"Citizen Kane"
(Zhou Chuanji analyzes the video clip of "Citizen Kane")
(CITIZEN KANE)
American Raiden Hua Film Company produced 1941 black and white 119-minute film: Orson Welles (ORSON WELLES) Screenplay: Herman Mankiewicz (HERMAN MANKIEWICZ) Orson Welles (ORSON WELLES) Director: ORSON WELLES Photography: GREGG TOLAND Recording: BAILEY FESLER James Stewart (JAMES STEWART) Art: Van Nest · VAN NEST POLGLASE Editing: Robert Wise (ROBERT WISE) Composer: Bernard Herrman (BERNARD HERRMANN)
1. Characters and plot
"Citizen Kane" is a story about the life of a powerful newspaper tycoon, Charles Foster Kane, who is both contradictory and controversial. The film is a fictional biography of the ruthless publishing king William Randolph Hirst (1863-1951). In fact, the characters in the film are a mixture of the lives of several famous American giants, but Hirst is the most obvious. Herman Mankiewicz, the co-writer of the screenplay, knew Hirst and was a friend of his mistress, the movie star Marion Davis. Davis is one of the most popular characters in film companies, except that she likes to drink and play tangram games, she is not like the Susan Alexander in "Citizen Kane". The film traces the main events of the protagonist's long life. The humble eight-year-old Kane was sent to boarding school after his mother got a lot of fortune through a fluke. Kane’s guardian throughout his youth was the banker Walter P. Thatcher, a pretentious boast and political reactionary. After living a frivolous life of self-indulgence, Kane decided to become a newspaper publisher at the age of 25. Kane and his close assistant, the dog-like loyal Bernstein and the gentle Jay Lilan, dedicate their lives to the cause of fighting for the people of the lower class and attack the corrupt institutions of the regime. At the height of his career, he married the elegant Emily Norton, the niece of the President of the United States. But the marriage finally became stale, and then it became a grudge. In middle age, Kane secretly found a mistress, Susan Alexander, as her new lover. Susan is a beautiful but no-brained salesperson. She vaguely yearned to be a singer. Encouraged by his reputation and popularity, Kane ran for governor of New York State. His archenemy, Jim Getis, tried to blackmail him out of the campaign, threatening to expose the hypocrisy of Kane's marriage and revealing his ease of arrangement with Susan. Kane refused to submit in anger, even though he knew that the scandal would publicly humiliate his wife, son, and Susan. Kane lost the election and lost his friend Jay Lilan. Emily divorced Kane and took their youngest son away. Kane reinvested his energies into the career of being his young new wife, Susan Alexander Kane's agent. He is determined to turn her into a great opera star, regardless of the unfavorable fact that she lacks the basic talent. Regardless of her opposition, regardless of the public's humiliation, Kane pushed the untalented Susan to the brink of suicide. After being frustrated again, he finally agreed to give up his plan to make her an opera star. Instead, he built a huge isolated palace-Shangdu, where he and Susan retired to live a half-reclusive life. Susan, who had been bullied by Kane into submission for many years, rebelled, and she left him. In the end, the lonely and resentful old man died amidst the empty wealth. Second, the structure of the play
Many critics marveled at the film’s intricate and intricate structure, and its interconnected passages did not fit together until the last scene. The following synopsis can list the main structure of the film. Units and the main characters and events in each unit: 1. overture. Shangdu. Kane's death. The "rose bud" opportunity appeared. 2. Newsreel. Kane's death. Great wealth and depraved lifestyle. Conflicting political images. Marriage to Emily Norton. The revelation of "Love Nest". divorce. Marriage with Susan Alexander, the "singer". Political elections. Opera career. The Great Depression and Kane’s economic decline. A lonely, secluded old age. 3. premise. Thomson accepted the editor's instructions and went to discover the secrets of the rose buds. He inquired about Kane's former friends. "It may be a very simple thing." Wrong step: Susan refused to talk to Thomson. 4. Flashback: The memoirs of Walter P. Thatcher. Kane's childhood. Thatcher becomes the guardian. Kane’s first newspaper, the Questionnaire. The struggle years of newspapers. Kane's economic decline in the 1930s. 5. Flashback: Bernstein. The early days of the Questionnaire. "Declaration of Principles". Build a publishing empire. Engagement to Emily Norton. 6. Flashback: Jay Lilan. The disintegration of the marriage with Emily. Kane meets Susan. Political election in 1918. Expose, divorce, remarry. Susan's opera career. The final break between Kane and Li Lan.
7. Flashback: Susan Alexander Kane. The premiere and career of an opera. Attempted suicide. And Kane in the semi-reclusive era in Shangdu. Susan leaves Kane. 8. Flashback: Raymond, the butler of Shangdu. Kane's final day. The mystery of the "rose bud". 9. Finale. Revelation of rose buds. The reversal of the opening of the overture causes the end. 10. Cast subtitles. The ten parts of the film vary in length.
1. The role of rosebuds in structure: When Herman Mankiewicz went to Wells with a story based on the life of William Randolph Hirst, Wells worried The material will be too dragged and scattered. In order to highlight the story line and give it a more dramatic compactness, he suggested that the chronological sequence of these events should be disrupted through a series of flashbacks, each flashback being narrated from the point of the person telling the story. Wells has used this multiple flashback technique in some of his radio plays. He and Mankiewicz also added a little suspense. At the last moment of his life, Kane murmured a word "rosebud", and no one seemed to know its meaning. Its meaning aroused the curiosity of the journalist Thomson, so he inquired about this secret from Kane's former friends in the rest of the film. He hoped that this secret was the key to Kane's contradictory character. Wells claims that the motive of the rosebud is nothing more than a howl of a plot, designed to have a dramatic question to grab the audience, it is actually a futile search. But this howl worked. Like the hopeful reporter, we also think that rosebuds can unlock Kane's ambiguity. Without this gimmick, the whole story is still sprawling and loose. The exploration of the meaning of rosebuds shaped the narrative and provided it with a driving force to move forward. There was a dramatic question that we all wanted to answer, which gave the film the mode of a detective genre. This is what foreign critics say, Americans have a genius for storytelling. Wells called the rosebud a "liar", because when Kane died, no one heard Kane say the word. In the film, the nurse only enters the room later and is seen by the audience in the broken glass. The image of the deformed nurse from the glass fragments is in pursuit of a surreal taste.
