Citizen Kane 1941, directed by Orson Welles, and composed by Bernard Herrmann, has been listed as one of the greatest films ever made. Although this was Bernard Herrmann’s first film score, he definitely laid the cornerstone of greatness in this film of which his other works would soon join.
A bit of noteworthy information that should be addressed about Bernard Herrmann is his scoring style in Citizen Kane, as aptly stated in Robert L. Carringers book, The Making of Citizen Kane. The classical Hollywood approach to film scoring during that time was represented in works by composers such as Max Steiner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, and Miklos Rozsa. The main features they emphasized on was full symphonic scoring symbolic of late nineteenth century European romanticism, particularly Wagner, Mahler, Strauss, etc. What makes Bernard Herrmann’s approach in Citizen Kane so special is his avoidance of using a full orchestra to score the music. He also employed unorthodox techniques such as smaller groupings of instruments that normally wouldn’t be grouped together in an orchestra setting, which you’ll hear very frequently in the Leland flashback. His basic structure throughout the movie is a leitmotif. Only the opera sequences and the endi
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Both are dressed much more casual and a feeling of routine and being “settled in” can be associated with it. I equated it to something one might hear at a circus or perhaps a football game, which in a way seems fitting because of the political circus we just witnessed and the way that Kane is fighting for more power. You can readily make out stringed and horn instruments for this particular piece. Emily has received a note about Charles and Susan and intends to find out. Welles had originally wanted to use the mirror scene from Thais at first but RKO failed to secure clearance. Emily is worried about what people will think when Charles says that they will think what he tells them to think. Seems to fit though, with the drunken state that Leland is in. Both get in to sort of a mild fight about Charles attacking Emily’s uncle the President through his newspaper. One particular part I found compelling was the bit where Kane is running down the stairs yelling how Gettys will be sent to Sing Sing. Both have looks of resentment on each others faces and its obvious both are not happy. The music accompanying this scene comes across as very dark and depressing. This makes it feel somewhat rushed and helps compliment the feeling of growing tension between the two.
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