This blog contains weekly journal entries for glover's film history class at Champlain College in Burlington VT.
The plain template is in effect because it does not crop the youtube imbeds.
Students are expected to post a minimum of 1 response a week, plus 1 comment on a peer post.
Feel free to add relevant imbeds or links, or to use the blog for related off-topic threads, or to post your presentations for use in class, or viewing after.
This film legitimately changed my life, everything about it. From the incredible cinematography, to the dialogue, to the acting, to the lighting, every aspect of the film is so perfect. There is really nothing not to like about this movie.
Let's start with the cinematography. Citizen Kane is a landmark in film history to say the least. Through the incredibly unique, ahead of it's time, and visionary style of Gregg Toland. Never before have I seen a beautiful shot quite like that coming up the side of the building, going through the neon, and down through the sky light. The sheer ability to pull off a phenomenal shot like that really says it all. But no, he doesn't stop there, the entire film is just one great shot after the next.
The dialogue, being another thing all together, is something very particular to the film that I take a lot of joy in. Regardless of the fact that a bit of the dialogue is dated and a little odd when heard by our "modern ears." But all the same, this film has some of the greatest dialogue written, or so is my opinion...
I also enjoyed the film, though I thought it was pretty slow in the beginning. However, that slowness paid off well enough (and with some surprise) because it seemed to make the later events all the more important. At times, the dialogue was mediocre. And though some of the interactions between characters seemed very scripted, others seemed so real that may as well be happening directly in front of the viewer. Citizen Kane, to me, seemed a unique mix of many movies I had seen before, most likely because those films had taken their original ideas from it. That seems to happen a lot with modern films. Overall, I appreciated the genuine feeling and integrity of the character's actions and opinions, despite how badly formulated they may have been.
After watching Citizen Kane I feel like I cannot completely appreciate the stylistic expertise of the film because I am not able to recognize every nuisance contained within its length. However, I can appreciate the fact that this film is regarded so highly. There are certain parts where the genius of the film jumps out to me and the minor discussion we had about the film also lent to some understanding. What I enjoyed about the movie was how it had a bit of mystery to it. The graveness of Kane’s character made the whole movie revolving around the mystery of his life even more intriguing and fulfilling to watch. In regards to the “rosebud” saga, it seems loosely based but possibly true. It sounds to me that the film was obviously based on William Hearst. I don’t know much about his character or how people felt about him, but he did have mistresses. The fact that they say “her” when referring to “rosebud” as the only piece of evidence to show that it was the hidden meaning seems a stretch. If Hearst was that despised though, I could believe they would want to embarrass him to that extent.
Another thing I would like to comment upon about this film is in regards to memes again. For my presentation topic I will actually be commenting on something very similar to what happened in this movie. Kane is dead, he has no way of carrying on his legacy or defining it for people. The whole movie is designed around how the press is going to define the memes he left behind for him. Once a person is dead, they can still live on through ideas. Kane was as controversial as they come and he did a lot of great things and a lot of scummy things. The way the general public is going to judge him by seems to be hinged on the media and how they portray him. This judgment by the media then seems to be hinged on this idea of “rosebud.” Sadly, if the proper definition for rosebud was discovered (his sled), Kane probably would have been tagged a hero of the American public because in his heart of heart he cared for something so simple. That in fact he was a simple man, but instead the movie left off with an ominous feeling that Kane’s legacy was going to be left as a tragedy about a man who lost everything in his maniacal search for nothing. This is a sort of depressing way for the movie to end, but it harkens back to memes because if Kane decided to not be so secret about his life and leave his imprint then the thoughts about him after his death wouldn’t be so crudely contrived. It was not until a week after viewing this film that I related this movie to my presentation topic, but it ironically carries the same theme I will focus on.
Citizen Kane was a mystery to me before this class. All I knew was that it was one of the most famous films of the 1940's. After watching I was able to appreciate the pure cinematic genius that Welles had to offer. Every shot was so well composed throughout the film, you can tell that Welles had a background in Theatre. He is known for bringing new stylistic methods to film in this movie, for example, he used unique camera angles to give dialog between characters a realistic feel (It helps that the dialog was beautifully written also). His used of shots with long duration and no cuts to also give the movie this effect. The characters provide a very dark theme for the film to run on. It was a big change from watching the more light hearted Frank Capra films. While watching I still never knew what to expect from the publishing tycoon, every turn he took seemed to lead him further and further to his own selfish demise while giving the audience a mystery that is in need of solving (What is "rosebud"). Although this film is regarded so highly, it wasn't at all what I was expecting. I would say its a great film filled with layers upon layers for the viewer to analyze, but I wasn't one of my favorites.
