Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) was widely influenced for the look and feel of this film by the production context making it considered as the greatest film ever made.

In 1938, Welles radio broadcast of War of Worlds got him his first step into fame. This led to him being hired by the Film Production studio RKO in which they gave him full control over creating a new creative film. As long as it stayed under the budget of $500,000, the film could be anything Welles desired. His history of working in theatre production caused the film to have used many features used in stage productions such as lighting, long-take, Brechtian techniques etc. Also, many of the cast were trained to act on stage, rather than on-screen, due to being a part of Welles’ theatre group.

William Randolph Hearst, an American businessman, politician and newspaper publisher, was the inspiration and who Citizen Kane was based off of. Because of this, Hearst used his power to suppress the amount of theatres that Citizen Kane was able to be shown in, which limited the film’s views from the Box Office, which harmed Welles career despite Welles denying the accusations. Although, the character of Citizen Kane highly described Hearst’s life rather well, which led to the boycotting of the film. In 1956, Citizen Kane was finally revived and achieved the appreciation and success rates that it deserved.

A deep Focus Lens was used within Citizen Kane, making the scene very innovative, as it was a new invention created by cinematography, Gregg Toland. This is just one of a number of elements that made Citizen Kane such an incredible film. This was highly effective in some scenes as it allowed the audience to see things differently, as it allowed everything in the scene to all be focused at once. For example, in one scene, Kane was the same size as a window however his size got smaller as he walked towards it. This was a creative metaphor within the film to display how Kane’s power and influence got smaller. Without this advanced use of technology, and many others that were used plus Welles’ extreme creativity, Citizen Kane would not have been as successful as it is now and has been for decades, making it the greatest film ever made. 

I believe that the best scene within the film “Citizen Kane” was when the main character Charles Foster Kane signs the “Declaration of Principles”. This is because a very well-used feature used in this scene that stuck out to me was the lighting use. This is when Charles is explaining to two other characters how important his document is and how it displays rules that should be followed for his newspaper. The lighting is used so that you are able to see the character’s faces clearly, apart from Kane’s; who is in complete darkness. This could be a metaphor for him slowly becoming alone and foreshadowing his tragic death. It is also used as irony due to Kane himself, later on, forgetting these rules and produces anything he wants. This shows him going off the rails because he’s refusing his own instructions that he deemed so important to other people.

Kane is proven to be a dreamer and one with a desire for people to love and rely on him, this is shown by this quote from earlier on in the scene: “I’ve got to make the New York Inquirer as important to New York as the gas in that lamp”. It is shown to the audience, later on in the film, that he wants love from everyone, despite himself not having any love to give them, just like the gas in the lights. Everyone loves his newspapers but not he personally, as no one cares to get to know him. The technology used to present the lighting was amazing for the time it was produced. The costume in this scene was another prominent feature that was used. The creative use of Mise-En-Scene was what I liked most about this particular scene. The two men in this scene are both well-dressed in suits, whereas Kane is unpresentable in an untidy uniform. This emphasises to the audience his oncoming increase of apathy and lack of control with the company which, again, foreshadows he going off the rails.

In this scene, the Brechtian technique of “breaking the fourth wall” has been used. Jedidiah is the one telling the story in a flashback, therefore he knows how it ends, unlike the audience. Therefore his quote: “I have a hunch it might turn out to be something important”, as he stares right into the camera, is foreshadowing to the audience by directly addressing them. Cinematography is another well-used feature within this scene. Firstly, throughout the song, the camera is facing upwards to Kane. As though the audience is beneath him. Also, it appears to be a long-take lasting two minutes. This forces the audience to watch the entire time he is signing the document, despite us knowing the lie. Also, the lens is fully in focus allowing us to see the clear faces of each character, this way the lighting is what’s used to draw attention towards Kane. Almost like an opposite spotlight. The amazing use of Mise-En-Scene, foreshadowing and breaking the fourth wall is why I chows this specific scene as my favourite as also why, I believe, Citizen kane was the greatest film ever made.

Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) has been regarded as the best movie ever created. It is consistently being used as a comparison and the gold standard of films for many directors, actors, and producers. It has kept it’s novelty for decades after its release which proves that it is extremely well-known and difficult to top.

