Citizen Kane Blog

Film Blog 4- Citizen Kane

            “Citizen Kane” is a 1941 film directed by and starring Orson Welles. This film is considered a classic for a multitude of different reasons and is noted for its exceptional development of cinematography, music, and narrative structure. In addition to these traditional production-based innovations, “Citizen Kane” is considered to be revolutionary by its fans and it consistently makes the list of the top 100 films produced according to the American Film Institution. Moreover, according to its fans, “Citizen Kane” is often considered the greatest film ever produced and was voted “Greatest film of all time” for five years consecutively in “Sight’s and Sounds polls of critics.”

            Some of the reason for “Citizen Kane” achieving so much notoriety is because the film was very daring and unconcerned with any repercussions in its message. One of the characters was very thinly disguised to be a caricature of a famous publishing mogul, William Randolph Hearst. Caricatures like these, even loosely based, were definitively unheard of in the realm of film until the production of “Citizen Kane.”

            Aside from this caricature though, “Citizen Kane” is brilliant and revolutionary as a motion picture. The film is one of the very first to be considered “circular” rather than “linear” in its storyline, meaning the end of the story starts at the beginning and there are unusual transitions throughout the film for different aspects of the plot. In addition, the film uses very dramatic lighting and many previously unconventional angles and deep focus shots for added depth.

            There is no doubt that “Citizen Kane” can be considered a classic due simply to its notoriety and popularity. The film received 9 Oscar nominations, yet only one was for screenplay. The other awards and popularity surrounding the film are undoubtedly due to its brilliant, yet simultaneously convoluted message. Critics have often asked if “Citizen Kane” was some sort of attack on capitalism, or a portrait of a modern, yet faithless man. Others claim “Citizen Kane is simply an American story which embodies the traditionally American ideology of seizing opportunity. Still others have hypothesized that “Citizen Kane” was a study of psychology and selfishness.

            Although the exact message of the storyline of the film is unclear, this is perhaps wherein lies its brilliance and therefore its place in both classic film infamy and the hearts and minds of many. “Citizen Kane” was absolutely before its time in many of the themes and ideas to which it alluded. In my opinion, “Citizen Kane” simply changed the entire understanding and aim of the motion picture industry. The focus of a film did not have to necessarily amaze and amuse the audience, but perhaps make them think about their lives and personal values differently.

            “Citizen Kane” is without a doubt a classic in the film industry due to its psychological innovations, complex storylines, and unconventional filming techniques. The combination of all these new additions to the motion picture industry essentially changed the entire game for future filmmakers, and beyond this point “Citizen Kane” had remained a point of comparison for future films. This is why “Citizen Kane” directed and starring Orson Welles was, and very much still is a classic.