After viewing "Citizen Kane", I can see why it is so highly regarded and even viewed as a masterpiece. The movie's style can be found in many good American films that followed, such as "Ray" and "Fight Club". It is about one man, and follows his entire life throughout the movie. I always have loved watching movies that have interesting characters and strong character development. I became absorbed into Charlie Kane's life and the mystery behind his last words, "Rosebud". There was a huge payoff at the end when they show you the sled with rosebud on it. This, to me, symbolized the destruction of Kane's childhood.
I also consider it a good movie because the plot is very easy to follow and I understand what was going on the entire time. Yet, I was inspired and confused when it ended and enjoyed discussing it afterwords in class. I would not watch it all the time like the student in our class would, Geoff Klane, but I am really happy that I finally saw it. My complaints have to do with the technology of the time, and how much potential it would have with the high quality camera's and editing software we have today. It also has to do with the dialogue because we don't speak the same way that they did, which makes it harder to relate to some of the characters.
It is truly amazing that the people who worked on the movie were able to design the Kane mansion and create a surreal and isolated setting like that without special effects or 3D animation. Orson Welles definitely had a plan in his mind for how the movie should look and feel and it showed. The fact that he was one of the pioneer's for American Auteurism set the standard for future filmmaker's to realize their full potential.
My opinion of the movie and how great it is still merely an opinion. I like to see the protagonist as not always just a typical hero who goes through trials and tribulations to reach a happy ending. Citizen Kane was seemingly a really good guy from the start, but did some vile things toward the end as his life got more and more complicated. It is a lot more true to life to see a dynamic character like Kane dealing with real life situations and real relationships. It's not very interesting for me to be able to predict the movie the entire time. That is what a standard recycled hollywood movie usually turns out to be, but I can understand the type of people who never get tired of the same types of movies. Long live auteurism and movies that make you think.
After viewing "Citizen Kane", I can see why it is so highly regarded and even viewed as a masterpiece. The movie's style can be found in many good American films that followed, such as "Ray" and "Fight Club". It is about one man, and follows his entire life throughout the movie. I always have loved watching movies that have interesting characters and strong character development. I became absorbed into Charlie Kane's life and the mystery behind his last words, "Rosebud". There was a huge payoff at the end when they show you the sled with rosebud on it. This, to me, symbolized the destruction of Kane's childhood.
I also consider it a good movie because the plot is very easy to follow and I understand what was going on the entire time. Yet, I was inspired and confused when it ended and enjoyed discussing it afterwords in class. I would not watch it all the time like the student in our class would, Geoff Klane, but I am really happy that I finally saw it. My complaints have to do with the technology of the time, and how much potential it would have with the high quality camera's and editing software we have today. It also has to do with the dialogue because we don't speak the same way that they did, which makes it harder to relate to some of the characters.
It is truly amazing that the people who worked on the movie were able to design the Kane mansion and create a surreal and isolated setting like that without special effects or 3D animation. Orson Welles definitely had a plan in his mind for how the movie should look and feel and it showed. The fact that he was one of the pioneer's for American Auteurism set the standard for future filmmaker's to realize their full potential.
My opinion of the movie and how great it is still merely an opinion. I like to see the protagonist as not always just a typical hero who goes through trials and tribulations to reach a happy ending. Citizen Kane was seemingly a really good guy from the start, but did some vile things toward the end as his life got more and more complicated. It is a lot more true to life to see a dynamic character like Kane dealing with real life situations and real relationships. It's not very interesting for me to be able to predict the movie the entire time. That is what a standard recycled hollywood movie usually turns out to be, but I can understand the type of people who never get tired of the same types of movies. Long live auteurism and movies that make you think.
Citizen Kane, if nothing else, represented the potential of storytelling through film. I believe Orson Welles achieved much more in its making however. Along with the captivating narrative; the shot composition, dialogue, and aesthetics of the film provide for a masterpiece.
Being one of the first films to encompass the entirety of an characters life, Citizen Kane could be considered an experimental film which explored the medium stylistically. Welles payed a lot of attention to what parts of the characters and the story were revealed to the viewer. The film overall tells a simple story but does so in a complex way (in regards to film making conventions used at the time). With all the flashbacks and the character opinions used to tell the story, its surprising how easy it is to follow. It is because this that I enjoyed the film so much. If not for that aspect it would have been really boring.
This was the first time I had the opportunity to watch Orson Welles' classic masterpiece.
I will admit that I am one to watch movies purely based on entertainment value but this is something I am hoping to correct as it is quite unbecoming of a prospective film graduate. This movie was amazing, yes. It is just hard to fully appreciate something after seeing it satired so often.
