Topping the best films of all time is the important and influential 1941 film by Orson Welles: Citizen Kane (1941). As we view Citizen Kane, there are a series of important elements that can enrich our understanding of this film.
Orson Welles as Auteur:
Welles directed, wrote (partial), and starred in this film (even though it was thought he wasn't old enough to portray Kane). While Welles had direct control over the film and its look, there were other people who contributed artistically. Some of the invention and creativity of filmmaking includes:
Camera Work:
- The Deep Focus shot!
- Low angle shots revealing ceilings!
- Moving shots used as wipes!
- Overlapping dialogue! (not original to Welles, but a trend in Screwball Comedies)
- Long uninterrupted shots!
- Expressionist lighting and photography!
- Multiple perspective!
- Flashbacks!
- Aging!
- The American Dream: For all of Kane's "success", he is not happy. He dies lonely, with only his "possessions" around him. Is all our striving to succeed in America an illusion?
The differing perspectives on Kane's life, especially in the absence of Kane's own point of view, force us to question what was truly important in Kane's life (and by extension what constitutes a life in general.) Judging by Kane's last muttered word: Rosebud, the most important pieces of his life were not the things that made him newsworthy, such as his newspaper successes and political ambitions, nor his friendships and associations. As Thompson interviews different people about Kane, we are given different perspectives on the man (some are unreliable). Odd, though, that we do not see Kane from Kane's POV.
Motifs:
- Isolation
- Materialism/Capitalism
- Old Age
- The Snowglobe
- Sleds
- Statues
Student Silent Film Projects:
HOMEWORK: Please read the handout on Film Noir: The Maltese Falcon. What are some of the typical stylistic techniques used to classify film noir?
3 comments:
I forgot to put the name of the Title in the movie but the name of the movie is "The Necklace Knapper"
Here is Mine, Jocelyn, Sammy, Nasmere, Dan'nae, and serita's silent film project --->https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9Yop7vji5k
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