Citizen Kane
The movie opens with a fade-in on foggy, forlorn Xanadu, a palatial estate off the Florida coast, where Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles), one of the world's wealthiest and most powerful men, dies whispering the word "Rosebud." Fade-out, then a flat cut to a "March of Time"-like documentary which presents a thumbnail sketch of the life of publishing magnate Kane (a brilliant and entertaining means of dispensing a maximum amount of exposition in a minimum amount of time). Managing editor Rawlston (Phil Van Zandt) insists that the Kane obituary film is missing something and "needs an angle." Rawlston orders his top reporter to discover what "Rosebud" means, and Thompson's search leads him to five key players in Kane's private life. In the end, Thompson has nothing to show for all his legwork except a jigsaw puzzle with a missing piece. The viewer, however, has better luck, and the mystery is resolved by the story's end. A thinly veiled biography of powerful publisher William Randolph Hearst, Citizen Kane has probably inspired more directorial careers than any film short of Pulp Fiction; as with Quentin Tarantino's later film, Kane became influential through the sheer rule-breaking audacity of its young filmmaker
In the scene where Kane walks back to the windows, Kane is the object which shows that those windows are much bigger than at first thought. Its surface is as much fun as any movie ever made. Then again, I guess that is what good filmmaking is all about. Anyway, it wouldn't have explained anything. Some of the effects are still used today, but others, such as his "deep focus" perspective, are nearly extinct. I only wish that whoever is in charge of this film now, would re-release it in theaters (and actually show it in my city). For one thing, there's the exhilaration of watching a cocky 25-year-old genius named Orson Welles explore the possibilities of the medium for the first time, playing provocatively with the properties of film as if he'd been doing it all his life. It is about a powerful man whose downfall creates a reaction unexpected to anyone. If you hate it or don't like it, you are. For Citizen Kane -- in its first few images -- takes us behind that barrier, erected to keep out the public, for an intimate look at a great and powerful man who got everything he ever wanted. The movie is a work of art and uses so many different techniques, that you have to admire the spirit and energy of the film. ), but most haven't (don't expect me to list them all). After he signs the papers of his surrender, he turns and walks into the back of the shot.
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Acceptance Essays
