“If I hadn’t been really rich, I would have been a really great man.”-Charles Foster Kane
Citizen Kane seems driven to tear down the conceit that a life can be encapsulated in a single film. The opening montage sequence serves to establish both Kane’s greatness and complexity, he is called variously a communist and a fascist, both loved and hated. The above quote relates directly to Kane’s hamartia and the one quality that is never up for dispute, the constant dissatisfaction he feels with the life he was forced to take up as a child. Throughout the movie multiple narrative streams and perspectives are interwoven in an effort to unravel Charlie Kane’s last word, “Rosebud.” Though the mystery of “Rosebud” did not entrance or affect me as it did the reporters during the main sequence of the movie, when at last it was revealed to be the name of his childhood sled I thought it was a beautiful conclusion to a painful story.
On a technical level the movie is fantastic. The lighting is very intense. Many times the light source came from just one place (often the sun) in a dark room so everything seemed to glow. The lighting made an important contribution to the film’s serious and uneasy atmosphere. The sound overlays were unique and interesting, exemplified by the earliest childhood scene and the party he throws to celebrate stealing his reporters. Throughout his parent’s entire argument about his education Charles is very distinctly yelling outside in the snow, yet it does not limit hearing the parent’s speak clearly. When the show girls and gentlemen are singing about Mr. Kane the music, singing, and background chatter are all very effectively separated from the front stage dialogue.
By far the best thing about the movie was the impeccable script. The dialogue was inspired, producing a variety of quotes that leapt out as timeless, and the multiple perspectives and framing narrations were brilliantly executed. One quote I found particularly interesting was when Henry Cane said: "I have and will be only one thing - an American." When he is asked by Thatcher what he would like to have been he states “Everything you hate.” His focus constantly shifts between the despise he feels for the manner in which he was raised and the need to gather love as tribute from everyone around him. The multiple perspectives, each covering a large time period but from a very specific angle effectively sparked an intense need to know more about the psyche and motivations of such an interesting character, and the plot was filled with constant turmoil in regards to his happiness. The script managed to let him constantly succeed while only becoming less and less happy.
The beginning of the movie consists of a series of different shots - all depicting Mr. Kane's grand Xanadu. They are all equally eerie. The combination of close ups and long shots as well as the sharp music help create the initial obscure tone of the film, and two specific images frame the beginning and end. The no trespassing sign and the image of the unfinished palace on a hill he built for himself only grow in impact between their first and last rendering, much as Charles Foster Kane only grows in inscrutability as we learn more about him.
Citizen Kane seems driven to tear down the conceit that a life can be encapsulated in a single film. The opening montage sequence serves to establish both Kane’s greatness and complexity, he is called variously a communist and a fascist, both loved and hated. The above quote relates directly to Kane’s hamartia and the one quality that is never up for dispute, the constant dissatisfaction he feels with the life he was forced to take up as a child. Throughout the movie multiple narrative streams and perspectives are interwoven in an effort to unravel Charlie Kane’s last word, “Rosebud.” Though the mystery of “Rosebud” did not entrance or affect me as it did the reporters during the main sequence of the movie, when at last it was revealed to be the name of his childhood sled I thought it was a beautiful conclusion to a painful story.
On a technical level the movie is fantastic. The lighting is very intense. Many times the light source came from just one place (often the sun) in a dark room so everything seemed to glow. The lighting made an important contribution to the film’s serious and uneasy atmosphere. The sound overlays were unique and interesting, exemplified by the earliest childhood scene and the party he throws to celebrate stealing his reporters. Throughout his parent’s entire argument about his education Charles is very distinctly yelling outside in the snow, yet it does not limit hearing the parent’s speak clearly. When the show girls and gentlemen are singing about Mr. Kane the music, singing, and background chatter are all very effectively separated from the front stage dialogue.
By far the best thing about the movie was the impeccable script. The dialogue was inspired, producing a variety of quotes that leapt out as timeless, and the multiple perspectives and framing narrations were brilliantly executed. One quote I found particularly interesting was when Henry Cane said: "I have and will be only one thing - an American." When he is asked by Thatcher what he would like to have been he states “Everything you hate.” His focus constantly shifts between the despise he feels for the manner in which he was raised and the need to gather love as tribute from everyone around him. The multiple perspectives, each covering a large time period but from a very specific angle effectively sparked an intense need to know more about the psyche and motivations of such an interesting character, and the plot was filled with constant turmoil in regards to his happiness. The script managed to let him constantly succeed while only becoming less and less happy.
The beginning of the movie consists of a series of different shots - all depicting Mr. Kane's grand Xanadu. They are all equally eerie. The combination of close ups and long shots as well as the sharp music help create the initial obscure tone of the film, and two specific images frame the beginning and end. The no trespassing sign and the image of the unfinished palace on a hill he built for himself only grow in impact between their first and last rendering, much as Charles Foster Kane only grows in inscrutability as we learn more about him.
I agree with you that this movie is "fantastic on a technical scale". It certainly was amazing that even back when this movie was filmed they could do all of those things with lighting.
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