Orson Welles Citizen Kane

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;”

One of the most famous scenes in film is the beginning where Charles Foster Kane dies after saying rosebud. What makes this scene so great was the camera angle. The snow globe that Kane drops after his death created an angle never before seen. This angle allowed for the intensity of the scene to increase as it emphasizes the nurse running in the room and the broken globe to show Kane’s world as comes crashing down on him. Another interesting camera angle is when Kane is being taken away from his mother where both her and Kane are visible and in full focus. Along with this angle it also has a smooth transition from the angle of the mother and sliding through the window to allow for the new scene. These

Citizen Kane is filled with symbolic imagery. In most of the movie you can pick out scenery, character actions, lighting, camera movement, and the composition within the frame of key shots that help tell the story without the character orally telling the full story. However, because of its new and experimental use of mise-en-scene, the movie did not do well in the box office. In time Orson Welles movie would become one of the best movies of all time and would even come to change filmmaking in

The film was made in 1941 and won best screenplay at the Oscars and was also nominated for best picture, best director, best actor and best cinematography. It was directed by Orsen Welles and its main actors were Joseph Cotten , Dorothy Comingore and Agnes Moorehead. The film has aged incredibly in the last 75 years from its release and has defined film in how good it really was. Citizen Kane changed the way movies are made because it became the starting point for many filmmakers first learning about how films are made and how a director can give a film a particular style. The editing (by Robert Wise) was as innovative as the cinematography by Gregg Toland - add these two talents to the talent of director Orson Welles not knowing how to direct properly and you have stylistic flourishes and a film that still impresses today. It didn't immediately change how movies were made citizen Kane was actually a somewhat forgotten film for several years until it was rediscovered in the late 50s - but it was definitely ground-breaking and many of the techniques used were copied and used by later directors.

One thing I noticed throughout the film was the use of reflections. The movie starts off with a montage of images of Xanadu, Charles Kane’s personal estate. One of the shots includes a beautiful reflection of the building in the water. When Kane dies and drops the snow globe, you see the nurse’s reflection in the glass as she walks into the room. After Kane convinces the men from the Chronicle to come work for him at the Inquirer, he throws a party; we can see him dancing in a reflection of a window. When Kane is in Xanadu, he walks through

Editor Robert Wise was said to have “blended 127 different clips of film into the newsreel, some of which were actual news footage while the others were staged shots of the actors.” Later Welles was said to have “aged” these by dragging the negatives across a concrete floor.

Orson Welles’ 1941 classic film Citizen Kane tells the story of Charles Forster Kane. The turning point of the film is when Jim Gettys attempts to blackmail Kane. The scene demonstrates Kane’s fall from grace through pride. His reactions to the other characters in this scene (Mrs. Kane, Susan Alexander, and Mr. Gettys), the angles that are shown in his perspective, and the lighting of the scene helps to demonstrate this point. It is after the blackmail scene that, in desperation, Kane tries to regain his credibly with the public and

Orson Welles’ second picture, The Magnificent Ambersons, holds a special place in film history for a number of reasons, but also, in large part, for what it wasn’t. The film as conceived and the film as produced wound up being two dramatically different pieces, as RKO Picture, the studio that Welles worked with on the picture, cut up and edited the movie into something radically different from Welles’ vision. Nonetheless, its illustration of the effects of the Industrial revolution on two families provides a portrait of early 20th century society, and the radical changes it inspired. It does this through the lives of two different families, the Ambersons and the Morgans, and how their lives overlap and interact. Welles expertly utilizes a number

Citizen Kane is one of the world's most famous and highly-rated classic film masterpiece. Although it was not a commercial success at the time of its release it has always been praised by film critics. The film had a budget of $800,000 and was directed, produced, as well as acted by the twenty five year old Orson Wells. Wells used innovative and unique cinematic techniques in Citizen Kane that would influence the film making for all eternity.

