Nathan Perlis

Dr. Cilento

Intro to Film

November 8, 2023

Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941): Prompt 2

Having seen this film once before, the state of the art cinematography used in the realms

of angles, lighting, and editing gave me a sort of sensory excitement and satisfaction upon first

seeing it, which I do not usually experience when watching a film of its era. While not affecting

me quite as much the second time in these areas, I still was able to better analyze the techniques

and immerse myself in the fine details of the sights and sounds as related to the deeper purposes

of the narrative which I did not necessarily notice before. No matter the aspect talked about, they

pretty much all are done in such a way as to subvert expectations for the time it was made, and

therefore for the audiences of today.

The camera movement is smooth and overarching, many of the shots being crane shots

which are almost outside and above the action, such as when the camera glides over the roof of

the nightclub and into the window revealing Susan sitting at the table down-cast, once on a

stormy night when she throws Mr. Thompson out and again on a bright and calm day when she

finally agrees to be interviewed. Both instances follow the exact same swooping motion yet

convey completely different emotions, even having the camera travel in reverse at the end of the

interview back out the window and stopping on the neon sign where it started. This perhaps

signifies the unfortunate finalization of Susan’s situation.

 Another example of a shot from beyond the action is during the first opera preparation

scene where the camera not only dollies away from the performers and stage hands walking to

and fro across the stage, but then when Susan is in the spotlight singing, the camera immediately

moves slowly upward past the curtains and rigging above the stage until it stops on two stage

hands sitting on a high platform as they briefly react to the performance. This long take was

particularly impressive to me, what with the drastic change in gradual movement all in one shot

and the incredible height to which the camera reaches, revealing the not so glamorous area of

theatre as the show’s lead’s dramatic vocalization and the intense orchestral accompaniment

become more faintly audible.

Light and shadow are also quite prominent. What stuck out to me the most in this area is

that the faces of the reporters in the projector room, just after the introductory film within the

film about Kane, are constantly either directed away from the camera or completely obscured by

shadow. The same can be said for the reporter Mr. Thompson specifically, as he goes from place

to place and person to person asking questions and gathering the information he can. This effect

was quite intriguing as it can possibly be seen as a juxtaposition, shrouding the reporters in

mystery as they rack their brains in attempting to unravel the ultimate mystery regarding Kane,

whose face is always clearly seen.

The editing and dialogue are where I feel that the film was most ahead of its time. Its

quick and sometimes more random cuts made it feel even more like it was made much more

recently than it was, for while most films of the time had long drawn out stationary or calmly

panning shots of uninterrupted dialogue linked mainly with fades, Citizen Kane includes multiple

scenes which involve characters rapidly talking over each other as the shots are frequently

cutting from one abstract angle to another. An example is during the overly elaborate celebration
of the Inquirer’s success when Leland and Bernstein’s conversation is being drowned out by the

cheers and music, intermittently cutting between a couple lines of dialogue from the two men

and everyone else singing and dancing, consistently changing the focus back and forth every

couple of seconds within the one scene. Going back to the reporters in the projector room,

unusual interruption for films of the time even takes place when there is only silence besides the

fairly average conversation being conducted between these men.

Looking at the film as a whole, it is understandable as to why it was considered the

greatest film ever shot, for in the context of the 1940s there was no film like it, not even for a

long time after. The fast paced and angular nature of it is a testament to the outside-of-the-box

mindset which Orson Welles and his team clearly put into practice, in such a way as would

change the art of cinema forever. While there arguably have been too many spectacular films

since to still put this one at the very top, I would like to add the argument that, based on the

unique and yet now often used techniques covered, most of the great films of today would not be

anything close to what they are if it hadn’t been for the powerful and lasting influence of Citizen

Kane.