I thought the movie was slow in getting underway but this only helped build up the storyline and allow the audience to connect with the characters.
8 comments:
Citizen Kane...
This film legitimately changed my life, everything about it. From the incredible cinematography, to the dialogue, to the acting, to the lighting, every aspect of the film is so perfect. There is really nothing not to like about this movie.
Let's start with the cinematography. Citizen Kane is a landmark in film history to say the least. Through the incredibly unique, ahead of it's time, and visionary style of Gregg Toland. Never before have I seen a beautiful shot quite like that coming up the side of the building, going through the neon, and down through the sky light. The sheer ability to pull off a phenomenal shot like that really says it all. But no, he doesn't stop there, the entire film is just one great shot after the next.
The dialogue, being another thing all together, is something very particular to the film that I take a lot of joy in. Regardless of the fact that a bit of the dialogue is dated and a little odd when heard by our "modern ears." But all the same, this film has some of the greatest dialogue written, or so is my opinion...
I also enjoyed the film, though I thought it was pretty slow in the beginning. However, that slowness paid off well enough (and with some surprise) because it seemed to make the later events all the more important.
At times, the dialogue was mediocre. And though some of the interactions between characters seemed very scripted, others seemed so real that may as well be happening directly in front of the viewer. Citizen Kane, to me, seemed a unique mix of many movies I had seen before, most likely because those films had taken their original ideas from it. That seems to happen a lot with modern films.
Overall, I appreciated the genuine feeling and integrity of the character's actions and opinions, despite how badly formulated they may have been.
After watching Citizen Kane I feel like I cannot completely appreciate the stylistic expertise of the film because I am not able to recognize every nuisance contained within its length. However, I can appreciate the fact that this film is regarded so highly. There are certain parts where the genius of the film jumps out to me and the minor discussion we had about the film also lent to some understanding. What I enjoyed about the movie was how it had a bit of mystery to it. The graveness of Kane’s character made the whole movie revolving around the mystery of his life even more intriguing and fulfilling to watch. In regards to the “rosebud” saga, it seems loosely based but possibly true. It sounds to me that the film was obviously based on William Hearst. I don’t know much about his character or how people felt about him, but he did have mistresses. The fact that they say “her” when referring to “rosebud” as the only piece of evidence to show that it was the hidden meaning seems a stretch. If Hearst was that despised though, I could believe they would want to embarrass him to that extent.
Another thing I would like to comment upon about this film is in regards to memes again. For my presentation topic I will actually be commenting on something very similar to what happened in this movie. Kane is dead, he has no way of carrying on his legacy or defining it for people. The whole movie is designed around how the press is going to define the memes he left behind for him. Once a person is dead, they can still live on through ideas. Kane was as controversial as they come and he did a lot of great things and a lot of scummy things. The way the general public is going to judge him by seems to be hinged on the media and how they portray him. This judgment by the media then seems to be hinged on this idea of “rosebud.” Sadly, if the proper definition for rosebud was discovered (his sled), Kane probably would have been tagged a hero of the American public because in his heart of heart he cared for something so simple. That in fact he was a simple man, but instead the movie left off with an ominous feeling that Kane’s legacy was going to be left as a tragedy about a man who lost everything in his maniacal search for nothing. This is a sort of depressing way for the movie to end, but it harkens back to memes because if Kane decided to not be so secret about his life and leave his imprint then the thoughts about him after his death wouldn’t be so crudely contrived. It was not until a week after viewing this film that I related this movie to my presentation topic, but it ironically carries the same theme I will focus on.
Citizen Kane was a mystery to me before this class. All I knew was that it was one of the most famous films of the 1940's. After watching I was able to appreciate the pure cinematic genius that Welles had to offer. Every shot was so well composed throughout the film, you can tell that Welles had a background in Theatre. He is known for bringing new stylistic methods to film in this movie, for example, he used unique camera angles to give dialog between characters a realistic feel (It helps that the dialog was beautifully written also). His used of shots with long duration and no cuts to also give the movie this effect. The characters provide a very dark theme for the film to run on. It was a big change from watching the more light hearted Frank Capra films.
While watching I still never knew what to expect from the publishing tycoon, every turn he took seemed to lead him further and further to his own selfish demise while giving the audience a mystery that is in need of solving (What is "rosebud"). Although this film is regarded so highly, it wasn't at all what I was expecting. I would say its a great film filled with layers upon layers for the viewer to analyze, but I wasn't one of my favorites.