When discussing the greatest films of all time, Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, usually comes up. It’s influence in American cinema can still be felt today, but at the time the film was not released without controversy. The main character in the movie, Charles Foster Kane, is undeniably based of the real life figure of William Randolph Hearst, a famous American newspaper publisher. Hearst was very aware of this fact and tried to hinder the success of Welles’ picture by denying it any sort of press in his newspapers. Despite the smear campaign Kane’s influence lives on through Welles’ revolutionary filmic techniques and its presence in pop culture.

Noël Carroll, among many others who studied film art in the early seventies were obsessed with “the cinematic”. Directors Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock are among those who were cinematic. According to Carroll, “To be cinematic was to exploit the unique features of the medium - to use film as film. It seemed self-evident at the time that the best films were the most cinematic, that they were the best because they were cinematic, and that if anything were to succeed as film, it would be necessary for it to employ the peculiar features of the so-called medium,” (Carroll 1). Orson Welles was only twenty-six when he produced, directed, co-wrote, and starred in his first feature film, Citizen Kane (1941). Welles was given much artistic freedom in creating the film. This resulted in political controversy, but also brought new approaches to cinematic devices (Geiger 321-322). Part of the controversy results from the life of the protagonist, Charles Foster Kane, which references the life of William Randolph Hearst and many other American capitalists. To start, Kane 's career as a newspaperman starts off as a service to the public, but gradually develops into a ruthless quest for power. Only apart by seventeen years comes another great classic film, Vertigo (1958) by Alfred Hitchcock which follows detective John Ferguson (Scottie) in his pursuit to get rid of his acrophobia and in his growing desire to regain control of his life. The evolution of the characters Kane and Scottie

The absolutely stunning film, Citizen Kane (1941), is one of the world’s most famous and highly renowned films. The film contains many remarkable scenes and cinematic techniques as well as innovations. Within this well-known film, Orson Welles (director) portrays many stylistic features and fundamentals of cinematography. The scene of Charles Foster Kane and his wife, Susan, at Xanadu shows the dominance that Kane bears over people in general as well as Susan specifically. Throughout the film, Orson Welles continues to convey the message of Susan’s inferiority to Mr. Kane. Also, Welles furthers the image of how demanding Kane is of Susan and many others. Mr. Welles conveys the message that Kane has suffered a hard life, and will

The production for the movie Citizen Kane began in 1940. The film directed by Orson Welles in collaboration with Gregg Toland, who was considered to be one of Hollywood’s best cinematographers at the time, soon became one of the hottest movies. According to Twisted Ladder Movies “One of the most widely discussed theories surrounding Citizen Kane is that of cinematic realism. At the center of the film’s realism is deep-focus and long-take cinematography. According to Toland, the deep-focus and long-take styles were developed from Welles’ insistence for realism. Welles wanted the audience to be unaware of the cinematic apparatus by creating scenes that would flow together imperceptibly without the need for inter-cutting.”

No one can sum up a man 's life into one word. This was a thought--intriguingly an idea in the film that still resonates today in our society. Citizen Kane (1941) is an important film that reflected society 's false belief of the American Dream during its time. The film was directed and starred by Orson Welles and tells a story of a man name Charles Foster Kane, who had everything and who lived an ideal life that everyone wanted to have. However, having many fine possessions of things and a great deal amount of money at his disposal, did not make him happy. The film reflects on Mr. Kane 's life before his death and his legacy. Citizen Kane shows how during the era, people wanted to have financial security, happiness and to gain material success. Although the American Dream is still something people want today, Citizen Kane shows how attaining the American Dream was something less of a dream during its era. The film also show the changes of the American Dream from 'dream ' to 'myth ' and explores the dark side of the held belief.

Another aspect of this film is that it is in black and white. This gives it a serious tone. The lighting they used also gave a dramatic effect. There is a scene where two gentlemen are talking but you can see Kane dancing in the reflection of the window. This reminds the audience that he is still important to the scene even though he isn't directly involved. This