2. Motivation of the rose bud The rose bud finally figured out that it was a favorite of childhood. For decades, scholars and critics have debated how to interpret rose buds. Wells himself described it as "Floyd's book worth a dollar"—an appropriate symbol of childhood innocence. In the American movies of the 1940s, Freud's ideas have become popular, especially the theory that the life of adolescence in children will determine his later character. But the rose bud is also a more general symbol of loss. Please consider: Kane has experienced a series of losses-he lost his parents in childhood and was raised by a bank; as a publisher, he lost the idealism of young people; he lost the opportunity to be governor; lost Lost his first wife and son; lost the effort to make Susan an opera star; lost Susan. It is precisely because the rose bud is not only a thing, but even not only a symbol of innocence in the Garden of Eden, the reveal of the rose bud to the audience has caused a powerful emotional impact.
3. Theme: From the point of view of the theme, "Citizen Kane" is so complicated, and the length of this paragraph can only briefly list some of the themes. Like most of Wells' other films, "Citizen Kane" can be called "The Prestige of Power." The theme that attracted him is traditionally associated with classic tragedies and epics: a public leader collapses due to arrogance and arrogance. Power and wealth corrupt people, and corruption is self-destruction. Innocent people generally survive, but they are bruised and bruised. Wells has always been interested in the powerful self-destruction of outstanding protagonists, and it provides a kind of drama. Conrad in "Heart of Darkness" is also such a character, and that was the first subject Wells wanted to shoot. Wells once said: "The characters I have played are all different forms of Faust." All betrayed their souls and lost their souls.
Wells's understanding of evil is mature and complex, and rarely formalized. He is one of the few American filmmakers of his generation who rarely resort to simplistic psychological or ethical labels when exploring the dark side of human living conditions. Wells considers himself an ethicist, but his films are never serious or sacrosanct. "Kane" is not a plausible condemnation, but a naive lament of loss. Wells once said: "Almost all the serious stories in the world are the failure stories of the final death. But there are more lost paradise than failure. For me, this is the central theme of Western culture, that is, the lost paradise." There are actually dozens of symbolic motives in the film. Some of them are technical. For example, the film mainly uses a low angle. For example, in Li Lan's memory passage, it uses a low angle to show the confrontation between Li Lan and Kane. Other motivations are more based on the content, such as the series of fences that the camera must pass through before we can see Kane. There are also fixed motives of static, decay, old age and death in the film. But the two most important motives in the film should be considered the motives of the rosebud and the fragment. The motive of the rosebud has been mentioned above, and the purpose of the fragment’s motive is to set off the simple-minded idea, that is, a single word can "explain" a complex personality. Throughout the whole film, we see images of fragments suggestive of multiplicity, repetition, and the whole. Examples of this motive are tangrams, piles of large wooden boxes, small wooden boxes, and artworks. The structure of the film itself is fragmentary, and each narrator only provides us with a partial picture.
3. Warm ambiguity: news film + five subjective viewpoints
The film disrupts the chronological sequence of events through a series of repetitive flashback patterns, so that Wells can jump in time and space and cut directly to different periods in Kane’s life without strictly observing the chronological sequence. In order to give the audience an overview, Wells introduced most of the major events and characters in Kane’s life in the short news shortly after the film began. Do a more in-depth exploration. Obviously, when a story is not told in a linear, chronological manner, there are losses and gains. What is missing is any suspense of telling the story in the traditional way, which generally asks the question: What does the protagonist demand? How did he or she manage to get it? In "Citizen Kane", the protagonist died almost from the beginning. We can only be forced to piece his life together from the perspective of other people. There are five different storytellers in the film, and each tells a different story. Multi-narrative skills force us to measure the tendencies and prejudices of each narrator, and "Citizen Kane" is also their story. But on the whole, these five flashbacks are basically timely, and there are overlaps from time to time. But even when the narrated events overlap, we still look at them from different angles. For example, Li Lan's narration of Susan's opera debut was infected with his condescending attitude towards her. In this passage, what stands out is the comedic effect caused by the moving lens of a lift, and the result is actually a witty remark. When Susan began to sing the first ballad, the camera began to rise, as if to ascend to heaven. As she continued to sing, her thin and flat voice gradually became weaker and weaker as the camera continued upward. The camera passed through sand belts, ropes and springboards until it finally came to the two stage workers standing on the narrow aisle. They watched the performance below, listened for a while, and turned their heads to face each other. A stage worker put his finger on his nose humorously, as if saying, "It's really smelly." However, when Susan recounted the same incident, the camera position was mainly placed on the stage, and when the curtain opened. After the backlight, you can't see the people in the audience at all. This treatment visualizes Susan's feeling of being rejected by the audience. At this time, the tone of the passage is no longer funny, but painful. Wells’ narrative strategy is somewhat like a prism: the newsreel and the five interviewees each provide a unique and different perspective on the same person. The newsletter allows us to quickly browse the peaks of Kane’s public life; Thatcher’s narrative carries his absolute confidence in the moral superiority of the rich and powerful; Bernstein’s story is saturated with gratitude and his youth When he was loyal to Kane; Li Lan put forward a stricter perspective: He judged Kane based on what he actually did instead of what he said; Susan was the one who suffered the most among storytellers, but she was also the most Emotional and most sensitive; Raymond, the butler, pretended to know more than he actually knew. His brief flashback only ended Thomson's interview. It should be noted that as an interviewer in this film, Thomson has never appeared in front of him. During the interview, he either appeared from the back in the corner of the picture frame or simply outside the picture, so the director This allows the audience to occupy the interviewer's perspective, and it is precisely this that causes the whole film itself to appear as a documentary film. Let us analyze the different performances of Kane from various viewpoints.
1. Newsreel overview: 9'This paragraph is the center and outline of the film's storytelling. It tells the life of Kane, but it is only a brief introduction. The specific events are further deepened in the flashbacks of other people later. The passages in the newsreel corresponded to events later in other flashback stories. For example, the newsreel inserted the newspaper photos of Emily, Kane and their son outside Madison Square. The narrator told us that Emily and her son died in a motorcycle incident in 1918. And then we saw the moment when this photo was taken in Li Lan's flashback paragraph. In addition, the passage from the court after Kane and Susan got married in the news film was also expanded into a scene in Susan's story. This passage establishes the form of the film: skipped, abridged, and omitted. This passage establishes the method of film creation: conflicting views and conflicting judgments. For example, Thatcher said that Kane was a Communist, the workers said he was a fascist, and Kane himself said that he was an American. The role of this paragraph: imitating the unique film form of the news film to prove that there is a person (this paragraph was edited by the news film department of Raiden Hua, in order to pursue the shape similar to the news film. In the filming of this paragraph, It also simulates the shooting methods of news films, such as Kane, who was filming in Shangdu through a fence, the camera was shaking because he wanted to emphasize the feeling of sneak shots, and Kane was blocked by the fence from time to time), and at the same time produced The double alienation effect reminds the audience that they are watching two movies, that is, the audience is watching this news film about Kane with the editors of the newspaper, and at the same time they are watching Orson Wells directed "Citizen Kane".
