Citizen Kane Opening Scene Essay

The opening sequence of Citizen Kane sets the whole theme of the movie by being the reason for which Thompson decides to investigate Kane and his life, trying to understand what is “Rosebud”. The first scene opens with a close-up of a sign that says “No trespassing” while everything behind the sign is out of focus, but the camera ignores the sign and crosses the fence, making the viewer feel as if they are the ones jumping over said fence even when they have no control over the camera's actions, and all of this is accentuated by the music. By doing this, the viewer is left feeling as if they are doing something that is prohibited, which gives a sense of uneasiness and anxiety, or perhaps excitement for some.

After that, the camera gives a shot of a gate with a “K” and a building in the distance, which is the property that could not be seen at the beginning of the film. The gate disappears, becoming a cage that contains two monkeys, while the castle in the background stays the same. As the …show more content…
There are few things that the viewer can see in the dimly-lit room, but it is clear that there is a man lying in bed, but his face cannot be seen, and just as fast as this scene is revealed, it is swept away by a snowstorm. The blizzard introduces one of the symbols of the movie, a snow globe. The camera is zoomed-in on the globe, making it seem for a second like the setting has changed to a house covered in snow, but the camera quickly zooms out, letting the viewer see what they are actually looking at, a snow globe. The camera work here puts emphasis on the object, letting the audience know that it is an important item and that it is related to the big enigma of the film, and then the camera moves to an extreme close-up of Kane's mouth, which does not let the viewers see any other part of his face, as he whispers