After
viewing the film and hearing some of the commentary by Roger Ebert, what do you
remember the best (and what is most important for you about the film?). Does it
deserve its status as one of the greatest films of all time? Would you
recommend it to a friend? Why or why not?
Please
bring your work, word processed, to class next week.
For me, Susan Alexander’s character always evokes my sympathy. I remember her, head hanging low, drunk and gloating over her success at leaving “Charlie” Kane. Even her name for him is condescending (especially given his over-developed sense of his own importance!). Watching her suffer as she attempts to sing opera at his insistence is something that always makes me cringe. The poor vocal coach, as he gestures futilely from his hiding spot at the front of the stage, makes me sorry for her and, somehow, sums up a lot of what defines Charles Foster Kane. His face as he watches her from the box and his desperate claps are not easily forgotten. As far as the whole film is concerned, it is most important for me to note the amazing cinematography used to convey this dark character to us successfully. As we watched the scene in the office where he signs away the rights to his beloved newspaper and walks back and forth from the desk to the window, I remember Orson Well’s genius every time. I wouldn’t have wanted to Gregg Toland (cinematographer) if you’d paid me! Now that I’ve seen Citizen Kane for a fifth or sixth time, I can easily say that it is one of the greatest films and deserves that reputation. As for recommending it to friends, I am not so sure; it seems to me that people today are more interested in a pleasant diversion than with such a dark film. I’d have to consider exactly who that person was before I gave a recommendation.
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Watching “Citizen Kane” was a great experience for me. I have been caught slowly, definitely not from the first minutes. But I was not bored at all. It was first time when I saw Orson Welles on a screen. I was absolutely amazed by his actor’s work. From a young man to a mature one, he was very believable. Orson Welles undoubtedly was a true genius. How could a young man directs and acts at a same time with no experience in Hollywood life?! Some scenes I remember most. The scene in the Xanadu castle, when Mr. Kane was standing in a huge fireplace. I was wondered, why even a richest man on the Earth needs such fireplace?.. The “breakfast” scene, with a lengthening table, a symbol of a deep separation between Mr. Kane and his wife. Also the scene of his last minutes, when he was alive again, destroyed a room of Ms. Alexander with real emotions. One more scene, which for me is a vivid evidence of Welles’s genius, is a nostalgic scene with Mr. Bernstein. The scene easily could have been spoiled if another director pictured a girl from Bernstein’s dream into a reflection on a table. But not Mr. Welles, he was not predictable.
ReplyDelete“Citizen Kane” deserves to be one of the greatest movies in the world. The movie has many layers through which one should go to understand it. I would like my family to see the movie. I will also recommend it to those my friends who are interested in movies history and take movies not as an addition to popcorn.
After viewing the film and hearing the commentary of the Roger Ebert, I remember the best when he comments about the shot that Kane reflects in the mirrors. The shot shows the character close, far, in the front, center and behind. It is interesting deep focus, and it exaggerates the character. I like the one that windows and wall are far and huge and it looks like close and small, so it becomes recognizable when Kane is walking toward it. The lighting becomes very important to me in this film because the light has big rules in movies and specially this one that has lots of various shots affected by the various lighting. The one I clearly focused on lighting through the Ebert comments was when Kane turns off the light and moves toward the table and writes something in it and gives it to worker. It would be the best movie of all time with consideration of knowing the real story of journalist that movie made on him. I already suggested this movie to my friends because it shows the real life of a journalist through the movie which is real story. 193 words
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