1941: Citizen Kane: What Makes A Masterpiece?
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- Опубликовано: 3 окт 2024
- Citizen Kane is one of the most important films ever made. It's shown in every film class, fawned over by professors, loved by cinephiles. But why? What makes Citizen Kane such an amazing film? How did its use of Deep Focus or floating, roving camera change cinema?
What Orson Welles and cinematographer Gregg Toland created was truly revolutionary. But what's the big deal? What exactly makes the film so groundbreaking? This video explores the cinematic influences on Citizen Kane and how the film changed cinema.
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The last shot of the sled burning....always makes me a little emotional. The message is universal: "You can never go home again." Something everyone learns as they get older and experience loss.
Who really knows what it means.
The Rosebud reveal is really sad. Watching the thing burn its so depressing. Like seeing a whole life going to waste beacuse of ambition
Damn, that hits hard.
Damn I miss that sled.
@@joshb9516 :)
Note: most audience as this time were accustomed to chronological story telling. The scrambledness of it all makes for a captivating story. You feel like you're the reporter, learning about him as you jump from person to person.
To me, I feel like you never get to "really" know Kane. You get an idea of who he is through others.
thank you so much! i’ve wondered how this was received when it came out. what people thought at the time and not after the fact. looking up different variations of my question resulted in nothing. so truly, thank you!
When I watched this movie I didn’t understand why it was often called the greatest movie of all time. I definitely enjoyed it, but thanks to this analysis, I’m starting to see why it is so highly regarded.
Just so you know, comments like this are exactly why I love making these videos. Thank you.
Stellvia Hoenheim gaining a deeper appreciation for something and changing one’s opinion =/= blindly following popular opinion
Great Destroyer No, it really isn’t. Just because it has the same end result (praising a highly praised movie) doesn’t mean it involved the same process.
If you’re saying they’re lying to get likes, then yeah maybe, but there’s no reason to just assume that. The comment seems genuine enough.
OP didn’t even say that they liked it now; they just said they see why it’s so highly regarded now.
Great Destroyer If you agree with someone’s argument and don’t have a counter-argument then why wouldn’t you change your opinion? That is the point of discussion. Not changing your view at that point is just being a disingenuous contrarian for no reason.
The first thing I always tell people about Citizen Kane is that its fun as hell. I think a lot of people are put off or intimidated by the whole 'greatest film of all time' moniker. Each time I watch it, I'm floored when an hour has gone by and it only felt like twenty minutes.
for most film lovers, I think citizen Kane is the kind of film that you learn to love and appreciate as you grow older and your taste evolve. it wasn't until my mid-twenties that citizen Kane became a film that I consider one of my favorites
I agree - same goes for certain books, music etc.
im at 13 right now and ive watched it twice so i can appreciate more the second watch if yah know what i mean although its not my favourite movie but its still a masterpiece
@@ash-dy2dm A 13 year old would probably love Tarantino, try to watch Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction you will enjoy them. Also you could try Scarface and The Godfather, but the latter is more mature and long. Blade Runner is another masterpiece you should watch if you like Cyber Punk theme, and I will also encourage you to check Ghost in the shell from 1995 it will certainly inspire you.
@@Nonesovile96 I would agree with you on the first half of Amberson's it's just unfortunate that it was never allowed to be a fully realized vision. Touch of Evil is terrific even with Charlton Heston Brown face
I'm 26 and I found it quite boring, I mean its good, its a good movie I enjoyed it, but I don't know I found it boring. I guess I must give it a second chance
ive just realisee that he found the snowglobe in his wifes room. That snowglobe was one of few things that really meant something to him not someone expensive but something he cared about. Earlier in the film his wife tells him that he gives her nothing that he cares about only things that he could buy that dont effect him , not knowing he had given her that.
Citizen Kane is a movie where if you care about movies, you learn to, at the very least, appreciate it. It changed the way people told stories, directed, lighted, acted, did special effects, etc
Such a groundbreaking film. Orson Wells despite being so high regarded is underrated. People forget his other films are great
To be honest, though it's a great film, it's not the best Orson Welles movie. That would be either Chimes at Midnight or Touch of Evil. A lot of people, including myself when younger, are put off Welles because they regard viewing his work as a homework assignment, especially since Kane is a film that has to be seen a few times to fully enjoy.
