“Citizen Kane” was a movie that was light-years ahead of its time. Even now, so many decades later, it’s hard not to appreciate the sheer technical skill, dramatic narration and quality performances on show in this film. Director and star Orson Welles created a masterpiece and even when you watch it today, a lot of what made the film so special in 1941 when it was first released still resonates, from Welles’ own towering performance as the title character Charles Foster Kane, to the sweeping camera moves and pinpoint accurate framing of shots, the dramatic lighting and deep focus photography, to the circular narrative which broke with tradition at the time where movies were made with a linear plot-line. “Citizen Kane” is a film that still holds it own today, and is definitely worth a look.

The quality of technique on offer begins with the first shot; a towering crane moves over the barbed fence surrounding Kane’s massive Xanadu property, eventually settling on Kane’s mansion at the top of the hill. At the time I first saw this film, this shot alone pulled me in because it’s not really the type of shot you’d see in a film of this period. But then it gets better as the only window with light coming out of it remains in the exact same spot through multiple dissolves of different angles of the mansion. The camera then settles on Kane’s bedroom as he gasps the word, “Rosebud”, and then dies. This opening sequence sets up a brooding, and creepy atmosphere, highlighted by a sinister music score and shots filled with shadows and depth of field. It’s an amazing opening sequence, simple, and yet conveys the nature of Kane’s character and sets us up for what we are about to see.

The narrative is unspooled before you in a circular fashion; we are treated to a newsreel of Kane’s life which lasts approximately ten minutes but in a nutshell summarises everything you are about to see. A journalist is sent to discover the meaning of the word, ‘Rosebud’, to get the real story behind such a prominent man. The journalist proceeds to interview a number of Kane’s close and former associates. As he interviews each subject, we are taken through Kane’s life again and again through their different points of view and as we go along, we get a deeper and deeper understanding of what drove Kane to the point of obsession through his dealings as a powerful, rich newspaper tycoon, leaving an empty shell of a human being who deep down wanted to re-capture his lost youth and innocence, symbolised by his snow sled with the word ‘Rosebud’ engraved on it (although the meaning of ‘Rosebud’ is left to your imagination and never explained by the characters).

Orson Welles gives a towering performance as Charles Foster Kane. We are given a rich, unflinching portrayal of a man who was based on real newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst who reportedly tried to get Welles and his little biopic run out of town when it was first released but ultimately failed as Hearst’s legacy is inevitably tied to “Citizen Kane”. Welles was ultimately undone by this film, as his gigantic ego and sheer will power were not enough to combat the powerful forces in media and Hollywood who felt threatened by Hurst’s ability to run bad stories against any one who tried to go up against him. Welles’ supporting cast are also top-notch, Joseph Cotton, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Warrick and Everett Sloane.

“Citizen Kane” really shines as a technical achievement. Welles may have had a big head and wasn’t afraid to tell people how good he was, but in the case of this film, he actually lived up to his own words. So much of the technical mastery on display is brilliant, and largely range to a shooting style that was way ahead of its time, using a lot of deep focus photography to give a wide grandeur to the images which complement Kane’s life. The shots in Xanadu are particularly eerie as we see Kane as a speck in the background walking through the empty halls of his mansion hideaway. A lot of the crane shots are spectacular. I’ve already mentioned the opening sequence, but there’s also the establishing shots introducing Susan Alexander where the camera rises up above the night club sign then passes through the skylight roof and then descends towards her table. It’s a shame that Welles was broken by the establishment over this film because if he had been allowed to continue making films the way he wanted to, he would have had one of the most impressive filmographies in history.

“Citizen Kane” is a marvel of a film; even if you don’t appreciate the mastery of technical skill on offer you’ll find this an engrossing tale of an obsessed man who ultimately on his deathbed would, if he were given the opportunity, trade his billion dollar empire to recapture the lost childhood and innocence that was taken from him when he was a boy.

Citizen Kane Movie Review is a post from: Give To World Voice

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