This film, Citizen Kane, was released by the famous studio “RKO” in 1941. In this time period, it wasn’t as well developed as modern studios are today. However, many films were not produced by large companies at this time, therefore the fact that this movie managed to be produced by a largely known studio already shows that it is significantly better than most movies released in this century. Sound was already introduced to the film- making world along with a start to incorporating in colours using the technicolour process famous to have been used in The Wizard of oz. However, this process was very expensive and so for a long duration film, like Citizen Kane, it was ultimately decided to leave it as black and white. This appeared to be a better choice for the film anyway because the contrast of lighting helped intrigue the viewer and displayed his changes throughout the film in terms of his money, physical health and his personality. The darkness at the end of the film foreshadows his death due to the drastic change of lighting contrast which creates a setting of sadness.

RKO had a beneficial impact on the film’s display and success. Cameras had been improved to create a better developed fluidity within the film in terms of movement. Not many films at the time were able to depend on these types of things. An example of this is during a scene at the beginning of the film, A camera moves from showing the front of a room, moves through a table in which it opens up, and then closes again to show the other side of the room after the camera comes out again. This was an impressive effect which allows the audience to appreciate the film much better compared to many other films. 

Overall, Citizen Kane was a masterpiece due to many reasons but mostly because of its incredibly well used and sophisticated technology and help from its studio system which made it very well-made for its time. Despite the film not being anywhere near as well-developed as films in this day and age, the studio systems still managed to portray a very amazing plot of the famous Charles Foster Kane. Its use of sound mixing, lighting, foreshadowing, and use of cameras lead it to be the most famous movie of all time.

In the Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920 , directed by Robert Wiene ) there were many innovations that helped to change the medium of film.

Firstly , the mise en scene is used to create a distorted reality – all of the sets are distorted , for example , the protagonists home town is tilted at an impossible angle and all of the buildings are twisted -this sends a clear message to the audience that things are not as they seem and it may unnerve them and make them uncomfortable . In addition, the characters costumes and makeup reflects  the broken mentality that was the norm in  Germany in the early 1920’s  and this is particularly evident when it comes to Cesare  , his dark makeup reflects the dark mood that was present at the time and in the narrative , the costumes and the makeup can signify the morality of the characters and this is a helpful shorthand for the audience as it tells them who to oppose and who to root for. Everything around the characters is distorted and this all makes sense at the end when it is revealed that the main character is insane and that he made everything up.

The cinematography in the film is innovative because the cinematographer , Willy Hameister , was able to make the film visually interesting without using color and the  cinematography helps to build the verisimilitude and makes the film seem like it could happen in reality.  The cinematography in this film can be regarded as innovative because it helps to reinforce the theme of mental deterioration and it communicates this to the audience in a tasteful and subtle manner so when they discover that the narrator is actually insane , the audience will not be that surprised because they would have been visually primed  to expect that everything is not as it seems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_Pk1bIiCaI

Finally, the editing in this film is innovative because it makes the audience uncomfortable in a subtle manner and it makes them excited for what will come next. For example , this film famously uses iris shots when there is a transition between different scenes and this makes the film slightly disjointed and the audience  feels anticipation for what comes next because they won’t know what to expect. In addition , when Cesare awakens , the camera focuses on  Caesar’s face and it then cuts to the amazed audience – this tells the audience that Cesare is considered to be a spectacle for their amusement  and this is an example of the Kuleshov effect and it tells the audience what is happening without the need for sound and this film helps to develop cinema as a storytelling medium that is distinct from all other forms of visual media.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEEOEnAmGl8

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920, dir. Robert Weine) is a silent horror film that was made in Germany by an independent studio called Decla. At this time in Germany, most film studios were owned by the massive company UFA, but Decla weren’t. The Cabinet of Dr Caligari went on to influence many other films, including the genre of film noir in Hollywood during the 50s and 60s, and some films in modern-day cinema.

In The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, the editing effect of an iris wipe is used frequently. This is done by slowly closing the iris of a camera, before sliding a piece of card over it to make the shot cut to black.

This is an editing technique that was commonly used in silent films such as this one. In this shot, it is being used when Francis tells the story of the fair through a flashback. The iris cut emphasises the fact that it is a flashback, as it creates a sort of dreamlike feel to it. There isn’t a lot of intercutting in this film, which is because to join together scenes, the film had to be manually glued together. This, along with the small sets used, makes the film feel quite like a theater play, rather than a film.