Yes. Welles SHOULD have been allowed to have final say on the final cinema cut for Theater. If that were allowed, he likely would have had at least 5 or 6 films on par with Citizen Kane. With proper financial backing, maybe 8 or 10.(!)
And yes: sometimes he was his own worst enemy.
What? He did have final cut. What are you talking about?
Always wondered "Who heard Kane whisper 'Rosebud'"? The nurse? She was outside of his closed bedroom and probably only heard the snow globe crash.
The Third Man is also a highly critically acclaimed film of Welles, if I remember correctly.
Fun fact: There was actually a Citizen Kane reference in a Phineas and Ferb episode. (The one with the lake nose monster). In the scene where the lifeguard has a cramp while he’s in the water, he says “nose bud” and drops the snow globe.
I saw that episode and I like it and laugh that reference. 😂
it is a masterpiece because it is the perfect fusion between a radio show a live play and a movie . nothing has touched it .
It is unique but that does not make it the greatest film of all time.
@@bighands69 It is the best film ever made.
@@idkanymore3382
It is a great film but it lacks a climax especially when it hinted at one for so long throughout the film.
It is very well directed, acted, great script but the overall story goes nowhere hence why it is not the greatest film of all time.
It is not as good as The Lady Vanishes, Vertigo, Ben-Hur, Godfather and many other great films.
@@idkanymore3382 no
@@dwaynekeenum1916 Yes, go back to watching iron man
"though a box office failure upon its release" needs more than one asterisk after a statement like that. The theaters that weren't too afraid to show it, sold to capacity.
As a photographer, I study this movie often. The visual storytelling through camera technique are so incredible!
I first saw Citizen Kane when I was 19 years old, and it made a huge impression on me. 50 years later, it is still my favorite film.
I thought the story was ok but the bird jumpscare is kinda goated and some of the cinematography is really creative.
While not a favorite film, I do love how much thought and process you put in this video showing why Citizen Kane deserves it's reputation.
Guessing Magnificent Ambersons or Casablanca as the next one.
I think Bernard Herrmann’s music in Citizen Kane is one of the key reasons it’s so effective. The way the music changes when we go back to Kane’s childhood home in the snow is so evocative it sends shivers down my back every time
It has more than earned the title of best movie ever made. Every single scene was so far ahead of its time. Spielberg made a career out of copying scenes from this movie. One of the things it does so well is the setup for the ending - the story doesn't really feel like it hinges on "Rosebud" because it seems like such a random thing. You can't imagine it being of any importance, so you're not constantly looking for it - which can be distracting. Instead, you're enjoying the trip down memory lane from the acquaintances of Kane, and as you go deeper, you find out that he was an angry guy that was somehow incomplete, despite seemingly having the world on a platter. But again, you never think that Rosebud could possibly explain him. Then, you find out that a single word can in fact explain a character. You learn everything you ever needed to know about him and it's absolutely incredible and lines up perfectly with who he was. The greatest movie ever made.
Kane is a masterpiece for one reason: Orson Welles. He was the most mysterious, enigmatic and brilliant actor/director/writer ever to grace stage, radio or screen...and made the greatest film of all time at 25 years of age.
I would argue against the "greatest movie of all time" bit by using the arguments of Late Spring/Tokyo Story (Ozu) and Rashomon/Seven Samurai (Kurosawa) or even "The Killing/Paths of Glory" (Stanley Kubrick) But then, Citizen Kane came TEN YEARS at least before all of these. So I give it its merits. Not greatest thing I ever seen, but still GREAT.
@@FeelingShred "The Killing" as the greatest movie of all time?? This came 15 years after Kane, and there had been countless similar movies up until it came out in '56. I'd venture to say the things you liked best about it, like the long track shots and information dump dialogue were already perfected in Kane. The acting and dialogue in The Killing is among the worst of all the movies of the time which had also already been perfected in Kane. In The Killing there is no equal an actor or character that Wells brought to the screen in Kane; no one as believable, and certainly no one as in depth regarding the inner workings and the pitfalls of finding success in the modern age- something we've all been taught is so important in western society.
Personally, and I'm just going to be blunt here. Kubrick is/was/and always has been an Orson Wells imposter, who was actually quite clever at stealing much of his work and convincing his fanboys that he was actually being original most of the time, and therefor his fanboys always seem to like his work over others in comparison.
