Citizen Kane Film Analysis
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American film directed, co-written, produced by, and starring Orson Welles. The actors in Citizen Kane (1941) include Charles Foster Kane played by Orson Welles, Jedediah Leland played by Joseph Cotten, Susan Alexander Kane played by Dorothy Comingore, Mary Kane played by Agnes Moorehead, and Mr. Bernstein played by Everett Sloane. This film is a “fictional biography” and “a mystery,” making cinematic advances on many fronts (Belton 35). Its most significant contribution to the film industry came from manipulating the mise-en-scène for the deep focus and using creative storytelling techniques.
Citizen Kane (1941) shows the life of a wealthy man who owns the publishing world. The film opens with Charles Foster Kane lying on a bed and whispering one dying word: “Rosebud.” Then, the film begins to search for the meaning of “Rosebud” through the flashbacks from accounts of people …show more content…
In the past, only the key elements such as actors in the frame were in focus. If everything is in focus, the filmmakers must figure out how they direct the audience’s attention without making them confused. In Citizen Kane (1941), Gregg Toland, the cinematographer, manipulates the mise-en-scène for deep focus to engage the whole space. More specifically, mise-en-scène includes “the relationship of everything in the shot to everything else in the shot—of actors to the décor…” (Belton 47). It covers many elements including setting, lighting, costume, the movement and actions of actors in the film. Toland effectively allows both the foreground and the background in the frame to be in focus at the same time. There is a scene that the mother stands up front; father is at the door; a young Kane is outside the window. The filmmaker uses the technique of deep focus to allow the audience to choose where to look instead of limiting their
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American film directed, co-written, produced by, and starring Orson Welles. The actors in Citizen Kane (1941) include Charles Foster Kane played by Orson Welles, Jedediah Leland played by Joseph Cotten, Susan Alexander Kane played by Dorothy Comingore, Mary Kane played by Agnes Moorehead, and Mr. Bernstein played by Everett Sloane. This film is a “fictional biography” and “a mystery,” making cinematic advances on many fronts (Belton 35). Its most significant contribution to the film industry came from manipulating the mise-en-scène for the deep focus and using creative storytelling techniques.
Citizen Kane (1941) shows the life of a wealthy man who owns the publishing world. The film opens with Charles Foster Kane lying on a bed and whispering one dying word: “Rosebud.” Then, the film begins to search for the meaning of “Rosebud” through the flashbacks from accounts of people …show more content…
In the past, only the key elements such as actors in the frame were in focus. If everything is in focus, the filmmakers must figure out how they direct the audience’s attention without making them confused. In Citizen Kane (1941), Gregg Toland, the cinematographer, manipulates the mise-en-scène for deep focus to engage the whole space. More specifically, mise-en-scène includes “the relationship of everything in the shot to everything else in the shot—of actors to the décor…” (Belton 47). It covers many elements including setting, lighting, costume, the movement and actions of actors in the film. Toland effectively allows both the foreground and the background in the frame to be in focus at the same time. There is a scene that the mother stands up front; father is at the door; a young Kane is outside the window. The filmmaker uses the technique of deep focus to allow the audience to choose where to look instead of limiting their