Critical Analysis of Citizen Kane by Orson Welles
Critical Analysis of "Citizen Kane" by Orson Welles
Directed, produced and starring Orson Welles, Citizen Kane is famous for the many remarkable scenes, cinematic and narrative techniques which help to revolutionized the film industry. Written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz, filmed by Gregg Toland, Kane is brilliantly crafted remembrances of Mr. Bernstein’s investigations. Kane draws much of its magnetism from its deviation from classic ideals and it’s ability to start new ones. Welles uses film as an art form to communicate and display a narrative through imaginative Mise en scene, setting, sound, lighting, editing and performance. All of theses components together helped to create a story which is set off by Kane’s dying word Rosebud.
The structure of ``Citizen Kane'' is circular, adding more depth every time it passes over his life. The movie opens with newsreel obituary footage that briefs us on the life and times of Charles Foster Kane. The footage alone setup Kane as a media mogul. But as any good newspaper they wish to inquire about the man and who he really was. They provide a map of Kane's life, and it keeps us oriented as the screenplay skips around in time, piecing together the memories of those who thought they knew him. Curious about Kane's dying word the newsreel editor assigns Thompson, a reporter, to find out what it meant. Thompson is played by William Alland in monotonous role. He questions Kane's alcoholic mistress, his ailing old friend, his rich associate and the other witnesses, while the movie jumps through time. Because the movie jumps throughout the life of Kane we slowly get the feeling that Kane is abandoned, even though he has so many friends. The arrangement of scenes through out the movie set it up to be one major flashback, but a unique flashback , one in which goes forward through time as it does go backwards into time. However, as the movie goes along and his empire gets to big it and he himself fall apart allowing for closure . The final scene which ends with a zoom out of Xanadu allows us to leave this story as we entered with a zoom in on
The movie had strong performances by the whole cast, but In one scene the Xanadu fireplace belittles Susan and she is methodically completing a jigsaw...