2. Thatcher flashback: 12′-Kane's childhood: Thatcher became his guardian-the first newspaper "The Questionnaire"-the economic decline in the 1930s. In Thatcher's eyes, Kane He is self-willed, ignorant, arrogant, unconventional, and self-wise.
3. Bernstein Flashback: 18'24″-The early days of the Questionnaire-Declaration of Principles-Evening Party (large circulation), building a publishing empire-Bernstein's reminiscence of the engagement with Emily reflects His uncritical adoration of heroes to Kane. Compared with Li Lan, Bernstein is weaker in intelligence and puts friendship on principle. This passage also brings out Bernstein’s comical naivety: he is loyal He is so blind that he cannot see Kane’s shortcomings and evil. He should be said to be a loyal servant of Kane. The passage is full of light-hearted comedy, and this is mainly caused by the use of overlapping dialogues. In Bernstein's eyes, Kane is a highly principled person, with a mind, understands business, and loves ordinary people. Kane's image is full of charm and amazing.
4. Li Lan’s flashback: 34 "18"-the disintegration of Emily's marriage-meeting with Susan-campaign-being exposed-election failure-dispute with Kane: low angle-remarriage- —Susan’s premiere: Condescending attitude (see the previous article for details) —Kane writes a comment for Li Lan — Break In this paragraph, we see Li Lan’s own politeness, and as mentioned above, he criticizes Kane The angle and point of view are more strict. Therefore, in his eyes, Kane is a person who only loves himself, a person who has no faith, and a traitor to the masses. 5. Susan's flashback: 21'-Rehearsal and premiere of the opera: Painful attitude (see above for details)-Failure of the tour-Attempted suicide-and Kane in the semi-hermetic era-Leaving Su Shan is the only person we saw in the film who was crushed by Kane's death. At the end of the Thomson interview, Thomson said: "You know, anyway, I always feel a little sorry for Mr. Kane." Susan replied, "Do you think I don't?" It was this contradiction. Feelings make Kane in Susan's eyes selfish, cruel, and pitiful.
6. The flashback of Raymond the housekeeper: 4'48″-After Susan left, Kane smashed the bedroom-found the glass ball-left blankly: The mirror in Raymond's flashback was the most representative of Kane's image But when the old Kane found the glass ball, he murmured "rose bud", and then he walked down an aisle blankly, holding the glass ball in his hand. When he walked past a When we line up two opposite mirrors, we see his image repeats infinitely, they are all Kane. So we see another side of Kane from Raymond’s perspective, namely, a wounded, abandoned, lonely retreat This is also the inevitable result of self-centeredness reaching its limit. In fact, the way the film tells the story is far more valuable than the story it tells. Throughout the film, these five subjective points of view form an objective point of view. Just as Thomson's final summary at the end of the original script (this line was deleted in the finished film): "He is the most upright person in the world, but he wears a very dishonest ribbon one yard wide. He is a liberal, but he is also a reactionary. He is a loving husband, but his two wives have left him. He has a rare talent for making friends, but he broke the heart of his oldest friend. "In other words, Kane's contradictory character remains the same, and the suspense of the rosebud is a futile search, because "it is impossible to explain a person's life in one word." In the end, the appearance of the "rosebud" sleigh did not "explain" Kane, on the contrary it only proved that Thomson's search was futile-the clue was burned to ashes and burned to smoke. The overture's reversal was restored. It is the magnificence of Kane’s life, and the dignity produced by the impossibility of human character to be seen through. Please compare, the opening of the overture starts with a close-up of a sign nailed to the fence that says "Private territory, no entry". However, the camera ignored this statement and moved straight up with the elevator. After three dissolves, the camera finally crossed the fence and entered the private realm of Shangdu, or it should be said that it entered the private realm of Kane. Actually. It’s not difficult to find that the whole film is a process of trying to enter the private territory of the characters (Kane’s contradictory character). However, in the finale of the film, as the camera exits the fence, it exits the piece that says “Private Territory” The "No Entry" sign also ensures that Kane's inner self is still not trampled on, and everything is still ignorant. Fourth, the photographer of the film, Greg Toland, believes that "Citizen Kane" Is his career
peak. The photographer veteran believes that he can learn something from the "prodigy" (ie Orson Wells), and the latter's achievements are mostly made on radio broadcasts and Broadway theaters. Everyone can immediately see that "Citizen Kane" is not like most American movies of that period. There are no indifferent scenes in the film, and even the opening scenes are generally used with effective double mid shots. The shots were also shocking. This is not because the technique is new. In fact, large depth of field, low-key lighting, rich texture (also known as texture), bold composition, dynamic contrast between the front and back scenes, backlighting, ceiling-mounted scenery, side lighting, low angle, epic The juxtaposition of the vision and the macro close-up, the dizzying elevator lens, various special effects... all these are not new, but no one has used this "seven-layer cake luxury" before (borrowing James · Nalemore's words) have used them.
