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Citizen Kane : A Cinematic Masterpiece And One Of The Greatest Movies Ever Made Essay

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Citizen Kane has long been regarded as a cinematic masterpiece and one of the greatest movies ever made. One look at the scene “Thatcher Taking Young Charles”, and you can see exactly why. The storytelling style of this film is a “successful fusion of the flashier devices of 1930s films, and techniques adapted from radio, theater, and prose narrative. “There is pro not a single device in Citizen Kane that cannot be found in earlier films, but Citizen Kane synthesizes elements of various traditions in a totally original way.” (Carringer,1978) This sequence makes use of various cinematic techniques to employ the auteur’s narrative.

An example of deep focus appears in this sequence. A young Mr. Kane is visible in the background by the window in the middle ground while Mrs. Kane signs over custody of him to Mr. Thatcher in the foreground of the shot. There is a great significance to Kane appearing at the background of the frame. The narrative perspective captures Kane being present, but almost pushed to the literal and symbolic background as decisions are made to determine his future in the foreground. The use of deep focus turns what would’ve been a flat cinema screen into a three-dimensional world with a strong sense of realism. Although our attention is not immediately forced to any specific aspect of the mise-en-scene, a certain important moment is noted just as Mrs. Kane signs the paperwork. Young Kane while playing a childish game of “civil war” screams “Union forever;”

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