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari was made entirely on sets, with no outside shots. This means that no natural lighting was used, so they lit the sets artificially. However, as the studio Decla was outside the control of UFA, they had limited resources, such as electricity for lighting. To help with this, they painted strips of light and darkness onto the sets, to create the impression of shadows.

In this scene, it is clear to see where light sections have been painted on the floor. This reflects the genre of the film, as it was made during the period of German Expressionism. One feature of this is distorted landscapes, which is reflected in this shot of the street. In addition, the window and the walls of the set have been slanted, making the set look confusing. This again reflects the context of German Expressionism, but also foreshadows at the twist at the end, where it is revealed that it is all a story of a mental patient. The warped set makes the audience experience the world as the insane Francis does. The Cabinet of Dr Caligari made a cinematographic breakthrough, in terms of introducing the idea of a twist ending and an unreliable narrator.

The makeup in this film is also very detailed, but also very dramatic. As it is a silent film, Weine had to find different ways of expressing characters’ emotions to the audience, as they weren’t able to talk.

This is the scene where Cesare is first revealed to the audience. This close up allows his face to be seen very clearly, and it emphasises the dramatic makeup that he’s wearing. The heavy dark eyes and lips could have been used to reflect Cesare’s thoughts and what is happening in his mind. His makeup and costume is meant to be slightly creepy, establishing him as a main villain for the audience.

Cesare’s character could be referencing some of the soldiers that had come out of World War 1, as they were shell-shocked and unable to carry on life as normal. The creators of The Cabinet of Dr Caligari – Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer – were pacifists, and the script was inspired by some of the events of their lives. They could have intended the film to be showing how traumatic experiences can dramatically change a person, which they have shown in the film through the use of extreme makeup and distorted sets and mise-en-scene. However, eventually, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari went on to set the theme for German cinema throughout the rest of the Weimar period, where mise-en-scene was used in an expressionistic way, rather than realistically.

There are a number of factors in Citizen Kane (1941, dir. Orson Welles) that cause many critics to consider it the greatest film of all time. It has come at the top of the AFI’s Top 100 Movie’s list in both 1998 and 2007. During the production of Citizen Kane, a number of new cinematic ideas were developed and used, for example Gregg Toland’s deep focus lens, which allowed everything in the scene to be in focus all at once. His innovative use of the lens allowed the film to have different impacts on the audience’s perspective of things, for example in this scene:

Here, Kane looks to be the same size as the window, but as he walks towards it he is dwarfed by its immense size. When Welles was designing scenes like these, he wasn’t aware that having everything in focus all at the same time wasn’t really possible yet. As he’d previously worked in theater, he asked Toland to find a way to do this, which led to his invention of the deep focus lens. This is just one use of the lens, and there are many different ways in which the camera was also used innovatively throughout the film.

Another aspect of Citizen Kane that helps it to be considered the greatest film is the use of makeup. It is used in a very clever way through the film, as the actors were playing the same characters but at different stages in their lives. The makeup artist, Maurice Seiderman, uses makeup subtly to show the characters aging, for example in the breakfast table scene with Kane and his first wife Emily.

At the beginning of this scene, both characters look young as it is early in their marriage. As the scene progresses, they start to look older, but the change isn’t really noticeable until the end:

This is a very clever use of makeup, as it quickly condenses years of their marriage into a couple of minutes. At the time that the movie was made, makeup was often unconvincing and unrealistic, but Seiderman managed to make it look natural on all of the characters. He came up with his own makeup and techniques that were more comfortable for the actors to wear, and looked like real life. Sometimes, the actors had to spend five or six hours in the makeup chair, but the end product made up for it. In some ways, Seiderman’s use of makeup influenced other films that followed.

The plot behind Citizen Kane also is a factor that makes it a very popular film. At the time, it was based on the newspaper publisher and politician William Randolph Hearst, which was very controversial. The consequences that the movie faced at the time greatly affected its reception, but now it has grown in popularity. One reason for this could be because of its relevance in today’s society, with the rise of Donald Trump. The character of Charles Foster Kane is very similar to him, and to many other people in positions of power. This could be why Citizen Kane is widely considered the greatest film of all time.