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“Citizen Kane” was released in 1941.
Photo via flickr.com
'Citizen Kane' led the way for later films
In the first part of a series on movies, we explore 1941’s "Citizen Kane."
Often regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, 1941’s Citizen Kane paved the way for other films and filmmakers.
“It’s tough to put into one quote,” says movie critic Jim Gordon. “(It’s) unanimously voted (the) No.1 American movie ever made.”
The movie was directed by Orson Welles, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman Mankiewicz. It stars Welles as protagonist Charles Foster Kane and Dorothy Comingore as his second wife Susan.
Citizen Kane is about the rise and fall of Kane, a newspaper tycoon who lived an adventurous life full of ups and downs before uttering his last word: “rosebud.” The movie revolves around solving the mystery behind Kane’s last word through a series of flashbacks and recollections from his former coworkers, friends, parents, and wives.
Despite the limitation of filming technologies of its era, Citizen Kane makes use of creative cinematography techniques and has been able to withstand the test of time.
Cinematography is the art of motion-picture photography. It includes various techniques such as composition of a scene, location of the setting and lighting, and camera angles and movements.
In one scene, Welles showcases the opposition between Kane’s father and mother. He also creates a third frame, which is placed between his parents, showing young Kane playing in the snow.
Traditionally, it might take three different shots to complete this scene, but Welles manages to capture the idea within one take, a breakthrough technique at the time.
Welles also uses different angled shots to showcase the power dynamics between characters.
These shots include climbing up a ladder to capture the weakness of a small character sitting on the floor. Welles also positions another cameraman in a hole in the floor so Kane appears very dominant and powerful.
With modern film technologies, those shots could be filmed easily. But at the time, Welles was thinking outside the box.
Welles also uses extreme close-up shots, which amplify and isolate characters’ expressions.
Rather than following the traditional chronological style of storytelling, Welles narrates the movie through the eyes of different characters.
Despite the fact that Citizen Kane is about finding out the meaning behind “rosebud,” the movie does not give its audience a clear-cut answer. It is up to viewers to decipher and make-sense of what rosebud means to them.
While the movie industry has come a long way since the 1940s, early film pioneers like Welles helped to form films as they are today.
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