Citizen Kane Journal
1. Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.
In
1998, Orson Welles' Citizen Kane was ranked #1 in AFI's best
American films list. Welles took the auteur approach by directing, writing it
along with Herman J. Mankiewicz, and starring in the film as Charles Foster
Kane. Welles played Kane as a young man, middle aged, and old man. When the
film was released in 1941, it was a commercial failure, and was almost not
released in theaters and burned by RKO Productions. Citizen Kane was
nominated for nine Oscars, yet only award the film won for was Best Original
Screenplay. In fact, the audience actually booed when some of the categories
were announced. After the Oscars, RKO put Citizen Kane in a vault, and
Welles never got a chance to make another picture with that kind of
control.
Before Citizen
Kane, Orson Welles was known mostly for Mercury Theater dramas, which
included "The War of the Worlds," back in 1938. Welles was only 24
when filming started for Citizen Kane, and and had no prior
directing or filming experience. However, according to William Alland, RKO
Productions gave Welles total control of the film: casting, producing,
directing with no questions asked.
The film
itself, and the character of Charles Foster Kane, was closely based on the life
of William Randolph Hearst. Hearst built the worlds largest newspaper chain
because he decided it would be "fun to run a newspaper," although the
difference was Hearst was born from a wealthy family. Hearst also was involved
with Marion Davies, the basis for Susan Alexander Kane, and his mansion San
Simeon was the model for Kane's home of Xanadu. Hearst was not amused by the
similarities, and according to Vern Whaley, no Hearst newspaper
advertised, or reviewed the film.
After watching Citizen Kane
again, it still amazes me that this film was made during the 1940's because it
looks like this film could have been made in today's society. This film was so
ahead of its time, and what surprises me even more was that people didn't
like the film at first. It took the public so many years to realize how
great this film was. It truly is an American classic.
2. Find a related article and summarize the content. (on the
film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) You can use the
library or the Internet. Cite the article or copy the url to your
journal entry. Summarize in your own words the related article but do not
plagiarize any content.
The
beginning of the article talks about the tale between two egos: Orson Welles
and William Randolph Hearst, and how Citizen Kane was based off the life
of him. Hearst tried so hard to keep the film from being released. Now almost
75 years later, Hearst's family called for a “truce” by showing the film inside
the Hearst Castle. The article then talks about how the “boy wonder,” Orson
Welles was given complete creative control of the film and how Charles Foster
Kane was a “stand-in for William Randolph Hearst.” His castle in San Simeon was
also resembled to be Kane’s palace Xanadu. The article described the Hearst
Castle as the “definition of decadent: 165 rooms, a quarter-million acres,”
along with 15th century ceilings, and the world largest private
petting zoo.
The
article gives a brief summary of Hearst’s life as America’s first media mogul
by dominating newspapers, magazines, newsreels and movies. Hearst was also very
opposed of the New Deal, and hired Hitler and Mussolini to be paid columnists.
This caused him to become the enemy of the lefties and more importantly, to
Orson Welles. Hearst’s reaction to stop the release of the film was by
threatening to give bad publicity to the stars of RKO Productions, yet Citizen Kane was still released in
theatres.
3. Apply the article to the film screened in class. How
did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director,
content, etc.?
The
article I read supported the way I thought about Citizen Kane because of the controversy that this film got before
it got released. William Randolph Hearst believed that this film, and especially
Orson Welles, was making him look like a fool. Hearst made sure that he never
saw the film as long as he was alive. Fast forward to 2015, his family decided
to end the controversy and screen the film inside the Hearst Castle for the
very first time. It makes me think that the power has on people can end a
lifelong grudge between two egos.
4. Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion,
formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the
article. I am less interested in whether you liked or disliked a
film, (although that can be part of this) than I am in your understanding of
its place in film history or the contributions of the director.
There had never
been a picture like "Citizen Kane." It openly satirized a wealthy and
powerful living American in William Randolph Hearst, deliberately antagonized
Hollywood's ruling elite, and bravely disregarded conventional cinema technique.
Innovative, aggressive, and fascinating, Citizen
Kane electrified a smug industry. Welles dominated Kane, both the film and
the character. He had become, in a moment, the most admired, envied, praised
and detested man in Hollywood. Unhappily, the movie industry never learned to
utilize Welles' genius, and his career never returned to the heights it had
reached in 1941. It’s like Welles ultimately turned into Charles Foster Kane
himself.
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