1. Large Depth of Field Photography Although Eisenstein, Renoir, and others have tried to continue to use deep focal length before, this technique was not until the invention of a large-aperture wide-angle lens, the development of fast panchromatic film, and the ability to use artificial light sources extensively. , And succeeded only under the genius use of Gregg Toland and Orson Wells. Greg Toland often experimented with large depth of field photography in the 1930s, in most cases while working with William Wyler. But the large depth of field in "Citizen Kane" is more colorful than Wyler's use of this technique. Large depth of field photography involves the use of a wide-angle lens, which often exaggerates the distance between characters, and this is an appropriate symbolic analogy for a film that shows a story of separation, alienation, and loneliness. At the same time, because the wide-angle lens makes each level of the picture from the nearest to the farthest, the focus is clear, and the surrounding things are not blurred due to highlighting a certain image, so when all the characters are equally clear, The warmth is even more serious. Since the depth of focus can simultaneously record and compare events that occur at different distances from the camera, the large depth of field can also provide a lot of information, such as a celebration party in the "Inquirer", in which Bernstein and Li Lan are talking about the dancers. The lens of "was reflected on the windowpane, so while we heard the conversation over the yelling and music, we saw the dance again. It is this multi-information characteristic that has caused another tendency of large depth-of-field lenses, which is to encourage the audience. Actively dig out information from a lens. For example, in the scene where Susan tried to commit suicide, the opening shots hinted at a causal relationship. Susan took some deadly drugs and fell into a coma on the bed in her semi-dark room. At the bottom of the screen, in close-up distance, there is an empty glass and a bottle of medicine; in the middle of the screen lies Susan, she is breathing faintly; at the upper end of the screen, Kane is outside the door Knocked on the door, then rushed open the door and walked into the room. The hierarchical arrangement of this scene is a visual condemnation: (1) the deadly drug was taken by (2) Susan Alexander Kane, which was due to (3) Kane's inhumanity. However, the depth focal length also puts forward new requirements, that is, it needs to have visual content in width, depth, and height, because a wide-angle lens not only has a wider field of view than ordinary lenses, but also the scene is in focus, especially when the scenery requires a ceiling. Thanks to the ceiling, there is the possibility of shooting low-angle interior shots. As mentioned earlier, the possibility of this technology provides an important theme motivation for the film.
2. The scene scheduling stage is Wells's preference. When he was young, he entered a progressive preparatory school where he directed and performed more than 30 plays. Shakespeare was his favorite playwright. In 1930, when Wells was 15 years old, he left school forever. As a result of inheriting a sum of money, he traveled to Europe. There, he broke into the Gate Theatre in Dublin, claiming to be a famous Broadway star. The managers didn't believe him, but had a good impression of him, so they hired him. In the following year or so, Wells served as a director and performer in many classic stage plays (mostly from the Elizabethan era). When he returned to the United States in 1933, he tricked him into a job touring with one of the main stage stars at the time, Catherine Cornell. Most of their performances are works by Shakespeare and Bernard Shaw. In New York in 1935, Wells and the ambitious stage producer (later also a director and actor) John Hausman joined forces with the support of the Federal Theater Project (one of the many public works in the New Deal). The stage of the 1930s was very politically left-wing. Wells was a liberal throughout his life. He was a passionate supporter of Roosevelt and, like most intellectuals of that era, he was very supportive of the New Deal. He assisted President Roosevelt in writing several radio speeches. In 1937, Wells and Hausman formed their own theater company-Mercury Theater. Several of their performances were praised for their brilliant talents, the most notable of which was the anti-fascist play "Caesar the Great" in modern costumes. Not only does Wells act as an actor and director, he also designs sets, costumes and lighting. The influential theater critic John Mason Brown declared it to be "a work of genius." Critic Elliott Norden described it as "the most moving Shakespeare of this generation." Wells used the money he earned as a broadcast star to fund his theater company. At the end of the 1930s, in his spare time, he earned about $3,000 a week on the radio, two-thirds of which went back to Mercury Theater. This troupe is a small business, often on the verge of collapse. In 1939, after its first failure, the Mercury Troupe shut down. Wells initially went to Hollywood just to make some cash so that he could return to New York to resume Mercury Theatre. , Since Wells comes from the world of the stage, he is an expert in dynamic scheduling of actions. For the art of scene management, the perspective is a more effective and more dramatic method, so there are relatively few close-up shots in his films. Most of the frames are compact and closed. Most of them are still composed by depth, with important information in the foreground, middle ground and background. The contact range between the characters is the ballet-style choreography, which implies the relationship of their changing advantages. As we will talk about below, the lighting style of "Citizen Kane" benefits more from the stage than the movie. And Wells's long shots also come from the action requirements of a unified space on the stage. For example, in a scene in the first half of the film, it was shown that Kane, Bernstein, and Li Lan took over the old-fashioned office of The Questioner (Young Kane just bought this conservative newspaper because he thought Running a newspaper can be fun), workers and assistants are constantly moving in and out of the screen, carrying furnishings, furniture, and personal belongings, while Kane is talking to the steadfast editor-in-chief, Mr. Carter, who will soon be fired (dickens-style anger). Spit-splashing character), having a weird conversation. To better understand the complexity of Wells's scene scheduling, it is to analyze a shot. Let us try to analyze a scene in Mrs. Kane’s dormitory in Thatcher’s recollection as an example as follows: A. The distance relationship between the lens and the camera: This is a large depth of field lens, which extends from the middle distance of the foreground to the large distance range of the background. The camera keeps a personal distance from Thatcher and Mrs. Kane, a social distance from Old Kane, and a public distance from Little Kane. The kid was playing happily, and often shouted out some words that did not follow the preface, such as "Long live the alliance!" Old Kane stubbornly refused to accept the plan to entrust the child to the bank for custody, while Thatcher and Mrs. Kane Listening impatiently. B. Angle: The camera is slightly off because the floor is exposed more than the ceiling. This angle implies a little fateful atmosphere. C. Optical lens and color filter: A wide-angle lens is used here to capture its depth of field. The lens exaggerates the distance between the characters. No color filters are used obviously. D. Lighting style: the interior scene was shot with a moderately high profile; the exterior scene, mostly dazzling white snow, was extremely high profile. E. The dominant contrast: Because Kane is in the center of the frame, and his black clothes are in high contrast with the dazzling snow, he is likely to attract our attention first, and he is also the subject of the controversy in the foreground. F. Secondary contrast: Then our eyes moved from Old Kane to Thatcher and Mrs. Kane, and the spotlighted document they were about to sign. G. Composition: This picture is divided vertically into two, a tug of war, with two people on the left and two on the right. The foreground table is balanced with the background table and wall. The segmentation of the composition isolates the characters. H. Texture (or texture): The picture has a strong texture, including the nail holes in the rough wallboards, the old-fashioned furniture and the subtle facial expressions of the indoor characters. I. Form: The lens is a closed form, and its carefully arranged and coordinated components imply a self-satisfied stage scene framed by the stage frame.
