Throughout “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (Robert Wiene, 1920) Many different and aspects of this film are regarded as innovative – whether its cinematography, editing or mise-en-scene.

Firstly, it is important to understand that The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari was not produced by a mainstream company, therefore it had limited resources. And because of this, not a lot of money could be spent on artificial lighting so paint was used to indicate lighting and shadows. This is one of the most innovative techniques in my opinion and was a great contribution to the overall verisimilitude of the film. Although the film did not have colour, verisimilitude could still be created effectively due to these innovative techniques.

Additionally the film’s set was extremely innovative. Slanted walls and windows and abstract designs all lead the to the idea of craziness and mental instability / deterioration. It puts us inside the mind of the narrator and pulls us along the journey that follows the deterioration of his mental health. It immerses the audience in another world without the use of  CGI or other computer techniques.

Another innovative technique used is the iris wipe. This is done by closing the camera lens whilst still recording so it looks like it is zeroing in on the middle of the screen. This is a very artistic and expressive transition and so is not utilized often in modern film – sometimes it is used to draw attention to specific parts of the scene but during this film it is mostly used to create an interruption in the fluidity of the movie. It refers to the brokenness of the narrator’s and characters’ mind. Additionally the use of a slow transition such as an iris transition causes the audience to feel anticipation for what is to come next.

Finally Cesare’s make-up is considered to be innovative as it reflects the tone of the movie and of the scene. It is very bold and reveals his inner turmoil and conflicting emotions. He also has a very dark costume which further references to his personality and thoughts. Additionally it establishes him as the main villain to us.

Not only that but one must consider the effect that the culture had on German expressionism as a whole. The Weimar Republic was a democratic system that was introduced post world war 1. It was during the time of the Weimar Republic that German expressionism became very popular. This is because Germany had banned imports from other countries and this included films, therefore it was up to German artists and film-makers to create their own works of art. The Weimar Republic was affecting film in a very strong way. Most notably shown in “The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari” through the Mise-En-Scene and set design. Around this time, Germany was in a state of depression and darkness, Wiene was able to directly represent this in the film through the set design, the grass was made to look like knife blades coming out the ground, doors and windows aren’t square. Streets aren’t symmetrical and seem to wind in endlessly unpredictable ways. Everything about it seemed dark and disorderly – a direct representation of Germany at the time.

Finally, thought must be put into examining what this film influenced. “The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari” was incredibly influential and is seen as one of, if not THE, first horror movies. This style of film-making paved the way for the American genre of Noir. The use of shadows and lighting can be clearly linked back to those dark depressing German expressionist films. Additionally German Expressionism has inspired the work of Directors like Tim Burton and Ridley Scott. Shown specifically through films like “Edward Scissorhands” (Tim Burton, 1990) and “Alice In Wonderland”(Tim Burton, 2010) Aswell as “Bladerunner” (Ridley Scott, 1982).

Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) is widely regarded as the best film ever made by many critics largely because of its use of cinematography and editing, it was of a far higher standard than usual. At the time many camera shots were from the same heights, same angles – there was not a lot of variation.

Additionally, there was great use of editing in the film. The famous transition wipe scene in the opera house when the camera is rising and rising, the use of deep focus when Mrs Kane is signing the papers, the Xanadu miniature fading away to reveal the next shot. All these techniques were far ahead of their time and left the audience in awe.

Here is an example of a very good tracking shot, very few movies had used this kind of cinematography before and that is why Citizen Kane receives such high reviews

Here the camera is on what i presume is a crane which then moves up to a restaurant sign, through it and finally a transition is very well hidden with the stormy weather where rain covers the glass roof which then dissolves into the next scene. The creativity of this shot is what makes Welles such an amazing director and shows off his artistic capabilities in film.

Not only that but one of its most famous scenes situated at the beginning of the film in the opening sequence where the camera, through a series off dissolves transitions, zooms in on the room Kane is in, from the bottom of a mountain to the single room lit with a light. This kind of masterpiece of cinematography is what pioneered film into the wonder it is today and plays a huge part in what makes Citizen Kane one of the greatest movies of all time.

Furthermore, Welles’ use of deep focus in the scene in Mrs Kane’s boarding school causes the viewer to sympathise with Kane. Normally you would expect the camera to be focused om the conversation however in this instance it is focused on both the conversation and the subject of the conversation. We can feel as much a part of the conversation as we feel a part of Kane playing in the snow – this allows the viewer to connect with Kane on a more emotional level.

Deep focus was not widely used at the time and it was difficult to discretely create an emotional attachment with a character. That is why when these types of shots were introduced it shocked and inspired film critics and directors for decades to come.

