Rashomon” (1950). We see in Citizen Kane he values for the American life. The three abstract themes that constantly follow through Citizen Kane are Wealth, Power and Love. However, in the movie “Rashomon” it displays the pursuit of the truth. The use of narratives allows them to take both the films to interesting directions. In Citizen Kane the narratives tell the viewers the insignificant part of life of an American Newspaperman Mr. Charles Foster Kane. In Rashomon the viewer gets a totally different perspective. We also notice that in Citizen Kane Well’s has used a lot of black techniques and its techniques and in Rashomon on the other hand is more a day lit film. In this essay I will be comparing the themes and the narrative techniques used in both films.
Starting off with the film “Citizen Kane” as mentioned it is a story of a millionaire, Charles Foster Kane. It begins with Kane’s death and speaks a single word: “Rosebud”. The reporters in the hunt to know
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This is when we find out that the news was screened in a room. Shadowed images are seen in the room. With what is said in the room we get to know that these men are very manipulative and want to know what is meant by Kane’s last word “Rosebud”. Sir Thompson is chosen to reveal to the audience the secrecy behind this word. If we were to view this very carefully, we see that Sir Thompson is indirectly the audience to whom all the facts about Kane is revealed to. He is not shown clearly and mostly shown in shadows that display the reality. He is very manipulative and Mr. Kane’s personal live does not have any effect on
Auteur theory is an important mode of film criticism that indicates the extent of the director’s involvement in the final output of the film. As it has been previously mentioned, Spike Lee’s films express certain notions about race that emerge from his personal viewpoint as well as from his political and aesthetic beliefs. The focal point of this chapter is the auteur theory and its relativity to Spike Lee. In order to prove the connection between the theory and his works, it is necessary to refer to Lee’s biography, since both his background and distinguishable personality have contributed to his technical skills as well as to his unique style as a film director. The particular chapter will also include the synopsis as well as the technical analysis of each film correspondingly.
One of the film’s on this course was ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ an adaption of the Pulitzer- Prize nominated play by John Guare. Two theories that we studied that applied to this film are; Post- Modernism and Structuralism and the concepts; pastiche and collage, genre and intertextuality. I will be analysing the movie while applying these two theoretical concepts and discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each in the conclusion. Six degrees of separation is the theory that everyone and everything is connected by six or fewer steps from any other person in the world. Frigyes Kerinthy originally came up with the theory but it became popularized by Guare in ‘Six Degrees of Separation.’
In Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, a news reporter must uncover the mystery behind Charles Kane 's (Orson Welles) last words, "Rosebud". Kane, a wealthy man by inheritance, led a vapid life filled with materialistic desire and a hunger for power. When Kane 's newspaper doesn 't gain traction he implements a new way to catch the eyes of customers called, 'yellow journalism, ' using headlines to attract readers instead of meaningful content. This type of journalism at the time was used for swaying the public eye to push the agenda of whoever owned the paper. What I contrived from The Immigrant is how willing immigrants are to find a better
One of the oldest and classic films in the beautiful world of cinema, Citizen Kane, has been released in 1941 by Orson Welles (Charles Foster Kane). Even though this film is an old movie, but its events, ideas, and mysteries are still on the lookout for the viewers to look at and figure out. When we talk about Citizen Kane, we are talking about a film with many ideas and a convergence of several symbols and inspirations that make the individuals think a lot about the purpose or meaning that the writer, director, producer and hero of the movie want. Perhaps the biggest and most controversial symbol of the film is “Rosebud”, the word that Kane says before he died. The film returns with flashback to the life of Charles Foster Kane, who grew up
Citizen Kane was made in 1941 (during the golden age of Hollywood). It was able to gain the attention of people when it was first made, which is due to the many techniques that were used in it, and which could rarely be found in other movies that were made during the same era. One of the most important techniques that was used several times is the Deep focus. When the camera deep focuses, a small amount of light enters through the lens, which is due to the small aperture the cinematographers use, this allows it to capture everything in the frame, and makes people able to see the whole image. Filmmakers usually use this technique when they want to show the audience an important action that could be ruined if said by words, it also allows them to show more than one action in one scene, without confusing the audience.
