A. Romanias Citizen Kane Blog

I never really heard what Citizen Kane was about, but I have heard of the movie a few times. I had no idea how old the movie was either. I did not think the movie was bad, but it was really hard for me to keep watching. The acting, however, I noticed, was spectacular. I thought everyone in the film did an extremely good job with his or her acting, especially for how old the movie is. Citizen Kane is a classic American film. It was directed by Orson Welles in 1941. It has been voted the best film of all time every year. It is a well-known film, especially for its brilliant cinematography. It has everything a film should have, lighting, editing, acting, all done so well! For a movie that was filmed 71 years ago, it is amazing that you can still get people to watch it. I

            The movie uses a great deal of deep focus photography. In the scene where Kane is standing in front of his mirrors, is an example of when deep focus is used. The whole image is in full clear focus. Also with deep focus, they can show multiple things going on while also using mise en scene. Another technique used a lot is the camera movements. Dollies are used a lot in the film and all the different shots.

            Another thing I thought was pretty neat what the way that the story was told. It started off with Kane dying and whispering his last famous word, “Rosebud.” Next, it goes into the newsreel all about Kane’s life and who he really is. After that, we see that it was a room full of reporters who were watching the newsreel. The whole story is a bunch of flash backs which is all about trying to figure out the meaning behind his last word. A reporter goes around asking all Kane’s former loved ones and the people close to him what he meant by rosebud.

            The way the flashbacks were filmed very well. They would begin with the reporter talking to the certain person whose memory we were going into and then it would fade out right into the flashback with music leading us in.       

            All in all, I thought the film was done very well. I can definitely see why people vote this number one movie every year. Personally, I still cannot get over how old the film is. Even though the film is black and white, it just does not seem that old. The cinematography in the movie was perfectly done and so was the acting. I am not sure if I would watch the movie again but I can now say that I have seen one the best movies of all time!