My favourite scene from Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) is the scene situated in Mrs Kane’s Boarding School. To me it is one of the most masterful pieces of work in the film. The use of sound and lighting to show dominance, paired with the beautiful flowing  camera work really helps set the scene and create a sense of verisimilitude.

My first point will look at the snowy scene wherein we can see a young Charles Foster Kane playing by himself. Here the Mise En Scene conveys simplicity of life and happiness. The lighting is very bright which hints to how fond Kane was of his childhood, it shows positivity and contrasts with how his life is later on. The actual scene is extremely simple and this correlates to his simplistic and innocent life. As a child he had nothing to worry about. However when the camera tracks into the house the scene is much more complicated and full of objects. This shows how the current conversation is going to complicate Kane’s life.

Additionally, the camera work is extremely fluid and helps to push the conversation without interrupting it. This is especially good because the dialogue is fast and any interruptions may cause the viewer to lose track of the conversation and miss certain parts out. This is seen most notably in the instance where the camera tracks through a split in half table which then merges together to be seen in shot. This creates a sense of fluidity and in my opinion is an outstanding shot and shows Welles’ creativity

Not only that, but lighting plays a big part in the dialogue scene. Throughout the whole scene much of the light is focused on Mrs Kane – showing her dominance over her husband and her control over the future of her child. The lighting foregrounds Mrs Kane and shows how important her opinion is in this scene and this conversation. It is very hard to pick out unless you know what to look for but it has such a big impact and therefore is one of the reasons this is my favourite scene.

Finally i am going to look at the how the size of the adults shows dominance over young Kane as this for me really stood out. The physical size correlates to power and seeing them tower over Kane reveals that his future is in their hands, the tallest of them all being Mr Thatcher (George Coulouris). This foregrounds Thatcher and implies that he is now the person with most power and influence over Kane. Kane’s future is in his hands. For me this scene beautifully reveals Kane’s past, and the beginning of his journey to become this new man who is vastly different to his child self.

Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) is widely regarded as the best film ever made. Not only being extremely famous when it came out initially but also decades on. It is constantly examined, scrutinised, compared and finally used as the high standard for many film directors, producers, actors etc.

Citizen Kane was released in 1941 by a famous studio “RKO” also know as radio-Keith-Orpheum. In 1941 the studios were nowhere near as developed as the current studios in the 21st century however one thing to note is that not all films were produced by these large studio companies. The fact that it was created in the RKO studios serves a purposes and is a show of the standard (higher than standalone film producers).

To start off with, one must look at the time that Citizen Kane was produced: the early 1940’s. Sound had already been incorporated into films and vibrant colour was starting to be used. The three strip Technicolour process had been used in the Wizard of Oz (1939, Victor Fleming) however was very expensive and so for a long movie like this it was decided that the regular monochromatic black and white film was to be used. This, however, was a useful decision as it helped create a sense of verisimilitude. The stark contrast between the lights and darks engulfed the viewer and showed the change of his personality, his health, and his wealth. Towards the end of the film the overall setting was darker – following his downfall and foreshadowing his eventual death.

Additionally the studio system had a large impact on the film’s look and feel. In 1941 the cameras had advanced to the point where the y could be moved around a good amount, cameras where placed on tracks and moved during actual recording. This gave an impressive modern look and helped improve the fluidity of film – something which not many films could boast about at the time. For example There is a scene in the beginning of the film whereby the camera tracks from the front of a room through a table that opens up for the camera to move through then closes again for when it is in shot. 

In conclusion Citizen kane was a masterpiece for many reasons but one of the most notable reasons was how sophisticated and intelligently it was made for its time. Although studios were nowhere near as developed as they are nowadays and cameras were far less portable, Welles still managed to capture the beautiful but saddening story of the famous newspaper mogul Charles Foster Kane. Its use of light and shadow, foregrounding, sound mixing and camera work were far ahead of its time and lead to the formation of one of, if not, the most famous movies of ALL time.

Here is the link to my presentation:

https://jerseyedu-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/a_matheson09_hautlieu_sch_je/Eerc8vqS96xBmTMF06tSdOEBgsTTXbuotdNxMjwxuihrKA?e=fLfD6I

A “long take” is a when a very long shot is used. There are no cuts or interruptions and the camera is continuously filming for a long time. A great example of this is from the movie “A Touch of Evil” (Orson Welles, 1958):

Here, a camera was placed onto a crane in order for it to smoothly travel all the way across the street and dozens of meters more following two characters. It is widely regarded as a masterpiece and one of Welles greatest scenes due to how difficult it would be to get a perfect shot.