Why do critics praise Citizen Kane as ‘Being the greatest film ever made?’

Intro:

Citizen Kane features techniques that have been the main influence for mainstream films even today and have had a long-term influence on the way films are produced. Orson Welles discovered new ways of structuring actors and camera angles to add deeper emphasis on the roles and relationships of the characters. Most notable was his use of deep focus that consisted of other techniques with lighting, composition, and type of camera lens.

Techniques such as these were new to the typical 1940s audience and therefore was not as well recognized by critics at the time. To a more modern audience ‘Citizen Kane’ is now being praised as being ‘the greatest movie of all time’ by fans and critics for its storytelling, visual style, and editing style Orson Welles integrated throughout the film (montage, dissolves, etc). Citizen Kane’s influence can be spotted in modern films such as ‘The other side of the wind (2018)’ and ‘There will be blood (2007)’. Orson Welles was just 25 when he produced Citizen Kane and with the cinematographer, Gregg Toland, and the editor, Robert Wise under Welle’s direction the film gained its reputation as groundbreaking and innovative from its time.

Conc.

I believe Citizen Kane’s attention and praise from critics derive from its use of new filming techniques to tell its story. The film introduced new ways of using cinematography and editing to influence the meaning of a storyline and in turn, influenced dozens of other films. After the decades since its release, it received the appraise it never had during its years of release. Welles stained the film industry with his detailed and technical style. Now it’s being referred to as the ‘greatest film of all time’.

Refs:

https://screenrant.com/citizen-kane-best-movie-all-time-why

https://www.sparknotes.com/film/citizenkane/section2

https://screenrant.com/10-films-apart-from-mank-to-watch-if-you-liked-citizen-kane/

makeup inspiration:

For the male characters to follow the style of makeup in Dr Caligari, I will use a base of white/ pale foundation and use talcum powder on top to give the skin the texture as shown in the film. I will contour the eye sockets, nose (in particular the bridge) and the jawline.

It is common in most German expression films for the makeup to include small lips with a prominent cupid’s bow and hollowed out eyes

For Jane, her makeup is significantly softer (to make her appear more feminine). Her eyebrows are thin and elongated with a similar hollowing of the eyes.

– black and heavy eye makeup

– dark lips

– pale face

– messy hair

– suits

– big glasses

– hats

– long white dresses/gowns

– big coats

How lighting is used in The cabinet of Dr Caligari

Uses low key and crisp lighting techniques to create exaggerated shadows and a sharp contrast between light and dark.

Use of shadows to emphasise the characters personality

‘Chiaroscuro technique’ – commonly seen in 16th century paintings and used by artists to express light, shadow and add definition to subjects in the scene.

For Jane i imagine a long flowy dress which is flowy at the arms which is paired with a hair clip clipping half her hair back.

Some inspiration

Male charaters

For these two male character I envision them being in long sleeved shirts with the sleeves rolled up and black suit trousers. I envision one of them to be in a top hat and the other to be in a tie.

Inspiration

The Nightmare Before Christmas, Tim Burton (1993)

The animated picture draws inspiration from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Both have an angular landscape and the characters are standing on a ledge in the distance, their bodies pointed and bent. Also, everything in the scene is in the shadows, while the main character has a background of light.

Although not technically “shot” by a real camera, Tim Burton manages to achieve the “chiaroscuro effect” in The Nightmare Before Christmas, with deep shadows and “low-key lighting”. In the animated picture film, the environment is made up of structures without geometric shapes. There are no squares or rectangles in Halloween town; all the houses are spiralled and curved, the windows crooked, the ground tilted up steeply, and the buildings lopsided. There is no order in the buildings or the environment. These same styles were characteristic of German Expressionism to show the chaos and instabilities of the world.

FA, in full Universum Film-Aktien Gesellschaft, German motion-picture production company that made artistically outstanding and technically competent films during the silent era. Located in Berlin, its studios were the best equipped and most modern in the world. It encouraged experimentation and imaginative camera work and employed such directors as Ernst Lubitsch, famous for directing sophisticated comedies, and G.W. Pabst, a pioneer in the expressive use of camera position and editing techniques. There consistence success lead to them being able to stay and compete in business.

During the ‘Golden Age’ of cinema there were only 4 cinema screens but now there are 10 cinema screens at Cineworld.

There was a decrease in cinema dues to more people buying TV’s at home in order to watch