When it comes to comparing famous film and literary works, High Noon and “The Most Dangerous Game” are great subjects. They both have the component of suspense, hunter and the other being hunted. As you read on further you will understand the alikeness and the dissimilar attributes. Both High Noon and “The Most Dangerous Game” have similar plots and themes, but they have disparate moods.
Casablanca, a Romantic Propaganda Introduction Casablanca is one the classic Hollywood movie which is one of the most critically acclaimed Hollywood movies of all time and also very famous. Casablanca is a romance story that happens during World War II but the question is does it end there? Is Casablanca just a Romance movie? In this essay, I will be discussing how the movie Casablanca which is one of the most famous and critically acclaimed films of all time is a propaganda movie and what message is sending and the effects that propaganda movies make and why it’s important for governments.
The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare and 1941 film Citizen Kane possess many similarities in themes and characters, despite the completely different settings and plots. Both main characters are ambitious and determined to achieve a goal, even to a certain point where they lose everything truly meaningful to them. While Macbeth strives to become king of Scotland, Charles Foster Kane attempts to become popular and influential. Both Macbeth and Citizen Kane desire to be powerful members of their respective societies and receive respect and recognition from their acquaintances. In both works, they acquired everything they thought they wanted, yet realised they could not have what they truly desired, essentially ending up with “nothing of value”.
Daniel Pina English 1 January 18, 2023 Lonely is a Man Without Love In the 1941 film Citizen Kane we learn about the life of Charles Foster Kane, who is a wealthy news reporter. The first scene shows Charles Kane dying as he whispers “Rosebud” the rest of the film works to solve the meaning of his dying words. The film then shows News on the March, which reveals Kanes entire life. After Kane begins building his newspaper empire he met and married Emily Norten.
This essay will discuss how the film uses these two techniques, in reference to the film, and to what ideological and political ends are the techniques used in the films with specific references from the film to support the argument. A Man with a Movie Camera is based around one man who travels around the city to capture various moments and everyday
In Thompson’s quest to uncover the mystery of “rosebud,” he meets the people that were involved in Kane’s life and the effect he had on them. First of all comes
Citizen Kane challenged the traditional narrative and technical elements of classic Hollywood cinema mainly in the area of sound. Orson Welles was ahead of his time when he created his works of manipulating sound to transfer meaning in the film Citizen Kane. Welles used concealed hanging microphones to obtain different levels of sound throughout the film. The manner, in which the story was told, from Kane’s death flashbacked to his life of success and ultimate failure, was also a new style of storytelling for films. Welles also used symbolism with his last mumbling word “Rosebud.”
In “Aesthetic of Astonishment” essay, Gunning argues how people first saw cinema, and how they are amazed with the moving picture for the first time, and were not only amazed by the technological aspect, but also the experience of how the introduction of movies have changed the way people perceive the reality in a completely different way. Gunning states that “The astonishment derives from a magical metamorphosis rather than a seamless reproduction of reality”(118). He uses the myth of how the sacred audience run out the theater in terror when they first saw the Lumiere Brother Arrival of the train. However, Gunning does not really care how hysterical their reaction is, even saying that he have doubts on what actually happened that day, as for him it the significance lied on the incidence--that is, the triggering of the audience’s reaction and its subsequence results, and not the actual reactions and their extent. It is this incident, due to the confusion of the audience’s cognition caused by new technology, that serves as a significant milestone in film history which triggered in the industry and the fascination with film, which to this day allows cinema to manipulate and
The story focuses on telling about Kane but is about a reporter trying to seek what and why his last words meant. A reporter, Thompson was trying to seek why Kane’s last words were rosebud and what it was. The reporter interviewed people such as Mr. Jedediah Leland who was his friend until he was fired from the newspaper after transferring to Chicago to take care of that newspaper. Jedediah was fired after he was found to be face down on his typewriter writing a review of Susan and her horrific performance. Kane’s
Shot Analysis: Citizen Kane Orson Welles, director of “Citizen Kane”, is well known for his unusual directing methods that defied conventional cinematic techniques. Welles provided his audience with original forms of cinematography, narrative structures, and music. The scene I chose to analyze is extremely important to the plot of the film because Kane begins to realize that he is going through some serious financial problems. During the scene, Kane maintains a sarcastic mood, until he finally decides to surrender and signs the papers that transfer the ownership of his media empire to Mr. Thatcher.