Citizen Kane Mirror Scene Analysis

Improved Essays
Citizen Kane was made in 1941 directed by Orson Welles, it is one of the best films of all time, created by one of the best film directors and cinematographers of all time.
The movie contained several sequences and famous scenes that make this film a remarkable masterpiece. Mostly imply wonderful sound, lighting and shadowing, and camera angles. As a result of the actors performances play a big role of making this film very memorable. Therefore,
I will personally explain why I enjoyed this film. One scene in particular I like to mention is when Kane discovers he is losing money.
After Mr. Thatcher tells him the bad news, Kane walks toward the window getting smaller. As a result of him having depression. Therefore, when Kane
…show more content…
From his parents giving him away, to his first wife and child died, to Susan leaving him. This gives the audience feel that behind all that money and power, Mr. Kane is very sad and lonely. The mirror scene fits this feel very well, giving that Kane has no one to turn to anymore. As well as the low tone of music playing in the background info trays Kane’s loneliness and sadness even further. The camera angle for this shot was very brilliant with its lack of movement, along with being a distance away from
Kane showing all the mirrors in this scene.

In conclusion, this movie was very well made for a film that was made in 1941.
Citizen Kane brings excitement to the audience as well as being one of the best films in history. The costumes and props help fits each setting properly, along with depth of field and deep focus in several scenes. One example is the Rosebud scene, when Kane was walking pass the mirrors. Another scene with Kane’s parents inside the house with Charles outside being seen by the audience through the window. These shots give a great focus on foreground and background characters. Given that the film was made in 1941, it is still a movie worth seeing today in modern

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Lady Snowblood Analysis

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages

    As much as the mainstream Japanese filmmakers excel in family drama, the "underground" ones excel in exploitation. Since the end of the 60's, when the increased popularity of television had already taken a significant toll on the industry, the majority of the large-scale studios were forced to produce films that included sex, violence and S&M, to earn a profit. Thus the rise of the exploitation genre, a category that manages to shock people, even nowadays. The following list includes ten of the most distinguished ones. 10.…

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This is again another sign of loneliness. No one has volunteered to help Kane, leaving him alone to fight Miller. Both protagonists are isolated from everyone and they only person to protect then is themselves. The conflicts in the stories are very similar in some ways.…

    • 542 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Citizen Kane was a movie that I was a little confused in at first. When the television real started I did not know what to expect. However, I enjoyed the movie once I started to gain an understanding on it. This movie was one that showed the life change of the kid and how he lived his life the way that his caretaker had lived his. He hated that life style so it was very ironic in the sense that he did everything that the one who took him away from his parents did.…

    • 238 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    An example of this in the film is when Kane’s ex-wife is explaining the end of their marriage, stating it was his fault and insinuating he was a controlling, overbearing husband. This depiction from a third party is tainting the audience’s perception of Kane and this is not consciously noted until the end of the film when his last words related back to his troubled childhood. The compilation of flashbacks regarding Kane’s life serves as an element of restriction for audiences due to point of view, however also gives some insight to how and why he was…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    And the other starring Sidney Poitier made in the 1950s. The film that best captures Lorraine Hansberry’s vision is the one made in the 1950s. Because the acting was better and they followed the script.…

    • 125 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jan Shlichtmann Essay

    • 921 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The main point of the film is to disclose the lawsuit, civil action and issues that developed and arose in the true event. The film was created to display the civil case that begun and health and environmental issues in Woburn, Massachusetts. The film begins where Attorney Jan Schlichtmann is in court representing his client, a young Anglo-Saxon male who became disabled and is in a wheelchair. The scene then introduces Schlichtmann in a radio show.…

    • 921 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In relation to the film’s theme, the various shots and deliberate edits suggest to viewers that Kane has had little…

    • 1361 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He is dying alone which implies he has no friends or family who care for him. It is confirmed in the way the nurse, cold and callous walks in after his death and places his dead wimp arm on his chest and covers him. Kane is an interesting man that viewers want to understand.…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The film utilizes the flashbacks in a nonlinear fashion; Mr. Kane’s life is not presented chronologically within the film, but is told through flashbacks that jump…

    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Within this five minutes the audience is given so much. As the scene opens you get a shot of the entire room, the camera is angled directly in the center of the screen. The narrative opening starts with the way the lights are dimmed as Spade wakes up. It feels as if there is a start to something new. Immediately as Spade gets up and goes to the bathroom, you see an example of a temporal overlap, where in the living room’s camera shot he is walking into the bathroom, while in the bathroom’s camera shot he is walking into the bathroom again.…

    • 1338 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After Kane is sent away to live with Thatcher, his new guardian and…

    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the film, Imitation of Life, director Douglas Sirk utilizes the visual elements of mise-en-scene to affect viewers emotionally when presenting them with life’s limits of race. Throughout the film Sirk provides the viewer with a particular perspective of American life during the 1950’s. There are specific conventions and mise-en-scene devices that Sirk employs which are conducive to displaying the limitations of race. An example being, the scene where Annie and Sarah-Jane first arrive at Loren’s home and Susie invites Sarah-Jane to play dolls.…

    • 942 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Thirty minutes of play of Zhang Yimou’s “Hero,” I watched two characters, Flying Snow with Moon, hanging blade to blade as if through mystical powers surrounded with spinning colorful leaves. This incredibly lovely scene, decorated in untainted color, shot like a fantasy poetry, and dramatized like angels’ dance, it is unbelievable to be a fight. It is more similar to a swordplay pleasure (Harrison 570). This is the loveliest scene ever filmed and among the spectacles that the film gives to the audience who must be ready to be amazed.…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    "The Godfather" - a crime drama in 1972, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The movie turned out to be a true masterpiece for all time and for any generation. This film can be reviewed and revised over time. The movie was shot gorgeously: believable, original, clean, interesting, in places its history is simply shocking. This drama reveals to us the criminal world of the mafia and remains the favorite and best film related to this topic.…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Citizen Kane” is often praised as the greatest film in history. This is due in part to Orson Welles’ masterful storytelling but could not be without his excellent craftsmanship. The elements afore mentioned added meaning to the scene of the destruction of Susan’s room. They amplified the tones that Welles wanted to get across to the viewer, enhanced the viewer’s investment in the events taking place in the scene and perhaps most importantly, they created a sympathy for Charles Foster Kane prompting the viewer to love and appreciate the nuances of his…

    • 1326 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays