Analysis of Cinematography in The Film Citizen Kane

Introduction to Citizen Kane and its Cinematography

For decades, Citizen Kane has been associated with legendary status. It has long stood accused of being the greatest film ever made, and it frequently does so for good reason. It is historically substantial due to the manner in which the narrative and the cinematography have transformed the cinematic landscape. Once examined, its distinct cinematic images become rare, regardless of an era's filmmaking process.

Produced in 1941, Citizen Kane is not one of the era's quintessential films, as best seen by the fact that the feature itself does not appear as the year's Best Picture nominee. Originally, the black-and-white cinematography made the feature look inferior in the minds of producers, but it currently stands alongside the likes of other great movies of 1941. It is the main reason that Orson Welles became one of the greatest directors of his era and also a trailblazer. The movie is what one cinematographer used for his fifth Oscar nomination. Evocative, he concurrently filmed. Welles, who as a director rewrote the books on cinematic identities, did everything in his power to instigate a truly original - yet ultimately unquantifiable - visual style. When it was originally vetted in 1941, it turned off many people; as one critic put it, "A great film with so much aggression." It touches on familiar and recurring themes such as the tragedy of fallen ambition and the inevitable loss this ambition causes in an intellectual quest for understanding the human mind.

Key Cinematographic Techniques Used in Citizen Kane

Deep focus, which is a cinematographic technique that became used during this period, allows everything in the frame to be in focus regardless of its distance from the camera. This presented an innovative way to shoot and compose visual storytelling, influencing how films since have revealed their narratives to the viewer. This is demonstrated in a notable film through innovations. Deep focus allowed for multiple planes of action to be in sharp detail in a single frame, suggesting that the viewer’s attention is a commodity in the film. Those who view the film are free to look where they want, without the traditional overt guide of framing. Through this, the density of action became even more important, as the more significant visual elements stretched throughout the z-plane of the frame demanded even more attention than before, due to everything being capable of drawing the viewer's gaze with equal precision.

The use of extreme camera angles and unconventional framing in the film reflects the personality of the main character, who is established in the film's opening newsreel as someone who did not adhere to convention, including in his appearance. Throughout the film, the character is depicted as disconnected from humanity, serving to distance him and indicate the inner void he feels via a comparison between himself and the environment drained of all kindness. Finally, the film’s use of lighting is a unique characteristic due to the dramatic lighting. A message is carried through dramatic lighting, which serves as a visual representation of each character’s mental state and emotions in the film. Each scene employs a combination of low-key and hard lighting to develop extreme contrasts and very dark shadows, making the image complex and filled with emotion that shifts away from the poverty and restraint of the time.

Impact of Cinematography on the Narrative and Themes of the Film

Beyond creating mood and atmosphere, cinematography appears to drive forward the narrative and underscore the film's overarching themes. Three main themes in Citizen Kane are: one man's quest for power, one man's isolation, and one man's search for happiness. Any effective visual storytelling needs to work in conjunction with the story to create an emotional response. Whether asking for audience empathy, tears, laughter, or even anger, Citizen Kane has to present the characters and plot in this way in order to fulfill the point of the film. Welles does this with the cinematography, but there are some scenes that are especially powerful. The breakfast table scene between Kane and Emily at their estate feels encompassing, important, relevant, and purely from their lives. Without the human interest aspect, his life would seem not only foreign, but also unimportant, and that would greatly decrease the intended emotional response. Do these individual elements impress their source of the movie and continue deepening those public inputs?

One of the biggest narrative successes of Citizen Kane is the mystery it maintains throughout the plot – Who is Charles Foster Kane? To create this inscrutability, we need to understand the characters in the shot and place them within the story's background initially. Such suspense remains deep in your memory for longer. Kane's first wife, Emily, also has a powerful interest. Citizen Kane viewers see her only twice: at the conclusion and at the very start of our tale. Audience members will only ever see her as aged and hopeless until they see her footage as a very young woman. Her abilities and wisdom all make a startling revelation in the visual characteristics of the breakfast scene. The mise en scène around her in the scene highlights the nature of her shock. For the first time in a long time, Emily is willing to participate in her husband's life. This is very big news for the film's sad conclusion.

Comparison with Cinematography in Other Films of the Era

Comparing the cinematography of Citizen Kane to that of other important films from the early 1940s shows that it was not simply a matter of the film standing out from everything else in its time. Other films from the same time period have comparable lighting, deep focus, and visual composition. One film is commonly cited as featuring many of the same innovations as Kane. Black and white cinematography, lighting with 'low-key' shadows, and a deep focus with the foreground, action, and background being equally clear to the eye. Another example of this visual style is also from 1944, and starring a well-known actor. Similarly, in another film, the stark visual design establishes a dark feeling associated with the evil doings of the people in a controlled area and an exotically romantic aura representing freedom and sanctuary. The composition is crowded and often off balance to dramatize the mar on the ordered world. In addition to these films using deep focus photography and lighting to create a dramatic or mysterious mood, they also reflect the increased presence of European avant-garde styles in Hollywood films.

Citizen Kane's cinematography stands out for its time, utilizing deep focus and lighting that were already emerging in other films. Despite not being groundbreaking, it remains an impressive achievement with sophisticated mise-en-scène and attention to detail. The film deepens the complexity of its characters through visual means, a lasting aspect of its visual design.