What Are The Similarities Between Citizen Kane And The Great Dictator

Both Citizen Kane and The Great Dictator are widely considered to be among the best films of all time in their respective genres. Orson Welles’ masterpiece may very well be the greatest drama film ever created, while The Great Dictator became Charlie Chaplin’s magnum opus and was the most anticipated motion picture of its time. Although there are many explanations as to why these films have withstood the test of time, the cinematography and artistic choices by Welles and Chaplin stand out as a couple of the primary reasons that they are still universally praised. Two distinct sequences that illustrate this point are the globe scene from The Great Dictator and the room trashing scene from Citizen Kane. Through analysis of these scenes, it is …show more content…
Although Chaplin moves the globe around with the utmost grace, he manages to retain a comedic impact through eccentric and amusing movements. He uses satire to turn an autocratic ruler into a total caricature with all elements of domination gone. This causes Hynkel to appear nearly like a child. This shocking parody would doubtlessly draw the attention of individuals viewing this movie at its release, given historical context. Furthermore, that parody is remarkable enough that the propensity of this scene to captivate has lasted for generations. In his unique, satirical way, Chaplin manages to convey a powerful point. This scene projects that Hynkel views the world as something he has total control over, until it blows up in his …show more content…
After Susan finally leaves Kane, he enters a frenzy and tears up her room. The scene starts very quietly, with Kane’s rage slowly boiling up, until he is smashing everything in sight. Welles uses low angle shots to make the audience feel inferior to and threatened by Kane. As he continues his eruption, Welles slowly transitions into a long shot, which facilitates what most audience members would likely want in this moment; distance from Kane. As Kane walks back towards the camera, Welles uses a low angle to put the audience on eye level with the snow globe. When Kane picks up the globe, Welles uses a close up of Kane’s face to show his sudden vulnerability. Through his use of a varied angles, in addition to his own strong acting, Welles efficaciously shows Kane’s spectrum of emotions, in addition to his near brokenness as a man. The contrast of this shot to Kane’s violent outburst shows a different facet of Kane’s character. The techniques Welles utilizes do an outstanding job of capturing the audience’s attention, while also cluing them in to a major aspect of the