Kubrick was a great artist and somewhat decent innovator at times, but he was also a charlatan and a fraud, who ultimately failed to admit where he knew he was drawing much of his material from and just how cheap so many of tricks really were. He was actually one of the reasons Wells didn't like to watch other's movies. He'd be either too disgusted by it or too attempted to steal something.
@@Rick-the-Swift
Didn't Welles borrow ideas from earlier French and German film makers?
@@charliewest1221 yes indeed, of course Welles "borrowed" many ideas from many people, and if you listen to him long enough, he usually admitted to all of his shenanigans. That's where I grew to respect Welles. He didn't sugarcoat the fact that Hollywood and New York media was full of vampires and prostitutes who sucked and leached everything they could in order to produce their films. He well understood that he stood tall among them. But even though Welles was borrowing ideas, his ambition and luck is what set him apart from the rest who proceeded him. His production of "Kane" cemented him as the first "epic" movie maker. The story was epic, the dialogue spoke volumes, and the continuity from beginning to end was completely original.
@@Rick-the-Swift
Thank you for your response.
Movies are at their very best when the music and imagery dazzle your eyes and imagination. Sometimes it's a piece of dialogue you remember, but this visual/musical harmony is what we remember most. In my opinion.
While your analyses are always well-made and informative, (puts on nitpicking hat), it might be somewhat controversial to say that Hitchcock was influenced by Welles, given that Hitchcock had been directing for 15 years before Citizen Kane came out, and used techniques from Expressionist films that he had observed first-hand in Germany. But artists can influence each other, so I suppose it’s academic :)
I would even argue that the last shot in Rebecca had influenced the burning sled in Citizen Kane. But that's just me, speculating.
That last shot in Rebecca is something else. It had to have some kind of influence.
Hitchcock may have been directing long before Welles, but Hitch was in his 40's when he came to Hollywood whereas a 25 year old Welles made the greatest film of all time at his debut. Compare and contrast.
@@FirstPlace97 That's not contradicting anything Michael Cullen said.
@@karlkarlos3545 What I'm saying is that what Welles achieved was unparalleled at the time, and it's hard to deny that he was the dominant force of the 1940's cinema. having said that, Hitchcock did have an extraordinary period in the 50's
I always felt the main point of the story is that in his last moments his thoughts were about a realization that the last time he was ever truly happy was that snowy morning when he was a kid on his rosebud died before he was sent away from his family, in other words even with all his money he was never truly happy and that money can’t buy happiness
Kind of an over used narrative these days but at the time really meant something, the only other thing like that at the time was maybe The Great Gatsby, (I imagine that was a major influence on Orson for this movie) but yea it had a lot of meaning obviously still does, but this was the first time it was put into film in the greatest way possible
This was my second time watching the film "Citizen Kane." I enjoyed it more this time. While watching or reading novels, you may begin to identify with the characters. As the film progressed to the ending and watching an overview of all the antiques collected, I guessed the correct meaning of "Rosebud" based on the snowy caption. People, in general, will judge politicians and the wealthy, but once they take a little closer look, the same POV may be seen in their own mirrors. Great overview.
A truly masterful work in this essay, I am so thankful this type of content is so accesible and easy to consume.
So many lovely Easter eggs that are hidden in this amazing film that don’t stand out on first viewing. One of my favorites is how meeting Susan circumvents a chance that Kane encounters, or rediscovers Rosebud. He tells her he was on his way to look through some belongings that were shipped from his mother’s place, and he going there on a “sentimental journey”. But meeting her prevents him from going. We don’t really know if he ever followed through. But in away she temporarily was Rosebud because that night we see him for the last time full of play and wonder. Struck that she could like him while not knowing who he was. The reveal at the end makes their meeting so heartbreaking in retrospect. He wasn’t longing explicitly looking for rosebud at the time as far as we can tell. But he found what it really meant as fleeting as it was. Later when Geddes exposed his “affair” it’s hinted that there time together wasn’t even a physical affair, but an emotional one. And once that embarrassment is revealed she becomes just another possession and crusade (crusader being the name of the new sled Thatcher gifts him) as he attempts to take the quotes of her being a “singer”.
