Citizen Kane Ryan Zamboni

From the exposition of the film I began picking up on the implementation of many of the techniques that have been discussed in the reading. Examples of these include a zoom using a telephoto lens on the snow globe that Charles Foster Kane held ( as pictured to the left), as well as a fish-eye effect, though its direct cause may have been the result of the snow globes shattered fragment of glass, and the very dramatic shadowing used upon the death of Kane. The setup of the Xanadu estate was incredibly elaborate and though there was no action in the exposition, the Mise en Scene of the estates setup played very well into the idea that what had once been a great and impressive estate had withered to a point of near deterioration, much the way that the promising life of Kane had done.

            This film also made extensive use of relatively chronological flashbacks from the different viewpoints of many characters that had played crucial parts in the life of the revered Charles Foster Kane. This technique allowed for the description of the life of a powerful man in a new and original way that captivated audiences then, and I can say from personal experience continues to do so.      

            The final scene I felt to be very powerful as well, though almost annoyingly unrevealing. Some sort of crane was used to scan over the vast collection of Kanes possessions, slowing and then approaching the sled of Charles’ youth in a sort of tracking shot but with the use of the crane. It is revealed that the sled was to be collected and discarded, and as it is thrown into the furnace a tracking shot from the ground approaches the burning sled and reveals the origin of Charles Kanes dying word “Rosebud” in a very dramatic fashion. I also found it interesting, and this may be reaching for an explanation or giving meaning to something that isn’t really there, that the final shot is of the “No Trespassing” sign featured at the very beginning of the movie. I feel (and this is just me) that this might be some sort of symbolism that there was to be “no trespassing” in the personal life of Kane, and the importance of Rosebud and there won’t be, as the only link to its meaning was destroyed.