After viewing "Citizen Kane", I can see why it is so highly regarded and even viewed as a masterpiece. The movie's style can be found in many good American films that followed, such as "Ray" and "Fight Club". It is about one man, and follows his entire life throughout the movie. I always have loved watching movies that have interesting characters and strong character development. I became absorbed into Charlie Kane's life and the mystery behind his last words, "Rosebud". There was a huge payoff at the end when they show you the sled with rosebud on it. This, to me, symbolized the destruction of Kane's childhood.
I also consider it a good movie because the plot is very easy to follow and I understand what was going on the entire time. Yet, I was inspired and confused when it ended and enjoyed discussing it afterwords in class. I would not watch it all the time like the student in our class would, Geoff Klane, but I am really happy that I finally saw it. My complaints have to do with the technology of the time, and how much potential it would have with the high quality camera's and editing software we have today. It also has to do with the dialogue because we don't speak the same way that they did, which makes it harder to relate to some of the characters.
It is truly amazing that the people who worked on the movie were able to design the Kane mansion and create a surreal and isolated setting like that without special effects or 3D animation. Orson Welles definitely had a plan in his mind for how the movie should look and feel and it showed. The fact that he was one of the pioneer's for American Auteurism set the standard for future filmmaker's to realize their full potential.
My opinion of the movie and how great it is still merely an opinion. I like to see the protagonist as not always just a typical hero who goes through trials and tribulations to reach a happy ending. Citizen Kane was seemingly a really good guy from the start, but did some vile things toward the end as his life got more and more complicated. It is a lot more true to life to see a dynamic character like Kane dealing with real life situations and real relationships. It's not very interesting for me to be able to predict the movie the entire time. That is what a standard recycled hollywood movie usually turns out to be, but I can understand the type of people who never get tired of the same types of movies. Long live auteurism and movies that make you think.
After viewing "Citizen Kane", I can see why it is so highly regarded and even viewed as a masterpiece. The movie's style can be found in many good American films that followed, such as "Ray" and "Fight Club". It is about one man, and follows his entire life throughout the movie. I always have loved watching movies that have interesting characters and strong character development. I became absorbed into Charlie Kane's life and the mystery behind his last words, "Rosebud". There was a huge payoff at the end when they show you the sled with rosebud on it. This, to me, symbolized the destruction of Kane's childhood.
I also consider it a good movie because the plot is very easy to follow and I understand what was going on the entire time. Yet, I was inspired and confused when it ended and enjoyed discussing it afterwords in class. I would not watch it all the time like the student in our class would, Geoff Klane, but I am really happy that I finally saw it. My complaints have to do with the technology of the time, and how much potential it would have with the high quality camera's and editing software we have today. It also has to do with the dialogue because we don't speak the same way that they did, which makes it harder to relate to some of the characters.
It is truly amazing that the people who worked on the movie were able to design the Kane mansion and create a surreal and isolated setting like that without special effects or 3D animation. Orson Welles definitely had a plan in his mind for how the movie should look and feel and it showed. The fact that he was one of the pioneer's for American Auteurism set the standard for future filmmaker's to realize their full potential.
My opinion of the movie and how great it is still merely an opinion. I like to see the protagonist as not always just a typical hero who goes through trials and tribulations to reach a happy ending. Citizen Kane was seemingly a really good guy from the start, but did some vile things toward the end as his life got more and more complicated. It is a lot more true to life to see a dynamic character like Kane dealing with real life situations and real relationships. It's not very interesting for me to be able to predict the movie the entire time. That is what a standard recycled hollywood movie usually turns out to be, but I can understand the type of people who never get tired of the same types of movies. Long live auteurism and movies that make you think.
Citizen Kane, if nothing else, represented the potential of storytelling through film. I believe Orson Welles achieved much more in its making however. Along with the captivating narrative; the shot composition, dialogue, and aesthetics of the film provide for a masterpiece.
Being one of the first films to encompass the entirety of an characters life, Citizen Kane could be considered an experimental film which explored the medium stylistically. Welles payed a lot of attention to what parts of the characters and the story were revealed to the viewer. The film overall tells a simple story but does so in a complex way (in regards to film making conventions used at the time). With all the flashbacks and the character opinions used to tell the story, its surprising how easy it is to follow. It is because this that I enjoyed the film so much. If not for that aspect it would have been really boring.
This was the first time I had the opportunity to watch Orson Welles' classic masterpiece.
I will admit that I am one to watch movies purely based on entertainment value but this is something I am hoping to correct as it is quite unbecoming of a prospective film graduate. This movie was amazing, yes. It is just hard to fully appreciate something after seeing it satired so often.
I thought the movie was slow in getting underway but this only helped build up the storyline and allow the audience to connect with the characters.
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