Loved Citizen Kane and it was a great entry-point for me into more Orson Welles, a true master. Would love to see Casablanca covered in the next video too like others have said but each of your video essays are fantastic, it's always exciting to see what you put out next.
He was very witty and ppl don't speak the same way as the old backbone that they had back then. This is and always be the best picture ever. I want to watch it over and over !! Love it!
thank you for the video! and your others... I teach a cinema class on the "golden age of Hollywood/independent era" as a volunteer and I use clips of your videos as discussion points all the time. love your content. It is so rare to find discussions and analyses about classics from that era that are true good quality and content. This generation is focused on the last 2 decades on youtube... so thank you so much!
This helped me gain a better appreciation for this film having seen it for the first time today. Laying the foundations of modern cinema back in 1941. Fascinating for sure
This movie has always been on my favorites, it never gets old to me and it is perfect when it is night of the christmas sitting at couch mouth shut and enjoying everything in it, maybe take some chocolate but still. Fantastic movie
It is one of those films that does cut through time but that still does not mean it is the greatest film of all time.
I watched this film twice and I absolutely love it. It's a film that genuinly makes me happy watching it. I remember when I watched this the first time I kept forgetting the whole film was about finding out the meaning behind 'rosebud'.
Good point, I didn't even remember the Rosebud thing until I watched this video here now. I didn't think it was "the greatest movie I ever watched" by any stretch of the imagination, but I couldn't take my eyes off it, which is a testament to the great storytelling in itself. Another movie that caused me the same effect was Stanley Kubrick's "Killer's Kiss", it was a story that never actually went anywhere, you're always waiting for a twist or a punchline that never comes, but even then I couldn't stop watching it. I think there's something to be said about that. It's not about the destination, it's the journey. Maybe?
Now, when I think of movies that caused me that feeling of "this is the best thing I ever watched" it was early Ozu and Kurosawa movies, specially Rashomon/Seven Samurai and Late Spring/Tokyo Story, these movies moved me in a way I didn't even think movies were capable of.
But even then, I have to make one concession to Citizen Kane: it was made 10, 15 years before these other movies I mentioned where made. It was the pioneer.
Among the hay of RUclips, I believe this video to be a needle. I came looking for a video to merely explain the context of "Citizen Kayne" and what I got was a perfect, 13-minute-long symbiosis of factual knowledge and heartfelt passion for the narrative medium of film. Typically, I believe my comments to be pointless - but it would be a crime to get to see this and walk away without expressing my gratitude for this content.
Citizen Kane is a most extraordinary film and a pitch perfect expression of Romanticism in film as one can find. The ending is so powerfully moving with such deep insight of the significance of childhood, and its traumatic interruption by "fate". This film is my second favorite of all movies. Chaplin's City Lights is my favorite. The endings of each are unequalled in their emotional confrontation with the possibility of love (and the significance of its absence), and with the unalterable force of fate. Chaplin and Wells are America's two greatest film artists!
Wow, I watched this movie when I was about 9 years old. And I recall my mother asking me what I thought his last word meant, and I recall me saying it was about his childhood and how he wishes he could go back...I just randomly thought of this movie now, 34 years later, and I was curious to watch it again to see how off I might have been as a child and come to hear, I was spot on. Go little me. I will still look to buy this and watch it again as I'm certain I've forgot almost everything about it.
have some praise
At about the same age, Kane was showing on TV. My mother let me stay up late to see it. She'd seen it in 1941 and said "You should watch this. It's important." From the first frame, the mystery and atmosphere of it grabbed me. Mother was correct. It's the most important film ever made.
Its not that simple though. Its about the event that made him who he was. This was the trauma that made him believe that a loss off control means a loss of love. It does refer to his childhood but it is about the events that made him the broken man he was. A 9 year old could not comprehend the subtext
Thank you for this excellent explanation. I saw Citizen Kane and noticed several aspects of the filming that surprised me. I’ve rarely ever seen a black and white movie, so I was taken aback when I saw such camera angles and how smoothly Charlie Kane aged. Far more than I expected from such an old movie. Along with the engaging storyline, I could certainly see why this movie has been regarded a historically great movie.
But it’s thanks to your explanation that I see why it’s widely considered as the greatest movie ever made.
No
So basically this is the first movie that feels like modern cinema - back in 1941.
I don't know how masterpiecy this movie is supposed to be, but it blew my mind.
