When I first began watching I can admit I was very lost and uninterested in the plot. It was at times hard to follow and the quality of the audio made it hard to understand at times. Despite this I continued watching and allowed myself to be objective so that I can take in the technicality of the film. By doing this I was able to see the genius of its creation.
At the time of its release Citizen Kane there had been a wide use of a regular 3 wall stage without a ceiling making it near impossible to create shots like this movie had. It was unprecedented to see a ceiling in a movie, and Citizen Kane changed the game. Throughout the movie there are many low-angle shots creating many different effects like making a character seem more powerful, or making us seem like a fly on a wall (or floor). It not only created these simple film effects it also made every environment we saw Kane in a lot more real. The story being a retelling from many different perspectives can make the realism in the movie very hard to achieve however this simple use of an actual ceiling combatted this. It is even more astounding to learn that George Welles’ budget for this movie was extremely small.
Another thing that was very innovative to see was the use of deep focus and shadows to tell the narrative. Before this, films never used deep focus, usually one thing was at the center of each shot and that was in focus. For Citizen Kane this is the opposite. With the number of shots with his colleagues in the front and Kane in the back, the movie deliberately chose to have all of this in focus to be able to pay attention to it all. A specific shot for instance was when they were having a celebration for Kane during Mr. Bernstein’s testimony, we could see Mr. Bernstein talking with Jedediah with Kane in the background with the performers. I thought it was very impressive to be able to see both scenes in focus and I made note of it. This use of deep focus helps to create almost this lurking feeling with Kane as he lingers in the background while still in focus. This also comes into play with the shadows. In other scenes with Kane in the background he is a lot of times in dark shadows before he emerges to comment on something or take control. It made him feel like a very powerful force that almost felt out of this world. Even if the main point of conversation is not about him, he is still there creating an ominous presence.
Overall, this film very much surprised me. I was not entirely interested in watching from the start but by allowing myself to not be opinionated I opened up a lot of surprise and interest into older filmmaking. I think it’s important that even if something doesn’t interest you at first, you should always give it a shot and it may surprise you. I’m not sure if I would watch it again but I can definitely appreciate the genius and innovation within this movie.
Hi Anna,
I had a very similar experience to yours while watching the film. I wasn’t quite sure what was going on at the beginning due to the non-linear flow of the narrative. Especially regarding the newsreel scene at the beginning, I think you have to have some cultural context to understand what is going on because at first, I didn’t know if this movie was going to be told documentary style or not! To be honest, many parts of the film bored me, but I can’t help and think just how modern the movie felt. Comparing this movie to something like All That Heaven Allows, which just feels like an old movie, is astounding because you realize how much modern filmmakers borrow from Welles’ book of tricks. One filmmaker that came to mind for me was M. Night Shyamalan, who clearly was inspired by this as the blueprint for all of his “twist ending” films. Welles does a marvelous job of stringing the audience along, and towards the end I was genuinely invested in what exactly “Rosebud” meant. I agree that while I may not watch the film again, I’m glad I did as a film student because it really is as revolutionary as everyone says it is.
Hi Anna,
I also had a similar experience as you while watching Citizen Kane. The non-linear structure confused me at first, but it actually made me feel like a fly-on the wall as well. As if I was there throughout these memories and it was a compilation of them. I felt like the use of deep focus was brilliant as well as intriguing, it almost was like how The Zone of Interest forced us to listen, this movie forced us to look. Also, I completely agree with you about the lingering feeling whenever we saw Kane in the background, I had it too while watching but just could not put a name on it- “lingering feeling” is a great way of describing it. I had not really paid attention the shadows, but now that you mentioned it it almost makes me want to go back and rewatch those scenes. A point where we might not agree tho is the non-linear structure making it hard to achieve realism, as to me the nonlinear structure made it feel almost authentic- like a compilation of memories of a person. However I do get what you are saying, as the technique definitely does not agree with the traditional sense of realism. I was also not as interested when I saw that we had to watch this film, but it is safe to day that it did not disappoint!
The non-linear structure was definitely something I was not expecting going into this film. The low angle shots was a choice I was surprised by, especially in flashbacks but that to me created a lurking sort of feeling, similar to your remark on deep focus. I thought your idea of deep focus creating a lurking feeling was interesting and something I had not previously considered. I think it does create a lurking sort of feeling and I felt that the way deep space was used created a conflict for me of what to be focusing on. I also felt that the way shadows were used and low key lighting throughout the film created a more ominous tone not only for Kane himself but for the whole film. It also further made me wonder why in each deep space & deep focus shot he chose to use it. My personal favorite deep space shot in Citizen Kane is when the mother is talking and Kane is playing in the snow in the background, it not only conveys what the mother is doing, but simultaneously reminding us of the childish, carefree nature of Kane. I also think that when I consider this movie, nothing about it feels overly spectacular, but for the time non-linear storytelling and structure was groundbreaking. Which simply reminds me that I should not only think about the movie and what its impact and creativity was like at the time of release, but also what it has influenced now.