Citizen Kane by Orson Welles

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Citizen Kane

The creation of the film "Citizen Kane" by Orson Welles in 1941, a director could not even probably assume the importance of the own work in the history of cinematography and himself. Welles added new techniques, his own style, and own angle of view that was an integral feature of the artist-creator. Wells explained all of it in the much easier manner that was the improvisation. In this paper, I would like to introduce the significance of the film "Citizen Kane" because of the new techniques, his own style, and own angle of view in the film history.

The film begins and ends with frames of Toland's camera, moving on a lattice castle Xanadu, and it underlines the internal composition of the picture. Frames also emphasize the grandeur of the castle and its inhabitants (Gleiberman). On the fence, there is the invariable inscription that nobody should enter. Apparently, it symbolizes the taboo for both the territory of the castle and private property Kane's world. Then, we see the castle Xanadu, its impregnable outlines, and dead beauty. The castle looks like a ghost, a mirage, melting into the fog, and, beyond these walls, there is a man (Gleiberman). The myth leaves his last and unsolved puzzle. On the screen, there is a house, slowly snowing screen, and dying man, Charles Foster Kane. This simple thing is a prism of the director, through which he, literally and figuratively, is looking for the next event. The ball falls to the floor, breaking into a thousand pieces, and with it the crumbling empire of Kane (Gleiberman). Further events disclose this metaphor. We see the same picture, but there is a reality of the wooden house where the little boy, not knowing what or who he will become. The last sentence of Kane are "rosebud" (Welles & Mankiewicz). What did he want to express with it? Finding an answer to this question is another key to understanding the film of Wells, and important plot exposition.

Breaking the chronology of the narrative, Wells, by one this reception, predetermines the emergence the films, such as "Pulp Fiction" by Quentin Tarantino and "Breathless" by Jean-Luc Godard. Toland's camera tells the story from several points of view, making space for a stereoscopic movie. Moreover, the director mixes the documentary and feature films, making it impossible to accurately define its genre, such as the elements of the detective melodrama, and, of course, the tragedy of a lonely, strong man. The fact is that Wells always was interested in the drama of Shakespeare's magnitude. The unusual intraframe installation opens a multiplicity of meanings uttered in the frame replicas. For example, the camera is in the family home of the father and mother of Kane. We also see the future guardian of the boy, and, in the half-open window, there is a child (Welles & Mankiewicz). Such parallelism action creates a sense of manifest destiny, of which only the main character do not know about it. Then, it is the example where the scene in the club of the second Kane's wife, Susan. The journalist, who comes to Susan to find something about "rosebud," is in a phone booth. A waiter is behind a glass next to her, and a singer is at a table. However, only the audience can hear the call phone. Another important triangle is the scene where there is triumphant Kane in the first plan, ending the failed story of his once-friend about the disgusting singing his wife. On the second plan, there are Leland, understanding that this is his last hour at the editorial board, and the editor, like a black spot looming in white door aperture.