Citizen Kane - Movie Analysis Essay

Introduction

Orson Welles' masterpiece, Citizen Kane, seems as astonishing a feat today as it did in 1941 when it was released. The camera, photography, and editing showed filmmakers the way forward, and some of its facets are copied even today. Besides, the storyline of Citizen Kane's life, moving from obscurity to fame, is a continuously fascinating treatise on how one life can affect others and how power corrupts. Similarly, Greg Toland's deep-focus cinematography was equally significant. Undoubtedly, Citizen Kane has had a profound effect on the film history.

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Film Synopsis

Citizen Kane is an American drama film released in 1941. The film is based on the life of a prominent newspaper publisher, Charles Foster Kane, which unfolds when a reporter, Jerry Thompson, is assigned to translate Kane's dying word, "Rosebud" (Welles). Thompson's investigation from Kane's family and friends reveals the fascinating image of a complex man who rose from rags to riches. Although Jedediah Leland, Kane's friend and colleague, and Susan Alexander, Kane's mistress, give fragments of his life, Thompson fears that he may never solve the mystery of Kane's life and the man's final word will forever remain an enigma. Thompson may be right because, in the final scene, flames consume the sled that had the word Rosebud stenciled on, which Kane played with before his parents gave him to Thatcher.

Film Innovation (Cinematography)

Cinematography is the element of filmmaking that determines how the world of a story is visually presented to an audience (Nicholson 196). Citizen Kane (Welles) used various innovative technical features of cinematography, such as deep focus, lighting, angles, and shots all attributed to cinematographer Toland. Before its release, most films would follow a formulaic structure, whereby in a typical sequence of shots the audience would see a long shot to establish the location, followed by close-ups to show details (Cotton et al. 10). Filmmakers accepted that for the objects in the foreground of the film to be in sharp focus, objects in the background would be out of focus. The lighting would be a conventional mix of diffused lighting and soft focus. The studio sets would not have ceilings since they would obstruct the location of cameras and lighting rigs.

However, Toland believed that to attain a realistic effect, the whole image on the screen had to be in sharp focus, an aspect he achieved using deep focus. For example, where the intention is to show an actor reading something, Toland composed the shot with the actor's head on one side of the frame and the reading material on the other. While filming Citizen Kane (Welles), Toland ensured the actor's head was approximately 16 inches from the lens; the reading material was around three feet away, while a group of men in the background was about 18 feet away (Cotton et al. 10). While watching the movie, all three components are sharp and clear. Toland was attempting to achieve that illusion of roundness, which is essential while delivering the illusion of three-dimensional reality in two-dimensional pictures.

Toland made deep-focus photography a fundamental aspect in the language of film through its use in Citizen Kane (Welles). In particular, he utilized specially coated wide-angle lenses, super-speed film, and powerful arc lights to raise the depth of field on-screen (Nicholson 205). This accords the audience with the illusion of perspective. That is, viewers can see all there was to see in a single shot. Hence, in the film's detailed compositions, one is free to choose what to concentrate on.

Lighting is another special aspect of Citizen Kane. Welles manipulated light skillfully in the film. For example, the lighting of the Thatcher Library, with its parallel bars of vertical light and the side lighting in the Inquirers office casts long gloomy shadows, which emphasize the depressing mood after Kane's defeat (Cotton et al. 10). Welles also used shadows to frame characters. For instance, only Leland is visible in the political rally's audience. Shadows obscure the rest of the crowd.

Another technique utilized in the film was the low-angle shoots facing upwards. This allowed Welles to show ceilings in the background of various scenes. For example, a low angle is used to capture the encounter between Kane and Leland after his election defeat. Kane is also often shot from a low angle to make him appear large and more powerful (Nicholson 205). Conversely, a high angle shot was used to show weakness or inferiority of a character. For instance, Kane's ex-wife is framed in a high angle shot suggesting that her life has fallen apart (Nicholson 205).

Personal Reaction

In the beginning, I thought that the movie would be like any other old-fashioned film. However, way into the film, I found everything brilliant and extraordinary considering it is a film released before my generation. The performances are enchanting. The camera movements are well-coordinated and planned, and the lighting tricks are exhilarating. Certainly, all aspects of the film are a remarkable achievement of filmmaking, which explains why the film was hailed as the best motion picture of the time.

Conclusion

In summary, Citizen Kane has a significant effect on film history. For years, movie directors have been copying, emulating, parodying, and imitating this film. Moreover, the film combines characterization, composition, lighting, and deep-focus photography with consummate skill. One cannot ignore its influence on technicians and creative artists in the cinema sector. Even, it is doubtful that the industry will ever be fortunate enough to see work for the cinema that blends the look of the film and its content so successfully.

Work Cited

Cotten, John Housemani, et al. "Major credits for Citizen Kane.": 1-22.

Nicholson, William Francis. "Cinematography and character depiction." Global Media Journal-African Edition 4.2 (2010): 196-211.

Welles, Orson, director. Citizen Kane. Mercury Productions, 1941.