"Citizen Kane" is indeed a masterpiece, a profound work of art, but it's also wildly entertaining. You don't hear it very often, but "Citizen Kane" is at times great fun.
Fr. I had a blast watching it. Was in awe of performances, editing and cinematography the whole time.
I remember watching this with my daughter, who was only about twelve years old at the time. I asked her what she thought of it, and she said, "It's as if the camera is a person. Or maybe it's a ghost. It just floats around, it can go anywhere it wants, it even goes through things. It seems to see everything and know everything." Pretty good summation.
I've never seen this movie, but wow... every single shot that's in this video, I know of. 80 years later, and it's still that significant! I guess I should watch it. :)
The debate about who did what. Well, Welles gave Toland a co-credit on the screen. Amazing. A cinematographer getting that kind of credit with the director. It also tells you a lot about Welles too.
*_Hypest New Years Eve Ever_*
thanks charlie!!!!
Charlie, this is your own Citizen Kane if I may say so .. brilliant video explaining very concisely what makes Citizen Kane so great ... Nice work
I didn’t quite understand the movie at first, but I’m very glad I watched this vid. Great work
Dude. Top notch content. The Citizen Kane of Citizen Kane analysis videos
1941. can you fucking believe that ?
technically
it's way ahead of its time, I mean look at the acting, at one moment I
swore that was Marlon Brando's don Corleone entering the practicing room
. How do you manage to direct such a masterpiece while being the
protagonist in action ? it's just impossible, mostly if it's one of the
best films and one of the best roles ever achieved in Hollywood . The
camera movements were pleasantly enjoyable, and again out of this world,
you can't even find scenes like those anymore, I'm talking about the
transitions of the camera in and out of the house of young Kane through
the window and the other frames within frames sequences and the
symbolism that left me speechless knowing that this was shot in 1941
.Charlie Kane reminded me somehow of Jordan Belfort's character in The
Wolf of Wall Street, and there is also a resemblance between the two
actors . The script was interesting and so thick, I enjoyed the
narrative flashbacks telling the story of Mr Charlie and I guess it
influenced a lot of films later like Amadeus, Titanic, Saving Private
Ryan and The Usual suspects ,so because of all that being said this film
earns a 5 stars from me .
A Masterpiece
Comment?
People always talk about the technical innovations of Citizen Kane, but that's not the real reason that it is the greatest film ever made. The story, the writing, the characters, acting and philosophical depth are all astounding. It is the deepest film ever made about what goes on inside of a human mind. The only film comparable is 2001, which is even more sublime, visually stunning but concerned more with evolution than the past.
FP The Godfather and 2001 are both overwhelmingly better than Citizen Kane. don’t get me wrong Kane does seem pretty influential but I didn’t really like it that much when I first watched it when I was 17.
Leo thats subjectif, i personally think Kane is the best
I agree completely, the story transcends time and place, it has a universal meaning that left a huge impression on me when I first watched it. As much as these titles such as "greatest film" are void of meaning, if there is one movie that is worthy of it it's Citizen Kane, it's undoubtedly a masterpiece in every way.
Tokyo Story is better imo
@@ihatefanserviceanime364 this nigga just said Tokyo Story 😂
People that say it's not as good never really watched a movie from that era. You have to watch with the context of the times it came, if you watch like any other movie you won't comprehend how influential it really is. The techniques used became so common that it's difficult to see why it's so influential.
It is one of those films that you do not even need to grasp the period. I do not think it is the greatest film of all time in the English speaking world.
When asked if he had ever seen the movie again since it’s premiere. He said he hadn’t seen it because he saw it so many times on the cutting room floor, and he knew that if he saw it again, he would only see the things he would’ve changed or done differently
PEOPLE NEED TO STOP PUTTING THE EYE SCENE FROM CHIEN ANDALOU EVERYWHERE WITHOUT WARNING omg i cant
yeah a dick move to just casually show it like its nothing.
It's just a movie... chill. There's far worse out there.
I hate safe spaces... but I agree with you. It is a dick move.
