Citizen Kane

1. Citizen Kane was directed by Orson Welles and was released in 1941. By 1998, the American Film Institute named Citizen Kane the best American film of all time. The movie is based on the life of William Randolph Hearst and Kane is played by Orson Welles. This is noted as an “aeteur” approach where not only does the director direct, but he also performs in the movie. Welles also had full control over the film, something unheard of and he was never allowed to that ever again.
The film begins with the death of Kane as he utters the word “Rosebud.” This one word creates curiosity, as people want to know the meaning of the word. It becomes a mystery that is trying to be solved and this is the story’s plot. Thompson, a reporter, was sent out to find a meaning to this mystery. He interviews various people that were in Kane’s life and these memories of Kane are seen in flashbacks. Some flashbacks overlap as we see how each person views Kane differently. The mystery is not solved, but we are able to see where the word “Rosebud” comes from. The structure of the interviews goes from the most outside, public source to the most intimate person in Kane’s life. Different techniques were used in the production of Citizen Kane. These techniques vary from lighting to the photography used. Mirrors were used to show things in focus in some scenes. Everything is in focus throughout the film; however, our eyes focus on certain things due to where they are placed in the frame.
2. I located and article written by Roger Ebert for the Chicago Sun Times website. A good portion of this article recaps the film’s plot. However, good insight into the art of filmmaking is provided. Ebert describes “Rosebud,” the infamous last words spoken by Kane. The meaning of this word was highly researched, as we saw in the film. Ebert places meaning on the word saying, “Rosebud is the emblem of the security, hope and innocence of childhood, which a man can spend his life seeking to regain.”
Roger Ebert also speaks of Orson Welles early stages in his career, as well as how Citizen Kane came to be. RKO Radio and Pictures gave Welles keys to a studio and he was permitted to create whatever he wanted. Welles collaborated with Herman Mankiewicz, a screenplay writer, to create Citizen Kane. The movie is based on the life of William Randolph Hearst. Welles sound techniques came from his experience with Mercury Theater of the Air. Toward the end of the article, Ebert explains “the film’s construction shows how our lives, after we are gone, survive only in the memories of others.” Throughout the film, we, as an audience, see flashbacks of Kane’s life through what the people close to him remembered. Various personalities are depicted through these memories.
This article can be accessed using the link below:
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19980524/reviews08/401010334/1023
3. Gaining insight into how the films structure, as well as Roger Ebert’s idea of “Rosebud,” allows me to further analyze the film if screened again. I was a little lost in grasping why so much was put into the final showing of “Rosebud” on the sleigh. Everything in between the initial scene of Kane as a child with the sleigh to seeing the sleigh with the infamous final word painted on it was build up. After reading Ebert’s article I can correlate all of the recounts of Kane’s life to the idea that man is always seeking to relive his childhood and that, after death, we only exist in the memories of the people we interacted with. This is a good life lesson and I did not see this profound advice prior to research. Kane’s childhood was lost when his parents sent him to boarding school. He became successful, but his regret stayed with him until is last breath. To follow up with the idea that we exist in the memories of other after we pass, the people interviewed in the film all had different recounts of Kane and what type of person they thought he was. Some ideas overlapped and we were able to see that through the use of flashbacks. These recounts were still displayed through the point of view of the interviewee. We only got an outside idea of Kane as his character died at the beginning of the film.
4. As mentioned before, I did not grasp the build up to the reveal of where “Rosebud” was derived from. However, without the flashbacks and insight into Kane’s life there would not have been much of a movie. With my newfound understanding, I now find the film to be very intriguing and definitely a mystery. One can see from the viewing of the film that the sleigh was from Kane’s childhood and if deeply thought of, one can create a parallel to the childhood he lost. This idea reaches farther than Citizen Kane though as, I feel, everyone can relate to the idea of attempting to regain childhood as an adult. By the time we are old enough to appreciate the innocence and freedom of being a child, those years have far passed us. Orson Welles created a film that was innovative for that time. Having been given complete control over the film, he did a wonderful job selecting his cast members and production crew. Picking Herman Mankiewicz as his cinematographer made the technique of deep focus possible. The careful placement of characters and props enhanced the focus in each scene.