3. From the beginning of his film career, Wells was the master of moving cameras. In "Citizen Kane", the camera movement is generally consistent with the vitality of the youth. Still cameras are often associated with illness, old age, and death. These sports principles also apply to Kane's sports. As a young man, he was an energetic whirlwind. It was almost too late to finish a sentence, so his attention was diverted, and he flew to another place. But as an old man, he almost moaned every time he took a careful step. He often stands or sits motionless, seemingly boring and exhausted, especially in those scenes where Susan is with Susan. No one has ever used a lift as spectacularly as Wells. That wonderful elevator lens embodies important symbolic ideas. For example, after learning about Kane’s death, Thomson tried to interview Susan Alexander. This paragraph begins with a downpour. We saw Susan’s posters and photos promoting her as a singer in a nightclub. When the sound of thunder resounded on the vocal cords, the camera rose and went through heavy rain until the roof, then rushed through a neon sign "Pasture" and down to the skylight. At this time, the dazzling lightning blocked the camera passing through the skylight. , And then descended straight to the empty nightclub, Susan leaned on a table, drunk as drunk, sad and depressed. Both the camera and the reporter encountered many obstacles-rain, billboards, and building walls. These obstacles must first be cleared before we can see Susan, not to mention hearing her speak. The elevator shot embodied a brutal invasion of private life, ignoring the obstacles that Susan, who was immersed in grief, set up around her. Like all movies, "Citizen Kane" is flawed. For example, in the second half of the film, in the scene where Susan finally leaves Kane forever, in anger, the old man destroyed Susan's bedroom and scattered its contents. Wells obviously wanted to convey Kane's anger through the pure action of the old man destroying the room. But the lens is often too long, and the camera is too far away from the action. If Wells placed the camera closer to make the movement more dominant, then the intensity of Kane's anger might be communicated more effectively. He should also switch more in order to convey fragmented thoughts. The movement must be compatible with its subject matter, otherwise the movement will appear too much or too little.
4. Lighting Since Wells usually lays his own lighting in theater performances, he believes that film directors should also be responsible for lighting. Out of curiosity, Toland let him go and let Wells decide most of the lighting design, but quietly instructed the photographers to make the necessary technical adjustments. From a photographic point of view, "Citizen Kane" contributed to a revolution, that is, it secretly challenged the classic ideal of unobtrusive and transparent style. A. In the traditional movies in the past, what was pursued was an unobtrusive transparent style and a soft light effect. But the superb technique in "Citizen Kane" is extremely stylized: the lighting of high-intensity arc lights creates a sharp, clean and moderate high profile-this is shown in the first half of the film (after the newsreel). That is, it depicts the rise of Kane in American public life in his youth and the scene of showing him as a young publisher full of fighting spirit. At this time, Kane is a person who works actively and does not need to be urged. He is full of fighting spirit, an idealist, a reformer, a man with vigorous energy, and a giant image. B. Continuous use of low-key lighting, it is lower than any previous lighting. From a production point of view, when shooting with a deep focal length, low-key lighting is a more economical and preferable method, because a deep focal length lens requires a lot of light to brighten the scene. To see more things clearly in one lens, more things must be highlighted. Naturally, the fewer objects that need to be highlighted, the more economical the production. In addition, more importantly, the low-key lighting used in this deep focal length has a stronger impact, which forms an expressionist style, which has a great theme and dramatic effect. Great function. As Kane gets older and more cynical (in the second half of the film's story), the lighting becomes darker and there is a stronger contrast between light and dark. All of the above seem to be plunged into a perpetual dark night, only the spotlight's light spot penetrates the depressed darkness, revealing a chair, sofa, and statue. The atmosphere is cold, humid and impenetrable, and the darkness is enveloped in a layer of speechlessness. Of evil. At this time, Kane had betrayed his promise and became a despicable, cruel tyrant. There, this symbol of hope has become an image of failure: indifference, withdrawn. The sharp contrast between these two lighting styles shows the polarization of Kane's character. In addition, spotlights are also used in closer shots to achieve a symbolic effect: Kane’s mixture of decent and corrupt is hinted by contrasting light, sometimes his face is divided into two halves, half illuminated brightly. Half of it is hidden in the dark, and what is hidden is often more important than what is revealed. For example, in Bernstein’s flashback, Kane, who was full of ideals, told Li Lan and Bernstein that he wanted to publish a "declaration of principles" on the front page, promising readers that he would become a citizen and a person for them. An honest, tireless fighter who fights for his rights. But when he leaned down to sign the document, his face suddenly rushed into the darkness-a bad omen for his later character. In Susan’s reminiscence passage, the two quarreled after the opera’s first performance. When Kane ignored Susan’s objection, took a step forward and said "you must sing" in an indisputable command tone, a A huge shadow (Kane's figure) was cast on Susan's face, which emphasized the fact that Susan was ruled by Kane and highlighted the latter's sense of depression.
5. Sound and editing [Source: Author: Zhou Huan and Zhou Chuanji]
(Scanned and proofread by ontology)
Wells comes from the field of live radio dramas. In 1938, when his famous radio drama "War of the Planets" was broadcast, the Americans really thought that the United States had indeed been attacked by creatures from Mars and panicked. This was how he captured the imagination of the audience. Wells is certainly happy with this effect. As a result of this sensation, his photo appeared on the cover of Time magazine. At the time, he was only 22 years old. Wells is often praised for inventing many film sound techniques. In fact, he is mainly a person who consolidates his achievements. He has integrated and expanded the achievements of his forerunners. In radio broadcasting, sound must be able to evoke pictures. For example, an actor speaking in a reverberation room implies that the visually relevant domain is a large auditorium; while the sound of a distant train whistle implies a vast landscape, and so on. Wells applies this sound principle to his film soundtracks, thereby creating a sense of space in the scene. As in Shangdu, the room is too big, and Kane and Susan must shout at each other to hear them, which creates an uncoordinated effect that is both sad and funny. Part of the reason why the depiction of Madison Square Garden is convincing is that we heard the cheers of a large number of people, so we imagined that we also saw them. With the assistance of his sound engineer James G. Stewart, he discovered that almost every visual technique has its sound equivalent. For example, each lens has a corresponding sound quality in terms of capacity, clarity and quality-long-range and large-distance, the sound of the lens is blurry and far away; close-up sound is crisp, clear, and generally loud; high-angle lenses often Accompanied by high pitch and sound effects; while the sound of a low-angle lens is contemplative and low-key. For example, Susan in Li Lan's reminiscences made her first performance. As the elevator lens continues to rise, if we close our eyes and listen, we will find that the vocal cords also weaken with height. Another example is that in the shot of Mrs. Kane’s dormitory, the adult in the foreground dominates the vocal cords, while the shouts of Kane in the background can be heard clearly, but they are distant and faint. In other passages, the voice will also change according to the distance as the characters move from the foreground to the background. For example, Kane signs a contract to transfer the newspaper to Thatcher. Wells also discovered that the sound can be melted and dissolved like a montage paragraph. So he often overlapped the dialogue, especially in comic passages, where several people tried to speak at the same time (such as in the screening room, and several paragraphs of the editorial department of the "Inquiry"). Due to the use of this overlapping dialogue, grammatical structure and natural interruption, the naturalness of the dialogue in the film is enhanced. In "Citizen Kane", another important contribution of Wells to the sound is that he added the factor of timbre, and distinguishing sound becomes the key to distinguishing roles. Opposing roles? Opposing voices! In fact, Wells considered the issue of timbre in advance when using his Mercury Theater actor. To sum up, Wells has strengthened the visual aspect by moving the detailed sound effects he is familiar with to the soundtrack of the movie (the atmosphere and distance of the scene, the different voices of the characters, and the natural form of speech). The authenticity of the natural space of the manifested event. In many scenes, Wells used sound as a symbol. For example, when he used translation and montage passages to show Susan's disastrous opera tour. The ballad she sang can be heard on the vocal cords being transformed into screaming, desolate crying. The passage ends with the dimming light, which symbolizes Susan's growing despair. On the accompanying vocal cords, we heard her voice slip into a traumatized groan, as if someone had unplugged the record player halfway through the singing of a song. During the breakup between Kane and Li Lan, following Kane's "You are fired", he pushed back the sliding frame of the typewriter fiercely, and the sound was like an exclamation mark. The most worth mentioning is that in the premiere of Susan's memories, there is a close-up of Kane applauding. We all know that close-up shots are insulated, that is, people are isolated from the environment. However, in this close-up, when the reverberation of Kane’s applause became larger and larger, we were clearly aware of the existence of the environment, that is, there was no one in the auditorium at this time, only Kane was left. Clapping persistently. Here, the sound broke the frame of the close-up. Bernard Heilman's music is also complicated. Several major characters and events have been given musical motives. Many of these motives first appear in news clips, then reappear later in the film, and are often changed to a minor key or played at a different speed, depending on The mood of the scene. Let us take the musical motivation of rosebuds as an example. In the opening scene, Kane’s death, the dominant motive of the touching rosebud first appeared. It was a solo performed by an electric vibrating percussion instrument, and then it began to use various forms throughout the film. Different disguises appeared. Heilman once said, “If you follow the rose bud’s motives carefully, it is itself a clue to the ultimate identity of the rose bud itself.” That is, in the process of Thomson’s investigation, whenever a rose bud is mentioned, this Variations of musical motives set off the dialogue. When Wells finally revealed the secret of the rosebud to us, not to the person in the play, this musical motive emerged so powerfully that it became the most impressive of all movies ever. Exciting reveal. On the other hand, Heilman's music often parallels Wells' vision. For example, in the montage of the scene between Kane and his wife at the breakfast table, the disintegration of marriage is parallel to the variation in music. This passage begins with a soft and romantic waltz, which gently sets off the mutual infatuation between the two. Followed by a slightly comic musical variation. When the relationship between the two becomes more tense, the orchestration becomes more blunt and discordant. In the final scene, the two never wanted to talk anymore. This silence is accompanied by a gloomy and neurotic variation on the original musical theme. The same is true for the lens, starting with a two-person lens, the position is crossed, and the distance is close, to show that the two people have a harmonious relationship. Then start cutting. Finally, it was pulled out by Kane. It was still a double panoramic table, with a long table, but now they are sitting at one end of each, and each person reads each person's newspaper. When shooting this passage, Wells strictly followed the script and dissolved from one scene to another, but he used the camera's shaking motion when connecting these dissolves. They were so fast that they blurred the image. elephant. From Wells’s own introduction, we learned that he spent a year editing "Citizen Kane" and watched it 7,000 times. In the editing of the film, the most prominent thing is that it is different from other films, that is, the most typical four-part intra-shot —— the background of the first scene is turned out; the foreground of the first scene is characterized Out; the background of the second scene is transformed into; the new character of the second scene is transformed into. This form of transformation used by Wells is, on the one hand, suitable for the elegy and contemplative emotional state of the storyteller. For example, the effect of the dissolving in the opening (title) is a typical Wellesian. On the other hand, it uses this interlaced dissolve to connect the narration of his character with the scenes, and these scenes are assumed to be recalling—visually superimposing them on the next scene. For example, in the section of the breakfast table in Li Lan's recollection above, at the beginning, Li Lan's large image was painted on the left, and it remained on the screen until the breakfast scene was fully overlapped. At the end of the paragraph at the breakfast table, Li Lan's image is stacked again, and the two images are placed side by side. In fact, the use of characters as a semi-narration to introduce and identify flashbacks is ultimately influenced by radio dramas. This influence is directly determined. In the editing of the film, sound played an important role. Wells often uses scary voices to switch, jumping from one time or place to another. For example, the opening scene of the film ends with Kane’s death, and this segment is accompanied by a fading voice. Suddenly, the rumbling of the godlike voice of the narrator from "The News on the Move" hit us—the news fragment began. Raymond's memory paragraph also begins with the strange call of a bird. Wells also likes to use sound as a pause, such as closing a scene with the sound of closing a door. In another paragraph, the transition between the night Kane first met Susan and the scene where Kane was speaking at Madison Square Park a year later was also caused by sound—— 1. The first is the middle shot, Susan's boarding room. Susan is sitting next to the piano, on the left side of the painting. She is playing and singing. Kane sits in the background and draws to the right. Stacked. 