Citizen Kane - Considering Kan essays

Citizen Kane - Considering Kan essays Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941) is a Classic Hollywood film that ultimately defies the conventions of Classic Hollywood cinema (1917-1960, but at a peak from the mid 1930s to the end of the war), and it is for this very reason that the film continues to be valued so highly and discussed so keenly. The film emulates and yet defies various aspects of then-contemporary filmic production mise-en-scene, cinematography, genre and narrative structure and successfully introduced radical techniques of production into the Classic Hollywood canon of work. The film thus toes the line between being meticulously formulaic and exquisitely avant-garde so masterfully, that it easily escapes classification. Various aspects of Citizen Kane stand out as notable when considering its contribution and challenge to classic Hollywood filmmaking. The filmmakers experimented with lighting techniques and set design, which brought new depth and scope to the mise-en-scene of the film. These advances were underscored by the revolutionary cinematography of Gregg Toland wherein he perfected the deep focus technique in an attempt to recreate a human eye view of each scene (Perilli, 2002: 557). The narrative structure also introduced new patterns of storytelling, and challenged the concept of single-genre plots by introducing various story threads, each consisting of formulated, generic narrative elements. The editing and shot transitions, along with artfully constructed shots allow the film to move smoothly and lyrically. Consequently, this Oscar-winning screenplay, artfully woven onto celluloid by the aforementioned techniques, brought a captivating character to the post-depression, wartime audienc es of the United States and provided powerful social commentary through the life of Charles Foster Kane. Citizen Kane was made in 1941, at the peak of production in Hollywood of a number of highly stylized and well-regarded films. T...