What happens in the beginning of Citizen Kane?
Citizen Kane opens with the camera panning across a spooky, seemingly deserted estate in Florida called Xanadu. The camera focuses on the old man’s mouth, which whispers one word: “Rosebud.” He then drops the globe, which rolls onto the floor and shatters.
What does the glass snowball represent in Citizen Kane?
The snow globe is a representation of Charlie Kanes innocence and childhood. When looking into the snowglobe we see a small wooden house in a field of snow, which we can assume is Kanes childhood home.
What is the famous line from Citizen Kane?
Charles Foster Kane: Everything you hate. Emily Norton Kane: You decided what you were going to do, Charles, some time ago. Charles Foster Kane: There’s only one person who’s going to decide what I’m going to do and that’s me. Charles Foster Kane: People will think what I tell them to think.
How is the mise en scène of Citizen Kane used as a cinematic tool to help tell the narrative?
Citizen Kane made cinematic advances on many fronts, and its most significant contribution to cinematography came from the use of a technique known as deep focus. Effectively manipulating the mise-en-scène for deep focus actively engages the whole space of the frame without leaving the viewer confused.
What does Rosebud symbolize?
“Rosebud is the trade name of a cheap little sled on which Kane was playing on the day he was taken away from his home and his mother. In his subconscious it represented the simplicity, the comfort, above all the lack of responsibility in his home, and also it stood for his mother’s love, which Kane never lost.”
What is deep focus in Citizen Kane?
Deep Focus Deep focus allows subjects close and far away from the camera to remain in focus and is achieved by using a wide-angle lens and a smaller aperture. Deep focus means deep staging of characters along the z-axis. An early scene in Citizen Kane (below) is a great example of the deep focus found in the film.
What is the significance of the word Rosebud in Citizen Kane?
What is the meaning of Rosebud?
What is the Declaration of Principles in Citizen Kane?
Kane signs a noble “Declaration of Principles,” which Leland asks skeptically to keep as a souvenir. He seems to have a premonition that Kane’s principles will be subject to interpretation. As Kane becomes increasingly despotic, Leland questions the unethical and immoral way in which they conduct their business.
Why was deep focus used in Citizen Kane?
Deep focus is especially tricky because movies are two-dimensional, and so you need visual guideposts to determine the true scale of a scene. Toland used this fact as a way to fool the audience’s eye on two delightful occasions in the film.
What editing techniques were used in Citizen Kane?
Citizen Kane (1941)
- use of a subjective camera.
- unconventional lighting, including chiaroscuro, backlighting and high-contrast lighting, prefiguring the darkness and low-key lighting of future film noirs.
- inventive use of shadows and strange camera angles, following in the tradition of German Expressionists.