@@JacobMcAllister what's worse than cutting an eye in half? Raping a kid? I don't want to see that. Also I don't want to see tiny clips diminishing the effect of these movies. Don't show the pay off scene to people that don't see the movie. Don't show the final image of Planet of the Apes at all. Some scenes are meant to suprise
@@MicahMicahel well you had to take it from 10 to 100 didn't you lol why was rape the first thing on your mind weirdo? Anyway, 99% of the world has no idea where that eye scene comes from and 98% don't care to ever find out. And it's not exactly the shock and awe moment it was in 1929. The world has moved far beyond that level of grotesque. And planet of the apes is over 50 years old at this point and that ending is cemented in pop culture. Film isn't a bubble.
A window into the mind of the characters indeed. Window's play heavily in this film throughout.
I received a book by a friend of mine that has the same title, but in French "100 ans de Cinéma" and of course, Citizen Kane, is the MOVIE within ....
The Movie, which teaches how to make modern Cinema...
All Cinema schools worldwide, are aware of it and consider this Movie is the basic one ! the Most ICONIC one !
Its seems like early movies were just plays on a stage shot at a very safe angle, as people learned about framing they found ways to make film more expressive and kane took all these modern elements we all take for granted and presented it in a large cohesive image without making it seem like a gimmick like the famous scene from wings in 1927.
Great video man! Just got done watching the movie and wanted to watch a good video essay on it and this was perfect! 😉
I'm guessing 1942 is Casablanca.
Great break down and analysis of the film’s meaning, also very clever to explain its historic filmic significance , thanks
The masterpiece was almost banned and not released by Kane himself!
One can clearly see where Gatsby's extravaganza comes from. What a great movie this was. So good that now I'm talking like them.
Thanks for taking the time to explain the techniques behind it. Its definitely giving me a better understanding
Citizen Kane is a Movie about the Art of Making Movie itself.
It's a boisterous movie full of attitudes and self-importance, typical of movies back then. However, it stands out because of its unique story structure and camera techniques that puzzled filmgoers back then. It's part bio, part horror, and part film noir, and so well structured that it seems like a real-life documentary drama. And that didn't sit well with WR Hearst. But for film fans, it's a real treat.
Saw this movie last night for my film history course in school and it was incredible. Really speaks to the modern generation too it feels relevant in a way.
i feel like all of tactics used the other movies before had the same effect. the real reason citizen kane is important is because they used all of them together, to CONSISTENTLY add depth to scenes.
This video is really good. It's better than the other ones on the same subject.
everyone always bangs on about innovative the deep focus in Citizen Kane was, but Renoir was way ahead of Welles with it (La Règle du jeu)
La Règle du Jeu simply did not have the same level of impact that Citizen Kane had.
Oh, people haven't even begun to appreciate the Genius of this film and its creator Charles Fo.. I mean Orson Welles. Just a tiny detail though .. after the *dazzling* first few minutes with numerous quick edits/cuts, and after Kane is dead, comes the brilliant (and possibly first ever) "shaky spy camera" footage in a film .. the sequences where Orson is old and taken around his estate in a wheelchair .. Cleverly filmed indeed and very appropriate for the story (!!). And it is just a minor thing given everything else he created in it.
Film was like *clay* for Orson Welles, he took everything created before him, and with his hands he worked it into our modern cinema. All that came after him was, and still is, ornamental. He was the alchemist. He was too good for the medium even, there's no place in Cinema for universal geniuses. His talent seems to know no bounds and was in retrospect probably untapped. We newer got all of it.
Watch it and enjoy how fresh it is, and do indeed rejoice in the flash bang technical virtuosity .. but .. the story in it self is magnificently told, because it is a great story. The script is brilliant with only minor input from Orson Welles .. it is a deep eternal psychological story which is open-ended.
And the acting is phenomenal from all involved. My favorite is the one where one of his friends tells a story of when he was riding the ferry and saw this beautiful woman, once, for a few seconds in his youth .. and not a week had gone by since then that he had not thought about her.
Which has bearing on the main story as an analogy with Kane. It is perhaps one of the most cerebral films ever made too. You can watch it ten times and have ten entirely different views of it.
Citizen Kane is a wild and crazy ride .. buy a ticket and get on !!
I think that your comment is the best so far in this string . While I agree that the Everett Sloan soliloquy about that "girl on the ferry" was one of the more moving pieces in the film , however , Kane's "I'll have to close this place in 60 years? remains one of my current main . favourites . I saw C.K. the first time in 1952 and since then , probably a total of at least 20 more times since then , the most recent viewing was about six months ago and after each and every viewing I came away with a different "Favourite Scene" or piece of business.
