Citizen Kane - Considering Kan
Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941) is a Classic Hollywood film that ultimately defies the conventions of Classic Hollywood cinema (1917-1960, but at a peak from the mid 1930's to the end of the war), and it is for this very reason that the film continues to be valued so highly and discussed so keenly. The film emulates and yet defies various aspects of then-contemporary filmic production - mise-en-scene, cinematography, genre and narrative structure - and successfully introduced radical techniques of production into the Classic Hollywood canon of work. The film thus toes the line between being meticulously formulaic and exquisitely avant-garde so masterfully, that it easily escapes classification.Various aspects of Citizen Kane stand out as notable when considering its contribution and challenge to classic Hollywood filmmaking. The filmmakers experimented with lighting techniques and set design, which brought new depth and scope to the mise-en-scene of the film. These advances were underscored by the revolutionary cinematography of Gregg Toland - wherein he perfected the deep focus technique in an attempt to recreate a 'human eye' view of each scene (Perilli, 2002: 557). The narrative structure also introduced new p
There was a shift in the late 1930's towards new genres and dialogue driven stories that appealed to a middle-class audiences concerned with the morality of American society (Skylar, 1994: 175) This, coupled with the emergence of new, young filmmakers experimenting with various techniques and the influences of foreign films and filmmakers saw a sudden explosion of new styles and narratives. Hence the film does not simply allow the narrative to wash over an un-engaging audience, but rather requires an active and intense participation on their part. A reporter, Thompson - whom we never see clearly so as to avoid him becoming the main protagonist in the film (Bordwell, Thompson, 1997: 122) - is sent to interview various people close to Kane to discover what 'rosebud' means. The film details the life of fictional newspaper mogul Charles Foster Kane, through a series of flashbacks. This jars with the notion of a desire fueling a plot, as we are not aware of Kane's - the protagonists - desire before we learn of his ultimate fate. Aesthetically, Citizen Kane is immediately striking in its artistic construction. Citizen Kane was made in 1941, at the peak of production in Hollywood of a number of highly stylized and well-regarded films. It is, however, his death and indeed the end of his story that sparks off Welles' story - the search for the meaning of 'rosebud' and the telling of Kane's life. Audiences are still aware that this shift has taken place, and are invited to appreciate this transition. It is a complicated, technical shot that (while seemingly easy to recreate in modern cinema with the use of visual effects) would have required much planning beforehand. The entire film seeks to uncover Kane's desire, and that we are supposed to feel unsure at the end of the film, means that the film has to challenge these conventions. This is very evident in the film as there are several stories within stories all included in a 2 hour film - Thompson's week long investigation versus the life of Kane in flashback format (p 117). There is also a sudden shift to low key lighting and the use of the chiaroscuro effect - reminiscent of German expressionism in its construction, which will be touched upon later - in the scene where Thompson goes to read the diary of Thatcher in the vault. The lighting found in German expressionist films, for example, is used. Kane cannot be considered as one genre or another - it contains elements of a mystery, a newspaper report, a drama, a love story, a success story, a documentary and a critique on society (Bordwell, Thompson, 1997: 111).
Common topics in this essay:
Citizen Kane,
Classic Hollywood,
Orson Welles,
Bordwell Thompson,
Gregg Toland,
Kane Hence,
Similarly Eisenstein,
Foster Kane,
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Commentary American,
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cinematography gregg toland,
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Acceptance Essays
