Rising to the challenge of their unique opportunity, Welles and his colleagues whipped up a cinematic perfect storm of technique and sophistication widely hailed as the apotheosis of all the innovations and advancements of the sound era. This term originally from theatre can be somewhat ambiguous and is used in differing senses but, essentially, mise-en-scene consists of at least setting, costume and make-up, staging acting and movement , and lighting. And we know this because, historically, it has garnered universal acclaim. It's now a California State Monument and is open to the public for tours. Narrator: Here in Xanadu last week, Xanadu's landlord was laid to rest, a potent figure of our century, America's Kubla Khan - Charles Foster Kane. The great yellow journalist himself lived to be history. It explains what Rosebud is, but not what Rosebud means.
Narrator: Kane, molder of mass opinion though he was, in all his life was never granted elective office by the voters of his country. Kane for a large fortune which she had recently acquired. Another title card: 1895 to 1941 All of these years he covered, many of these he was. Filmic Elements Citizen Kane made cinematic advances on many fronts, and its most significant contribution to cinematography came from the use of a technique known as deep focus. For teens and any older kids who shows a budding interest in the art of movie-making , however, it is the must-see portrait of an early 20 th century media tycoon. With deep focus, a filmmaker can showcase overlapping actions, and mise-en-scène the physical environment in which a film takes place becomes more critical. Because he held grudges, he couldn't easily find reconciliation.
Reporter: How did you find business conditions in Europe? Two of each, the biggest private zoo since Noah. Kane was based largely but not completely on William Randolph Hearst, the almost impossibly wealthy heir to the largest gold and silver mine owner in America, who became a powerful publishing magnate. The distorted image of the nurse signals the end to our privileged omniscience. That is, everything that happens in front of the camera and appears in the final shot. The movie is filled with bravura visual moments: the towers of Xanadu; candidate Kane addressing a political rally; the doorway of his mistress dissolving into a front-page photo in a rival newspaper; the camera swooping down through a skylight toward the pathetic Susan in a nightclub; the many Kanes reflected through parallel mirrors; the boy playing in the snow in the background as his parents determine his future; the great shot as the camera rises straight up from Susan's opera debut to a stagehand holding his nose, and the subsequent shot of Kane, his face hidden in shadow, defiantly applauding in the silent hall. The glass ball bounces down two carpeted steps and shatters into tiny pieces on the marble floor. You probably want to know how they were able to get perfect lighting in your favorite scene, or how to write a professional screenplay.
Narrator: Twice married, twice divorced. More importantly, the innovative, bold film is an acknowledged milestone in the development of cinematic technique, although it 'shared' some of its techniques from Hitchcock's and other earlier films. They provide a map of Kane's trajectory, and it will keep us oriented as the screenplay skips around in time, piecing together the memories of those who knew him. Thatcher, grand old man of Wall Street, for years chief target of Kane papers' attacks on trusts, recalls a journey he made as a youth. Thompson admits to his fellow reporters that he has failed in his mission to find out the identity of Rosebud.
A good way to think about this distinction is in terms of what the characters in the film can hear. The cinematography and acting technique combined so perfectly that the total control Welles was given over casting was justified. Kane might also have been based on Welles himself, only 25 years old when he co-wrote, directed, and starred in this, his first film. Defeat that set back for twenty years the cause of reform in the U. In the private world of the castle grounds, zoo pens have been designed for exotic animals.
Individually, most of these techniques had been pioneered in other films, but Citizen Kane masterfully brought them together with unprecedented acumen and maturity. From an angle inside the turret room facing out of the enormous window, a silhouetted figure can be seen lying stiffly on a bed in the low-lit room. Sound in the cinema is of three types: speech, music, and noise also called sound effects. Costume and make-up are also put to good use the ageing of some of the characters was quite revolutionary for its time. Pages: Background The fresh, sophisticated, and classic masterpiece, Citizen Kane 1941 , is probably the world's most famous and highly-rated film, with its many remarkable scenes and performances, cinematic and narrative techniques and experimental innovations in photography, editing, and sound. Like Murnau, Welles externalized the subjectivity of his characters and especially of Kane by means of psychologically charged settings, acute camera angles, distorting lenses, and disconcerting camera movements. Welles uses sound both diegetic and non-diegetic to great effect.
Reporter: What do you think of the chances for war in Europe? If this tells us anything, it should tell us that lead poisoning has had a much more baleful influence upon our civilization than previously Citizen Kane is, simpliciter, the finest film ever made. Kane: How did I find business conditions in Europe, Mr. Many critics argue that Citizen Kane, with its inventive use of lighting and shadow, is the first film noir, or at least the direct predecessor of noir, a genre that employs dark, moody atmosphere to augment the often violent or mysterious events taking place. We know what Rosebud refers to—the sled young Kane was playing with before Thatcher took him away from his home to be educated in New York—but what does it mean? Seeing a film using flashbacks to tell a story in non-linear fashion, seeing ceilings in a shot, or watching a 25-year-old actor age 50 years in a film were and still are a draw for audiences. This blog post found online by Miss Cellania does a good job summarizing how the techniques in Citizen Kane continue to allow it to be viewed as one of the best films of all time: Not only does the article talk about the innovative techniques, but it give insight into how they were accomplished by Welles and others working on the film. Deep focus allows Welles to play a trick of perspective.
The use of a wide-15 in this shot in combination with the low angle and slight tilt of the camera makes the planes in the image above Kane seem jagged and off- kilter, again exteriorizing Kane's mental state. We are privy to the knowledge, but our sudden return to omniscience is qualified. Speaking 40 years after the movie was made, Welles seems more open and reflective, and I recommend watching the full video as well, as it gives insight into William Randolph Hearst and others who worked with Welles not just innovative techniques. The castle appears in a closer, medium shot. Eventually he stands beneath its lower sill, shrunken and diminished. Studios make films, not the little guy. Kane Spain's El Correspendencia: El Sr.