I no of no other film that I can watch over and over again and still come up with the discovery of a new favourite scene.
>>>>>>>>>>>Joel Laykin....Hong Kong China
I wrote this in my essay
He [the reporter] concludes that his task may be as impossible as the goal of its object, the description of a man's entire life with a single word, "rosebud."
thank you for such a good video, it has really enabled me to appreciate the film!
That shot of all of Kane's belongings reminds me of the last shot in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
I think Spielberg is on record as saying that that shot did inspire Raiders. Good eye.
you mention david fincher in this vid and he’s just about the release a movie about citizen kane :0
Now he's nominated for Best Picture with Mank
Thank for for this project and your intelligent analysis! Film lovers such as myself eagerly wait to see what film you will choose for each year.
Really well done, you've got a new subscriber! I think this video is a wonderful prelude for anyone who has yet to see the movie and is considering it, as well as a great perspective for those of us who already love it but may not fully grasp its significance in its own time and the influence is has had on the world of film ever since.
For some reason, I thought CK was made in the 50's. Hard to believe it was 80 years ago. The story itself feels so modern with this complex protagonist.
You thought? Don't you know history of your state? Or at least don't you know how to use google or other search engines?
This movie is based on real events. Prototype is Hearst. He was real evil. He manipulated people with his yellow magazines/newspapers.
He considered himself a god. He even blew off battleship of the USA in Cuba to ignite hatred/
Because it's second half is boring is what makes it a masterpiece
Your work is a masterpiece
I saw the title "UN CHIEN ANDALOU":
Oh, nice
Then I saw the shot of the moon and I knew what's coming:
Oh no!
Rosebud is the most brilliant plot device ever created imo. It was genius really.
Charles Kane is no great man but someone lucky enough to be born to wealth. The story even emphasizes and turns it into a satire by setting up his coming into money as an investment bank adopting him. He grows up to be a troubled, self-righteous rich boy who thinks, as two of the POVs from people in his life puts it, that he can get anything he wants with money. He's not corrupted by "greatness" but rather starts out as a croney publisher, pushing his own agenda forward and proclaiming grand ideals that have no standing nor importance to Kane himself. In a way it's about how immense wealth isolates him from everybody else by removing any real stakes that almost all average people have to take and deprives him of empathy. He talks about being a philanthropist but throughout the movie we never see him do one charitable act. He expresses sympathies for the workers but never once he promises anything to them or does anything to help their conditions.
As it's achievement Citizen Kane is the perfect representation of detached American billionaires. Just compare Kane to Bezos or Musk and you shall see the similarities.
I just found this channel, thanks so much for putting all of this together!!
Toland was probably the greatest DP who ever lived. He allowed Welles' visual imagination to mold the script into a masterful display of cinematic virtuosity.
Great but not the greatest.
Thank you for your work. I'm going to binge this channel now
imdb: Incorrectly regarded as goofs In the beginning, Kane says, "Rosebud." The nurse enters the room after the word is spoken. The shooting script only mentions Kane and the nurse being in the room. However, within the movie itself Raymond the butler tells the reporter that he had heard Kane say "Rosebud" after the fight with Susan as well as just before he drops the snow globe, implying that what the viewer is shown in that scene is from Raymond's P.O.V.
It could be. Or it could be simply that we do not see him and Welles wisely to not establish him there. In the only long shot of Kane in the room before the nurse enters we can’t even see all of Kane on the bed because his head is obscured in shadow. Only someone stretching to find a flaw would leap to the conclusion that something can’t exist because we didn’t see it. The shot your referencing could be a pov, but it’s also an example of open framing which is framing that reminds us the world outside the frame has relevance.
thanks for such a detailed description
Great breakdown thanks. I have a new perspective. Always loved it, but new perspective.
OK but who heard him say *"ROSEBUD"*
The butler
Yes, the butler. Did you not watch the movie?
I think it was brilliant to avoid establishing the butler as present in the opening and save that for the butler to reveal he was there and it was the second time he heard Kane say it. It lays a last hope for Thompson that someone can explain what it meant. But nobody could explain what meant.
How could people of that time not know how alien this film must have looked to them.