2. Medium and long-range view, tastefully decorated room. Susan is sitting next to the piano, on the left side of the painting. She is playing and singing. Kane sits in the background and draws to the right. After Susan finished playing, Kane applauded. Stacked. 3. Mid-range view of the street. The crowd gathered around the convertible, and Li Lan was talking. Kane’s applause in the last scene turned into the applause of the crowd. Li Lan was giving a speech: "I'm talking about Charles Foster Kane, the fighting libertarian, worker's friend, and the next governor of the state. He is participating in this election..." Che. 4. Close-up, a flag with a picture of Kane, with his name on it. Kane (voice-over) continued Li Lan's last sentence: "...there is only one purpose..." The camera pans down to take pictures of Kane
Six, art
[Source: Author: Zhou Huan and Zhou Chuanji] (Scanned and proofread by ontology) As for art, Wells was able to show only part of the setting instead of the entire room, which saved a lot of money. For example, the setting of an office actually only includes a desk and two walls, but we seem to see a large and luxurious office. Similarly, in the Shangdu scene, Wells only lights up a piece of furniture, a statue, or a fireplace, while leaving the rest of the room in the dark—as if it is too big to be fully illuminated (actually The furnishings in the room above are very few). This effect is actually achieved through low-key lighting. Edward Stevenson's clothing design fits the actual style of each era appropriately. Since the film spans 70 years and the events are not presented in chronological order, the costumes must be immediately recognizable so that the audience can know the era of each scene. Kane’s childhood has the flavor of the 19th century—the crossroads between Charles Dickens and Mark Twain. The former is shown in Thatcher's hard collar and top hat, while the latter is shown in the simplicity of the frontier in the costumes of Mary and Jim Kane. In this film, clothing is both symbolic and functional. For example, as a young and combative publisher, Kane likes white, and he often takes off his coat and tie while working. But later in life, he almost always wears black business clothes and a tie. Emily's clothes are luxurious, but with a subtle elegance. She always looks like an educated young housewife-fashionable, dignified and full of feminine charm. Susan's dress was simple before meeting Kane. After meeting Kane, she usually wore that kind of lavish clothing, and sometimes the kind of clothing with small metal discs. The following is an analysis of Susan's opera costumes, which is a triumph of sarcasm and wit: l. Times: On the surface it is the 19th century, but in fact it is an interesting patchwork of different eras and "Oriental" influences. 2. Grade: Royal, jeweled, and costumes with various empress decorations. 3. Sex: Female, especially highlight the curve of the body and a long gown with a big fork at the bottom. Only the Muslim headgear provided some masculine color, although the ancient fluffy feathers made it change. 4. Age: This costume is designed for a twenty-year-old woman, which is at the height of her most attractive body. 5. Clothing: Beaded silk studded with pearls. 6. Accessories: Muslim headscarves, pearls, highly inconsistent Joan Crawford-style shoes with trippers. 7. Color: The film is black and white, but most of the clothing has a metallic sheen, suggesting gold and ebony. 8. Exposure of the body: The clothing exposes and highlights such sexy parts as the chest, waist and thighs. 9. Function: This clothing is not practical, it is even difficult to start wearing. It is worn for someone who doesn't work, just to show off. 10. Image: From head to toe is an opera queen.
Seven, forming process
"Citizen Kane" is often praised for its outstanding script-its wit, its compact structure, the complexity of its theme, but the copyright of the script has caused considerable controversy. When the film was released, it also took place in 1970. At that time the critic Pauline Kayle argued that Wells was merely polishing the finished work of Hermann Mankiewicz. Mankiewicz is a regular writer in Hollywood. When he held "United States" (later renamed "John Citizen, USA" ", finally changed to "Citizen Kane") when he went to find Wells, Wells asked his former partner John Hausman to help Mankiewicz write it into a movie script, preferably In a place far from temptation and isolation from the world. Wells made a lot of changes to the first draft of the screenplay. The changes were so great that Mankiewicz condemned the film for completely breaking away from his script. He didn't want Wells's name to appear in the screenwriter's name. So he submitted the dispute to the writers’ union. At that time, a director was not allowed to obtain the title of screenwriter unless he contributed 50% or more to the script of the movie. The union made a gesture of mediation, allowing the two to share the name of the screenwriter, but Mankiewicz was listed as the leader. When this controversy resurfaced in the 1970s, American scholar Robert L. Kalinger settled the lawsuit once and for all. He studied the seven main drafts of the screenplay, plus many final revised memos and other materials. Kalinger concluded that the early Mankiewicz’s manuscripts contained "dozens of pages of dull and lengthy material, which will eventually be deleted or replaced. The most telling thing is that the script The stylized wit and fluency that are the most appealing of that film are completely absent." In a word, Mankiewicz provided the material; Wells provided the genius. The commercial history and commentary history of "Citizen Kane" are fascinating stories in themselves. Soon after the collapse of Mercury Theater, Raidenhua offered the 24-year-old Wells an unheard of contract: each film will pay him $150,000, plus 25% of the total revenue. He can act as a producer, director, screenwriter or star in any of his films, and perhaps, if he wants, all four functions. He was under the full artistic control of Enzhun, and he was only responsible to George Schleifer, the enlightened head of the studio. Raidenhua was in financial trouble at the time, and it has always been so during its short existence. The factory was founded in 1928 by financiers Joseph P. Kennedy (father of the late president) and David Sharnoff (head of American radio company RCA and later the head of National Broadcasting Corporation NBC). Sarnov hopes that the factory will become "the NBC of movies." Kennedy withdrew soon after getting a net profit of about 5 million U.S. dollars. Raidenhua struggled after a promising start, mainly because of frequent changes in management personnel, and therefore lack of continuity. Raidenhua is different from other major film companies in that it does not have consistent characteristics and special styles. Sharnov and his new partner, Nelson Rockefeller, asked Raidenhua to produce a complex and progressive film, but they found that artistic value and box office achievements were not easy to unify. Rockefeller and Charnoff very much agreed with Schleifer’s idea of hiring Wells. Their reason was that if they wanted to produce a film of both quality and money, of course, only the one who had just won on Broadway and radio. child prodigy. When Wells came to Hollywood in 1939, people were extremely dissatisfied with him. For most directors, if they can be allowed to direct an A-level film before the age of 35, they are already lucky. But this person is just a young man and an outsider. He was given full autonomy the first time he came out of the mountain. When he saw Raidenhua’s production facilities, he said a witty remark: “This is the largest electric train toy a child has ever gotten.” In the eyes of the most routine people in the film industry, Wells is pretentious