1) Relate what was discussed
in class or the text to the screening.
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| Kane being sent to live with Thatcher |
The film “Citizen Kane” is one the greatest films, if not
the greatest, of all time. The film was written, directed, and stated Orson
Welles, who at the time was only known for radio. This film was a big risk
because Welles had so much creative control over the film. The film, when it
was first released, was a finical flop. One of the many reasons that it flopped
was because this film can be said to be based on the life of newspaper mogul,
William Randolph Hearst. Hearst was a huge name in the newspaper game, and when
he heard about this movie, he prohibited any sort of promotion of the film in
any of his papers. This can be contributed to why the film was not a finical success
at first. This film though stands the tests of time because it is a character
study and shows how technical and artistic a film can be. This film is one of
the films that shows how film can be artistic, not just for entertainment
value. “Citizen Kane” is one of America’s greatest films of all time because it
transcends time, it can be viewed 100 years from now and people would still get
out of it what they get out of it today.
2) Find a related article and
summarize the content.
 |
| Kane is remembering the only time he was happy; his childhood |
This article talks about Orson Welles and his almost sequel
to “Citizen Kane”. The article talks about how Welles has total creative
control over the film and how the film is one of the greatest in film history. The
article also talks about how Welles never really got the critical acclaim he deserved
after this film, but he did try. The article says how this new film would have
been a spiritual sequel to Kane, because Charles Foster Kane died in the
opening shots of the film.
3) Apply the article to the film
screened in class
 |
| poster for the film |
“Citizen Kane” is one of those films where there cannot be a
sequel. Even though Welles said that it would be a “spiritual sequel” to the
film, people would still see it as a sequel and compare it to the first. “Citizen
Kane” is one of the greatest films ever made, for it to have a sequel is just ludicrous.
Welles never lived up to his potential after this film was made. He never had
that much creative control over a movie again and one can see that his career
suffered from that. If Welles was given that much control over the rest of his
movies, there may have been several more “Citizen Kane” like films given to us
by Welles, but the studio never gave him that much control again. Welles was
never given that much control over a film again because “Citizen Kane” was not
a finical success. The film did not, in the time of its theatrical release,
have a large box office income. It was a finical flop, and RKO almost burned
the negative of the film so it could never be screened again. If Welles was
given that much control over a movie again, just think of all the possibilities
and places he could have taken film art. He could have invented and given film
art new meaning. He would have made films that have depth in not just physical storytelling,
but also the symbolic nature of storytelling. If one looks at “Citizen Kane” at
face value, it is a great character story. But if one takes a closer look into visual
and symbolic storytelling that Welles did with “Citizen Kane”, one could talk
for hours about it. The depth of this film and the visual character progression
that Welles used, was and is one of the greatest uses of film as a visual medium
for art.
4) Write a critical analysis of the film
 |
| The sled of Kane's childhood, his only happy memories |
“Citizen Kane” is one of the greatest films ever made, not
just because it was a great character study and development, but because Welles
used the visual medium of film to show that transition of a character from an
innocent young boy, to a grumpy regret filled old man. Welles used so many different
styles to show the transformation of Charles Foster Kane. This film uses
shadows and close up angles to show the transformation of Kane. Upon the
viewing of this film one can see the physical transformation of Kane from a
young handsome man, to a grumpy and pessimistic old man. Kane’s transformation is
not only physical it is emotional also. All he wants is to be loved for who he
is, not what he has. But one of his tragic flaws is that he does not know how
to love another person without giving them physical things, he does not know
how to give himself wholly as a person. He only know how to love with monetary value.
All Charles Foster Kane wants is the love and freedom of his childhood. It is
when he was happiest. After the day his mother pretty much sold him to his new
guardian, he was never truly happy again. With his dying breath Kane wishes he
was back in his childhood happy again, playing with his sled “rosebud”. Love and Power are two of the main themes of
this film, because Charles Foster Kane is always searching for both. He doesn’t
understand for a man like him who had power, love will always be hard to find.
Finding someone who loves you for you when you have that much money is hard. He
does find someone who could almost love him for him, but he forces his dreams
for her onto her and gives her gifts, which is not real love. He doesn’t truly
understand love because he was never shown what real love is. His mother did
love him, but by giving him away she thought she was doing what was best. That’s
what a mother does, what she thinks is best for her child, but in the end she
gives Charles a complex that can never be fulfilled or understood. Charles Foster Kane is one of the most complex
yet simple characters in film history. All he wants is love and power, but he
does not know how to balance it, and that is one of his biggest flaws.
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| This is like the home Kane grew up in, the only time he was happy |
 |
| Clapping for one of the greatest films of all time |
CHECKLIST FOR
PLAGIARISM
1) ( x ) I have
not handed in this assignment for any other class.
2) ( x ) If I
reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I
clearly explain that in the paper.
3) ( x ) If I
used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used
indentation and citation within the text.
4) ( x ) I have
not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography
in the text of the paper.
5) ( x ) I have
cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.
6) ( x ) I have
used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another
way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.
7) ( x ) I did
not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or
originality.
8) ( x ) I
checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the
research and ideas used in my paper.
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