Title: The Greatness of Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is regarded as one of the greatest films for many reasons. This would be
the debut film production for Orson Wells an acclaimed playwright who was elevated to
director after his production of War of the Worlds. The studio for which Wells would
work was RKO a giant in the industry at the time and they granted wells unprecedented
creative freedom over his film. It was thanks to this that wells bring in others who
wanted to experiment with film and this led to the film’s innovative cinematography,
excellent technical craftsmanship, and superb mise en scène.
The Film begins its innovative storytelling right at the start of the film. We get our initial
shot of the dilapidated manor of Xanadu behind a dark rot iron fence with a sign that
says” No Trespassing” the dark and eerie night feels reminiscence of old horror films as
the camera pans toward an upper window of the mansion. A quick cut shows us an old
Kane on his deathbed we zoom in for an extreme close up as we hear Kane’s final
words “Rosebud” before Kane dies. The film jumps again changing from this looming
darkness to that of a fast pace news real talking about the life of Charles Foster Kane
the wealthy newspaper mogul. These quick shots of newspapers and feeds tell us all
the major plot points of the film in a montage style highlight of the man’s life. Before we
transition away from the news camera to a dark room as reporters gather to discuss
Kane and ponder the meaning of his last words. This initial scene for Citizen Kane like
much of the film will change the presumed style and play with the audience’s
expectations oh what we are seeing giving us three different styles for the film that don’t
fit its theme in this opening. The film narrative differs from the traditional styles by being
told through a series of five flashbacks each coming from a different narrator with
different feelings on Kane. Each of the arcs will paint Kane in different lights showcasing
the different things each narrator saw in Kane. This was handled well and was
innovative in how it tells Kane’s story.
Citizen Kane while not the first film to use things like the deep focus or the low angel
shot in its cinematography. It did these things in an innovative and creative way that
would influence the way Hollywood would make films. Take the scene in which Kane is
being signed over the custody of Walt Thatcher. We see a young Kane playing out in
the snow while the camera tracks backward into the house through the window and
continues tracking through the house before ending at the dining room table. Within the
blocking of the room, we get a depth of field from a deep focus. We see Kane’s Mother
and Thatcher in the foreground looking over documents discussing Kane’s future while
his father huddles in the midground fighting to keep his son and we see a young Kane
outside the window playing in the snow. This use of the deep focus would appear many
times throughout the film. Examples of this would be when Kane is at age twenty-five
and claiming his fortune from thatcher we see thatcher and another lawyer in the
foreground looking over paperwork and talking about how the fortune has grown and
been managed for Kane up until this point while we watch Kane walk from the
foreground to the background becoming smaller and smaller as he retreats into his
surroundings dwarfed by the scale of what is happening. Another camera trick that
Citizen Kane would use well would be the low angle and extreme low angel. The use of
this shot makes characters appear larger and gives a sense of power it would also show
the ceilings of buildings something that had not been done before this film. Many of
these shots would be done within the office of the Daily Inquirer where Kane is meant to
be the most powerful character present. After Kane loses his race for governor, he is
confronted by his longtime friend Jed as they wander through the office we stare up at
these giants among men as they debate the ethics they wanted to uphold when they
started working on the paper.
The Film also uses its editing to leap through time casually allowing the story to jump
around in time giving the viewer a distorted glimpse of how much time has passed
withing the film. A simple cut is when the film goes from a young Kane in 1871 to Kane
at twenty-five as the characters talk about events that had passed over those years
such as the many colleges Kane was kicked out of. While these cuts were more obvious
and straight forward the film also uses some montage elements throughout the film. The
news real at the start of the film is a good example but my personal favorite is
condensing sixteen-year marriage into a two-minute clip going from a jovial happy
marriage to a bitter, cold, and distant one.
Citizen Kane is a well-made film that has held up to time. While filled with innovation
and containing narrative themes that still hold true today of the dangers of absolute
power. This film is excellent and an outstanding piece of cinema history. I would say
Citizen Kane is a great film by my own standards. I view film primarily as a narrative
device and for entertainment and while a film can be many other things this is the
primary reason in which I consume the medium. Citizen Kane does not have the
greatest story ever told, it is a good story about the dangers of hubris and compromising
one’s morals for money and power. While it’s not the greatest story ever told it is told
well and in an interesting way with each narrator giving you a little more of Kane’s
personality and their opinion of him. The film is visually engaging with creative uses of
deep focus, tracking shots, and cleaver use of matte paintings to keep the film
interesting to watch. The payoff of Rosebud at the end of the film answers the question
but feels like a weak payoff, the metaphor of it being a loss of childhood innocence is
not rewarding and very arthouse in its execution that at the end of his life all the bitter
regretful man could think about was his childhood toy is not as highbrow as it seems.
But in the end, I would say the fill is worth a watch and it is worth it more if you’ve any
interest in the film just for the technical aspects alone. I also feel that RKO 281 improves
the watch ability for Citizen Kane adding more to the film if watched after