“A fellow will remember a lot of things you wouldn’t think he’d remember”… Unlike Mr. Bernstein I’m not remembering a lady on a ferry, but alike Mr. Bernstein I will remember something that no one would consider me remembering… My critical study of Citizen Kane.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the board, today I’m going to express why it is crucial Citizen Kane stay on the Module B Curriculum for 2017.
Module B addresses an analysis of construction, context and language, and an analysis of how the features of the text contribute to textual integrity, in an attempt to develop personal and intellectual connections within the text… and I’m going to show you why citizen Kane is a text that enables students to complete this to the highest ability, and
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Gregg Toland, the cinematographer Welles chose for Citizen Kane was open to all ideas and there forth created cinematic advances on many fronts the major significant contribution to cinematography came from the use of a technique known as deep focus…
The scene of Kane selling the newspaper back to thatcher some thirty years later, introduces the main reason it was valued to highly by critics at the time of its realise, and why it is still relevant to us today, Wells used deep focus photography technique to heighten the artistic presence of the scene, Deep focus refers to having everything in the frame, even the background, in focus at the same time, as opposed to having only the people and things in the foreground in focus… had used the technique in an earlier film he had worked on, but Citizen Kane marked the first time it was used so extensively or effectively… Deep focus is most effective in scenes that depict Kane’s loss of control and his personal isolation because it gives the audience a clear view of the space Kane commands as well as the space over which he has no power, clearly represented in this scene, enhancing the idea that
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This was very effective as it was new to the time in which the movie was released.
Due to the film’s critical success, Citizen Kane is found on majority of “greatest films of all time” lists this critical success is due to the films major advancements in cinematography and how it daringly addresses mutual social contexts.
Citizen Kane enables students to develop an analysis of construction, context and language, and an analysis of how the features of the text contribute to textual integrity, in citizen Kane as the film is so richly layered and still relevant to a contemporary audience, this enables students to develop personal and intellectual connections within the texts. Deep analytical and critical knowledge of the text is demonstrated through its advancements in cinematography and dejectic message, due to the RKO giving Wells total control over the film.
These reasons have impacted me and I personally believe that my study of Citizen Kane has impacted my life, in multiply ways and it needs to stay on the syllabus to enable future students to experience and receive the full benefit’s from module
Citizen Kane is the life story of a powerful newspaper magnate, Charles Foster Kane. It is a fictionalized biography of the ruthless publishing baron, William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951). In actuality, the characters in the movie are composites, drawn from the lives of several famous American tycoons, but Hearst was the most obvious. Photography Gregg Toland, the cinematographer for Citizen Kane, considered the film the high point in his career & thought he might ‘learn something’ from the boy genius (Welles).
“The screen is a magic medium. It has such power that it can convey emotions and moods that no other art form can hope to tackle.” The written word and the moving image have always had their entwining roots deeply entrenched in similar narrative codes, both functioning at the level of implication, connotation and referentiality. But ever since the advent of cinema, they have been pitted against each other over formal and cultural peculiarities – hence engaging in a relationship deemed “overtly compatible, secretly hostile” (Bluestone 2).
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”.
The Film Citizen Kane was a groundbreaking film in the 1940’s, the way Orson Wells depicts his film with different lighting, cinematography, choice of camera shots and mise-en-scene throughout this movie truly showed the masterpiece that this film is. In the Film Citizen Kane, it was the first movie that went against true Hollywood cinema by introducing flashbacks throughout the movie to show us how Charles Foster Kane changes throughout the movie. Throughout this movie the audience can see how Charles Foster Kane undergoes a variety of physical and emotional changes from when he was just a young boy all the way until his unfortunate death. Power, that’s all that Kane wanted in the start of the film. In the beginning of the film Kane gets ownership of the struggling New York Daily Inquirer, Kane suggests that he wanted to use journalism to apply to the public and protect the interest of ordinary people.
(Citizen Kane, 1941) Kane’s parents used the power of money as an accessory for giving him away to a billionaire. Since that day, the protagonist went through a traumatizing experience, insecurity and redisposition due to his parents’ actions, which marked the beginning of his tortuous need, to be loved. This unreturned love created a sense of fear and mistrust to love something or someone, only to experience abandonment again was something Kane never got a chance to learn. Citizen Kane broke all the rules because of Welles, there were no
Directed by Orson Welles, the 1941 motion picture “Citizen Kane” is the story of the rise and fall of a great, influential man. The opening scenes of “Citizen Kane” are quite different from what follows during the rest of the film. Fading in and out of different landscapes instilled mystery. This mysterious vibe was carried on during Charles Foster Kane’s death through the use of shadows, quiet music, and close up shots. Isolated in his vast empire of a home, Kane uttered only one word before he passed: “rosebud.”
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.”
There are many things that make “Citizen Kane” considered as possibly one of the greatest films every made; to the eyes of the passive audience this film may not seem the most amazing, most people being accustomed to the classical Hollywood style, but to the audience with an eye for the complex, “Citizen Kane” breaks the traditional Hollywood mold and forges its own path for the better. Exposition is one of the most key features of a film, it’s meant introduce important characters and give the audience relevant details and and dutifully suppress knowledge in turn. “Citizen Kane” does not follow this Classic Hollywood style exposition, instead going above and beyond to open the film with revealing as little information as possible and confuse/intrigue
Citizen Kane by Orson Welles is a cinematic classic, released in 1941. Citizen Kane challenged traditional narrative and technical elements of classic Hollywood cinema. Kane was narrated by several people that include their take on Kane’s life. The story unfolds by many flashbacks and is told by different perspectives over the years through different narrations. Charles Foster Kane was a millionaire, head of newspapers and died saying “rosebud”.
Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941) challenged traditional narrative and technical elements of classic Hollywood cinema through techniques in cinematography, mise-en-scene and lighting. The mise-en-scene build of Citizen Kane is the pivoting point of the narrative forthcoming and Welles uses every technical element encompassed in this build to span his narrative across 60 years of Charles Foster Kane, the main character 's life. The beginning of this build is founded on the black and white shooting choice which sets an ominous almost 'film noir ' lighting and feel of the opening scene of the castle in Xanadu. This where we see end of Kane 's life, but every aspect of the film 's narrative will revolve around these frames and including the questions of 'who has died '?, 'what was the significance of the snow globe? ', and 'Who is rosebud? '. The camera angle in the deathbed scene is deliberately shot from a low angle, which further implies the importance of the person lying in the bed as well as providing mystery as the viewer is not yet privy to whom has just
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.
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
Citizen Kane has been the critics choice for a number of years now, however I found that it was nothing special. While its cinematography and acting are superb the story is a tangled mess with seemingly little direction or reason. With that being said the symbolism is well presented and conveys a good message about what happens when capitalism meets socialism. That symbolism is was what kept me watching the film despite how poorly the story was written and I believe that the symbolism is the reason why Citizen Kane remains the number one critics choice. Citizen Kane is brought to us by Orson Welles and follows the reporter Jerry Thompson (William Alland) as he tries to learn about the life of the famous Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) and
And thus the researcher could understand better about these films and how each aspect has contributed into making the film one of its kind and also following the signature pattern of the director. The researcher could also make draw comparisons between the book and the film. (Hutcheon,
The goal is to always catch everyone’s attention; do something that has yet to be done. This is how one’s legacy will influence an entire industry. When a person has the ability to change the game, to improve the experience, that is when brilliance is seen in the making. This was the exact approach Orson Welles took when presenting the world with Citizen Kane. His innovation in turn challenged all elements of classic Hollywood cinema—most of all the films plot structure, sound and deep-focus cinematography.