and arrogant. ,arrogant. His public ridicule of the film community did nothing to him: "Hollywood is a golden suburb, perfect for golfers, gardeners, mediocre people, and complacent starlets. "He obviously felt the joy of saying this, but he paid a great price for his youthful, indiscreet wit. Almost from the beginning, the production of "Citizen Kane" caused controversy. As a master of propaganda, Wells made people curious about the filming of the film. This film was shot under "top secret" conditions. There are various rumors about the identity of the protagonist. When Hirst Syndicate’s gossip columnist Luela Parsons heard that the film was about her boss’s private life, the Parsons was in Hearst. With the blessing and full cooperation of Sturt, a struggle was launched for the film. When the film was nearing completion, Hirst's struggle became more fierce. He threatened film companies that they would create a series of scandals unless the film was destroyed before it was released. His pawn, Louis B. Mayu of MGM (the most powerful person in the company) proposed that if Raidenhua is willing to destroy the negatives, he will compensate Raidenhua for the cost, plus a small profit. Hirst intimidated other studios not to order the film in their theaters. His newspaper also attacked Wells as a Communist and suggested that he was an evasive person (Wells was out of physique. Reason for being refused military service). Raidenhua was in trouble, paralyzed by indecision. Wells threatened that unless the film was released, he would sue. Finally, the studio decided to take a risk. With very few exceptions, "Citizen Kane" received enthusiastic reviews. Persley Kraut of the "New York Times" called it "one of the greatest films in film history (if not the greatest)". It won the Best Picture Award of 1941 by the New York Film Critics. That year was a good year for American cinema. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards, but it was booed by anyone as long as the name of Wells was mentioned at the awards conference. It is worth noting that the only gold image won by the film is for the script. Pauline Kayle hinted that this was a gesture designed to support Mankiewicz and Hollywood's conventions. Incredibly, "Citizen Kane" failed at the box office, and this was the beginning of Wells's end in Hollywood. When his second masterpiece "The Abeson Family" failed to please the audience in several quiet previews, Raidenhua cut it from 131 minutes to 88 minutes, and added a false big movie. The reunion ended, but it also failed at the box office. Soon thereafter, Raidenhua changed hands again in administration, and both Wells and Schleifer were driven away. American movies in the 1940s gradually became darker and darker, regardless of the subject matter or photography, partly due to the huge influence of "Citizen Kane". The most important style of that decade was FILM NOIR, which was a style adapted to that era. Wells' style continues to develop towards noir films, especially films such as "Miss Shanghai" and "Evil Touch". Toland died in 1948 at the age of 44. This is an irreparable loss for American movies. Incredibly, "Citizen Kane" failed at the box office, and this was the beginning of Wells's end in Hollywood. When his second masterpiece "The Abeson Family" failed to please the audience in several quiet previews, Raidenhua cut it from 131 minutes to 88 minutes, and added a false big movie. The reunion ended, but it also failed at the box office. Soon thereafter, Raidenhua changed hands again in administration, and both Wells and Schleifer were driven away. American movies in the 1940s gradually became darker and darker, regardless of the subject matter or photography, partly due to the huge influence of "Citizen Kane". The most important style of that decade was FILM NOIR, which was a style adapted to that era. Wells' style continues to develop towards noir films, especially films such as "Miss Shanghai" and "Evil Touch". Toland died in 1948 at the age of 44. This is an irreparable loss for American movies. Incredibly, "Citizen Kane" failed at the box office, and this was the beginning of Wells's end in Hollywood. When his second masterpiece "The Abeson Family" failed to please the audience in several quiet previews, Raidenhua cut it from 131 minutes to 88 minutes, and added a false big movie. The reunion ended, but it also failed at the box office. Soon thereafter, Raidenhua changed hands again in administration, and both Wells and Schleifer were driven away. American movies in the 1940s gradually became darker and darker, regardless of the subject matter or photography, partly due to the huge influence of "Citizen Kane". The most important style of that decade was FILM NOIR, which was a style adapted to that era. Wells' style continues to develop towards noir films, especially films such as "Miss Shanghai" and "Evil Touch". Toland died in 1948 at the age of 44. This is an irreparable loss for American movies.
8. Theory
"Citizen Kane" is a masterpiece of formalism. Indeed, there are certain realist elements in the film—its factual basis, news fragments, and large depth of field photography, which are highly praised by realist theorists like André Bazin. However, in general, the technical passages in the film are the most memorable. Wells is one of the greatest lyric poets in the film. His stylized fascination is made up of decorative visual elements, dazzling motion shots and extremely textured vocal cords, kaleidoscope-like editing style, extremely The fragmentary narrative and a large number of symbolic motives are most comprehensively depicted.
"Citizen Kane" is undoubtedly an author's film. Wells not only produced the film, but was also the co-writer of the script. The actors and film crew were selected by him. He starred and directed the entire film without interruption. The film is also typical in that it explores a whole set of Welster's themes and is created in such a distinctive style that it becomes the true signature of its author. When Wells praised his collaborators, he was very generous, especially to the actors and photographers, but there is no doubt that he completely controlled everything during the production of this film. Marxist critics admire this film, especially in Europe. There, Wells was almost regarded as a half god. Although "Citizen Kane" does not publicly advocate Uxism, its ideological basis is obviously left-wing: (1) The film can be seen as a tool for social change, a criticism of the ills of capitalism; (2) ) It attacks the status quo of the American socio-economic system in the first 40 years of this century; (3) It breaks the myth of power and shows the great influence of the media in the formation of public opinion; (4) It shows that wealth and power are treacherous, and they actually It deprives the rights of those individuals at the bottom of society; (5) It sympathizes with the oppressed, especially women; (6) It shows how the environment determines human behavior to a large extent, if Kane does not inherit Fortune, he may not be morally degraded by his power; (7) Religion and supernatural forces do not play a significant role in the film; (8) From the perspective of potential value, the treatment of characters is equal— -The treatment of the vulgar, humble-born Susan and the treatment of the rich and elegant Li Lan are treated with the same respect; (9) The structure of the film is dialectical, derived from Kane’s contradictory character Establish the proposition and the anti-proposition, and finally reach the synthesis: the real Kane is that he is both good and evil, progressive and reactionary, sensitive and numb. As the French critic Maurice Baisie pointed out: "In the world of Wales, in the final analysis, truth is neither good nor beautiful, but it has its own way, that is truth." Wells has always been the darling of critics, especially in France. As early as the 1950s, fragments of his script appeared in magazines such as "Pictures and Sounds" and "Movies Today". Wells is a source of inspiration idolized by critics of the "Cinema Manual," a magazine that pioneered the new wave. Jean-Luc Godard said enthusiastically, "We owe everything to him." Truffaut declared that "Citizen Kane" has inspired most French filmmakers to start their own business. He also expressed a gentle respect for this business card in "A Night in America." In a poll of international film critics held every ten years by the authoritative British magazine "Image and Sound", "Citizen Kane" ranked first among the ten greatest films of all time. The best director in history and the filmmaker who has always received the most votes is Orson Wells.
View more about Citizen Kane reviews
