1. Citizen Kane: “a discourse on method”
SYNTHESIS
Citizen Kane:
“a discourse on method”

2. Kane and Hearst Charles Foster Kane William Randolf Hearst
New York Inquirer
Multi-millionaire newspaper publisher
Aspiring political figure – runs for NY Governor
Palatial Florida mansion called Xanadu filled with priceless art objects
Affair with Susan Alexander, a talentless singer
Buys Susan an opera house
William Randolf Hearst
San Francisco Examiner, New York Journal
Multi-millionaire newspaper publisher
Aspiring political figure, NY Governor
“The Ranch” palace in CA with priceless art collection
Mistress – actress Marion Davies
Bought Davies a film studio to promote stardom

3. Photography Lighting Spotlights Deep-focus photography High key
Kane’s youth and as a young publisher
Becomes darker, more harshly contrasting as Kane ages and grows more cynical
Spotlights
Used in closer shots for symbolic effects
Deep-focus photography
Symbolism of separation, alienation, and loneliness
Lighting – the darkness shrouds an unspeakable evil
Spotlights – what is concealed is often more important than what is revealed
Deep focus photography – wide-angle lenses which tend to exaggerate the distances between people

4. Photography cont.
80% of movie required some kind of special effects work
Scratched lines on film to make footage seem old
Matte shots
Double and multiple exposures
Reprinting
Matte shots – combining 2 separate shots on one print
Double and multiple exposures – superimposition of two or more images simultaneously
Reprinting – combining two or more separate images onto one through the use of an optical printer.

5. Mis en Scene Most of the images are tightly framed and in closed forms
Proxemic patterns
Layering of mis en scene is a visual accusation
Proxemic ranges suggest shifting power relationships: (intimate, personal, social, etc.)
Layering – Susan’s attempted suicide: the lethal dose was taken by Susan Alexander Kane because of Kane’s inhumanity

6. Movement Kinetic principles
Camera movement is equated with the vitality and energy of youth
High spirits
Brisk traveling shots parallel the protagonist’s movements
Static camera
Illness, old age, death

7. Editing Parallel editing Classical editing Thematic montage
Parallel editing – contrasts Susan’s terror on stage with Leland’s contemptuous boredom in the auditorium
Kane’s argument with Susan over her disastrous reviews is cut according to classical conventions.
Thematic montage is used to condense Susan’s national tour on the road. Welles used editing to condense a great deal of time, using sound as a continuity device.

8. Sound Sounds used to evoke images
Almost every visual technique has a sound equivalent
Sounds can be dissolved and overlapped
Musical motifs
Rosebud
Leitmotif
Long and extreme long shot sounds – fuzzy and remote
Close-up sounds – crisp, clear, generally loud
High-angle shots – high-pitched music and sound effects
Low-angle shots – brooding and low-pitched sounds
Welles overlapped his dialogue
Musical motifs are assigned to several major characters and events. Rosebud motif – variation of musical motif underlines the dialogue. Leitmotif is a musical phrase attached to a character or symbol (Kane).
As Kane and Emily’s relationship becomes more strained, the orchestration becomes harsher, more dissonant.

9. Drama The live theater was Welles’ first love. Costumes
Kane as young publisher
Favors white
Later in life
Black business suits and ties
Favorite dramatist was Shakespeare.
Formed his own company, The Mercury Theater. He financed his theater with his earnings as a radio star

10. Story Rosebud motif Prologue Newsreel Premise Flashback Coda
Xanadu, Kane’s death
Newsreel
Premise
Flashback
Bernstein
Jed Leland
Susan Alexander
Raymond, butler at Xanadu
Coda
Revelation of Rosebud
Search for meaning of Rosebud shapes the narrative Welles introduced most of the major events and people of Kane’s life in a brief newsreel shown early in the film
Premise – Thompson is told by his editor to find the meaning of Rosebud

11. Writing
At this time a director was not allowed any writing credits unless he contributed 50% or more of the screenplay.
Last line on credit as an actor
Welles attracted to classic tragedy
Welles considered himself a moralist
5 different storytellers
Thatcher Susan
Bernstein Raymond
Leland
Classic tragedy – downfall of a public figure because of arrogance and pride
Moralist – central theme in Western Culture – the lost paradise
Each storyteller tells a different story; each is biased. Example: Jed Leland’s account of Susan’s operatic debut is colored by his attitude toward her.
Thatcher’s account is tainted by his belief that the rich and powerful are morally superior
Bernstein’s story is meshed in the gratitude and loyalty he felt for Kane when they were young. He judges Kane by what he does rather than what he says.
Susan is the most victimized of the storytellers, but she is compassionate and sensitive.
Raymond pretends to know more than he does.

12. Writing cont. Symbolic motifs
Low camera angles
Fences
Rosebud and Fragmentation
1st movie to have a dramatic story effect
Dramatic story effect – must see from the beginning instead of a continuous loop. Hitchcock – 1962 – wanted a definite starting time with Psycho because of dramatic effect.

13. Ideology Welles was a liberal Citizen Kane is classified as liberal
Film is filled with the messy contradictions of life
Kane believes that environment is a stronger force than heredity
Jed Leland represents the moral conscience of the film, Kane’s idealistic alter ego

14. Ideology cont. As a young man As an older man Feminist in sympathies
Kane displays nothing but contempt for tradition, the past, and authority figures
As an older man
No longer consults his colleagues
Feminist in sympathies
Mary Kane
Emily Norton Kane
Susan Alexander Kane
Young man – Kane emphasizes the communal; his newspaper is a collaborative effort; he identifies with the common workingpeople.
Older man – seeks out the company of important world leaders, shakers, movers; surrounds himself with yes-men.
Feminist – 3 female characters are all victimized. Mary Kane trapped in a loveless marriage; Kane betrays Emily; Susan is ill-used and suffers in the name of love.

15. Critique Masterpiece of formalism Promotional poster
Sparked by controversy
William Randolf Hearst
Received rave reviews
9 Academy Award nominations
Won for screenplay
Consistently is in the top 10 greatest films
Welles used ornate visuals, dazzling traveling shots, fragmented narrative, symbolic motifs – all are controlled
Promotional Poster – sex and violence were common ploys to lure the mass audience
Hearst – threatened the industry unless the picture was destroyed before release; pressured other studios to refuse to book the film in their theaters.
Failed in the box office; Welles consistently receives the most votes as the greatest director in the history of cinema.