Marvelous analysis. Thank you for your thoughtful comments and observations. I would encourage Cane lovers to watch MANK on Netflix...
It's funny how it actually doesn't make sence, I mean no one could hear him whisper "rosebud".
At the end of the film, his butler suggests he was in the room at the moment of Kane’s death
Welles himself said that "rosebud" is the thing he liked least about Kane.
@@beechnut8779 So did I
On nearly every RUclips video about this film, there is always someone who points this out ... the "big" mystery of how people knew his last word on his deathbed. Obviously someone heard it, because characters in the story know he said _rosebud_ before he died.
@@eduardo_corrochio The nurse puts the sheet over his face, so you take it she was in the room when he died
Many of these movies presented here are great works. I've seen most of them. I've had family sit down with me even and discuss them. Many of my fondest memories. A memory or an idea, is by signature yours which makes it unique to you. These movies are unique for the creative mind of their creators. No one says anything these days about directors and about their creative thinking. Just that their works are great. The red carpet is about fame and glory, stealing away the magnificence of the mind.
I totally agree
What makes CK such a brilliant film is the superb writing by Herman Mankewitz. Welles tried to hog the writing credit, but finally gave credit to Mankewitz. The film contains one continuity flaw: There is no one in the room to hear him when he utters "Rosebud." The nurse enters the room after the quote.
I believe the Writers Guild had to step in so that Mankiewitz got his credit due.
The fact that we don’t see anyone in the room is not proof there isn’t anyone in the room. The room is large. It’s dark and shadowy. In the one long shot looking toward Kane from inside the room, shadows obscure Kane head and everything behind it. The size of the room is hinted at but never revealed. The proof that someone else was in the room to hear it comes at the end when the butler tells Thompson that he was in the room, saw the globe drop and knew he was dead. It’s all we need to establish it and there’s nothing in the opening scene to contradict it.
@@rossobolo If the butler was in the room, why wasn't he shown? Error on the filmmaker's part.
Nice video. You could also have mentioned the use of long takes in the films of Jean Renoir as a precursor to Kane.
I couldn't, because I didn't know that until I read this comment. but really cool and something I'm going to look into. I actually have The Rules of the Game on my to watch list so I might bump it up a few places and watch it next.
The master of the long take was actually Erich von Stroheim.
Never realized how sad the scene is when he's cold to the banker... and kind of creepy. why did the banker want the little boy?
good acting, no propaganda and no silly fake fighting scenes
This is the first film essay that I watched from this channel and you have yourself a new subscriber. I thoroughly enjoyed this video as I did the masterpiece of which it's about, Citizen Kane. Thanks and keep up the great work!
I really enjoyed this - really interesting and thoughtfully done! One suggestion, for those who may not have seen the film, revealing that Rosebud was CFK's childhood sled amounts to a huge spoiler. Perhaps warn viewers in advance? Thanks.
A film from 1941 hardly needs spoiler-warnings!
@@p_nk7279 New generations of viewers are discovering this film on a regular basis and for them, it is indeed new. It's not unlikely that they'll come across this (excellent) piece on YT before they seek out/find Citizen Kane. One of the great pleasures of watching this movie for this first time in the '80s, roughly 40 years after it was released was the revelation of Rosebud.
I love how this is considerd a masterpiece, however i never ever heard of it, only through a curious reference did i actually discover the story
so its a very obscure film today
🙄🤨
That ending, how no ones knows what rosebud is, only us, the audiance....it's just so respectful to us. Nowadways you don't see that, we only get lectured how we should think or do things, as a fucking child.
I recommend Roger Ebert's audio commentary for Citizen Kane as well. It has more great stuff like this channel :)
That is one of the best audio commentaries I have ever heard. Roger Ebert really did his research on this film.
Interesting how Ebert's commentary starts out Kane-weary and then, as the film rolls, escalates in excitement.
@@Bonapartist07 And he doesn't come off as a snob at all.
💥🇲🇽💥🇲🇽💥🇲🇽💥🇲🇽Ayyyyy. Ciudadano K A N E,... EL. MEJOR. F I L M E, de todos los. Tiempos,....Gran película con ORSON WELLES,..... S A L U D O S. Desde C A N A T L A N! Durango,....
Thanks for your explanation Charlie.
Made my new year thanks
This review is most excellent. Thank you for posting! 📫