Explain how the production context influenced the ‘look and feel’ of the end product.

Citizen Kane was the first movie Orson Welles co-wrote, directed and produced. Welles was given a surprising amount of creative control from RKO studios, this was because he was seen as a theatrical genius so Hollywood wanted to ‘woo’ him from the theaters of New York. This amount of creative control meant he was free to choose the cast as well as to write, direct, produce, edit, and act in the film he created. The film’s budget was originally $500,000, which was a substantial amount for an unproven filmmaker, but Welles managed to surpass this and the films total expense totalled $839,727. Welles’ young age and high budget may of affected the ‘look and feel’ of the end product since he had the money to experiment with his ‘new’ ideas, for example, Chiaroscuro lighting, extreme high and low angle shots, mirror shots and elaborate blocking.

REFERENCE:

https://www.sparknotes.com/film/citizenkane/context/

since foreign films were banned in Germany during the first world war there was a high demand for films to be produced due to hyperinflation as people could now afford to go to the the theaters as it was very cheap and easy entertainment for everyone. improvements in technology allowed films to be made and released quicker and these films often showed darker themes such as crime, power and human behavior in a cheaper way giving it its own style and aesthetic. This basically creating Gothic horror and the noir genre in film.

Expressionism typically uses abstract colours and shapes that typically represent real objects, locations and people

Expressionism uses these distinct forms to represent an alternate reality. Humans tend to be distorted

The Weimar Republic, also known as the German Republic, was the German government from mid 1919 to early 1933. They struggled throughout their run with issues such as hyperinflation, largely due to the Great Depression, and political unrest, including political murders and attempted power seizures from opposing parties.

With all these problems, people needed a break from reality. Doing as humans do, they decided to create escapism in the form of art, in this case film. This is how the Classic German Expressionist Movement began. Filmmakers used real life as a imitation by distorting it, creating unusual cityscapes with stranger stories. These stories reflected real trials and tribulations in some bizarre way, for example The Cabinet of Dr Caligari warns of controlling figures and being forced to commit terrible acts, which was a bit ahead of its time.

CESARE THE SOMNAMBULIST

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JANE OLSEN

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DR. CALIGARI

Explain the ways in which the film’s use of mise en scene, cinematography and editing may be regarded as innovative.

The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari (1920) is a silent horror film directed by Robert Weine, largely praised as a revolutionary film. The film’s innovative uses of mise en scene, cinematography, and editing helped draw worldwide attention to German cinema and had a huge influence on the modern films of today, especially in horror and film noir genres. 

The mise en scene in this film is effectively used to convey the psychological thoughts and feelings of the unreliable narrator, Francis (Friedrich Feher). The complexities of the abstract buildings and winding roads resemble his twisting mentality. 

The shadows can contrast between the light and darkness to add to the drama and chaos the film possesses and capture the vision of the madman’s mind. 

Characters wearing dark clothing with exaggerated makeup such as Cesare (Conrad Veidt) are presented as evil, whereas Jane (Lil Dagover) wears all white, symbolising innocence, with simple and precise makeup to suggest the purity of her character. 

The Weimar Republic was the new government created out of the German Revolution of 1918. It was the first democracy in Germany and was led by members of the Social Democrats, Catholics, and Democratic parties.

The political and social instability, as well as the economic shortages of the Weimar Republic had a major impact on post-war German culture and gave rise to new techniques and styles in German film-making known as Expressionism.

Unable to afford the large casts, huge sets, costumes and props of Hollywood, German film-makers looked for new ways to convey atmosphere, mood and emotion. Expressionist film-makers like F. W. Murnau and Fritz Lang were also concerned with darker storylines and themes, like horror, crime, immorality, social decay and the destructive powers of money and technology.

These directors developed new uses for light, contrast, camera angles and movement, and their innovations came to influence the wealthier and more well-known film studios in Hollywood.