Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane is considered to be one of the best movies of all time. This is because it introduced a variety of new cinematic components to film that had never been used before. Orson Welles brought many new things to the table with his creation, opening the eyes of filmmakers and influencing later works. One of these components being lighting and the use of shadows.

In the movie there is a scene where Kane's wife Susan becomes upset about the generous severance check that Kane had sent Jed Leland after firing him. She yells at him in a high shrieking voice about the man who wrote such an awful review about her singing and says she is going to quit. Kane waits patiently and listens to her for a while but then stands directly in front of her, blocking all the light from her face. She becomes very intimidated and this shadow technique shows that Kane is much too powerful of a person for her to argue with.


In another scene at the beginning of the movie, the men from the newspaper are in a room deciding what to talk about regarding Kane's death. The only light in the room is coming from the windows, which is an example of single source lighting. Because of this lighting, we can't make out the faces of the men and it leaves us only with silhouettes, especially the main reporter. This use of lighting is effective here because it shows the audience that these are less important characters and it isn't necessary for them to be scene. The more important characters of the movie are often shown fully with light.

In one scene, the lighting that was used was not as effective as the other uses in the film. This is when the reporter goes into the Library to read Thatcher's journal and when he is in the vault, a beam of light shines down on the spot where he sits down to read. This makes us think that this is a moment of truth where he finds out everything he needs to know, but in reality he discovers nothing. Therefore, this lighting is not really necessary.

The use of lighting helped to set the tone of a dark, moody atmosphere. Lighting and shadows were also used to create the impression of power and dominance that Kane had. This was achieved by casting his shadow on someone inferior to him and having his shadow be big and stand alone representing his wealth and independence. Lighting is used by Welles in Citizen Kane not because it was necessary but because it adds to the story. Shadows were used to evoke emotion from the audience in certain scenes and keep the dark ominous feel of the movie.

In the movie The Godfather, lighting is strategically used to highlight faces and hide or show emotions. Shadows are used to hide the eyes of the characters so that the audience can't tell what they are thinking at that moment. Lighting in both The Godfather and Citizen Kane is critical in sparking emotion and showing power and importance in the story. Without the use of these dramatic shadows in Citizen Kane, the film definitely would not be as exciting or critically acclaimed as it is now.

1935 Movie Project: The Rivalry

Jane and Grace are two average American schoolgirls from Indiana who have been inseparable since birth. They always had a passion for dancing and would put on shows in Jane’s backyard for all the neighborhood kids. But one day, Grace’s dad got transferred to Florida for work and after she left they lost all contact. Fast forward fifteen years and Jane is following her dream of dance and heading to New York to audition for a show. But once there she runs into Grace who is also auditioning and instead of them reconnecting as old friends, a rivalry sparks between them.

This movie is a high budget classic American film with A-list actresses playing the roles of Jane and Grace. I chose a feel good American dancer movie as an upbeat contrast to the times of the depression. MGM was the perfect studio for this because it is great for big star oriented movies with glamorous expensive sets. I chose Virginia Grey and Joan Crawford to play the leading roles of Jane and Grace because of their big success with movies and background with dance and Broadway. Costumes and makeup will be very important for this movie so I have hired William J. Tuttle to do the job because he is known for being the very best. My movie is very innocent and therefore won’t be affected too much by the Hays Code but maybe the costumes especially in the dance scenes would have to be altered to fit the requirements. I decided to leave this movie in black and white because that’s what audiences prefer for a classic movie like this. This movie would be very successful in 1935 and would get a lot of money at the box office because it’s a great film to see to escape the rough times of the 1930s.

MYST POST #1: Midnight in Paris

Midnight in Paris

I've heard a lot of good things about Midnight in Paris and I have always been a big fan of Owen Wilson but I just never got around to seeing it. I haven't seen many of Woody Allen's films but I saw a little bit of Annie Hall and when I watched just the first part of this movie I could tell it was done by the same person. I like that style that he consistently has in his movies. I don't know what I thought I would get out of this movie when I sat down to watch it, but it definitely exceeded any expectations I had for it. I even learned some new things about 1920s culture and important people of that era. So not only was this movie enjoyable it was also educational for me.

The movie basically starts off with Gil (Owen Wilson) and his fiancé Inez (Rachel McAdams) on vacation in Paris with her parents. You can tell right away that the couple doesn't seem right for each other. Inez wants the upper class American suburban life and Gil's dream is to move to Paris and write his novel. On a late night walk by himself one night, Gil decides to stop and sit on some classic parisian stone steps and as the clock strikes midnight an old car from the 20s drives down the road, stopping right in front of him. The people in the car call over to him and insist that he join them, and Gil being the spur of the moment kind of guy he is, hopped in the car and proceeded to the 1920s. They arrived at a party and here he met Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, along with Cole Porter. Later he realizes that he can be transported back to this era every night if he goes to the same spot, and ends up meeting 20s icons like Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, and Salvador Dali. While going on his nightly adventures he meets a girl named Adriana and quickly falls in love with her and after spending more time with her she shows him what he is looking for in his present 20th century life.

The editing in this movie is done very well and I couldn't help but notice all the camera techniques that we learned about in class. There is one scene were Gil meets Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald and he thinks that they are all crazy mentioning people who had died many years ago, like they were the ones throwing the party. Then the scene moves to a bar where flapper girls are dancing all around and you can see Gil among the crowd, looking around amazed and confused. Then all of the sudden we see a close up of his face that shows pure shock and terror in his eyes. He finally realizes that he has somehow traveled back to the 1920s and is now hanging out with all his literary idols. The camera pans over to Zelda having a good time, dancing and drinking and then pans back to Gil with the same dumbfounded look. Then quickly in that same close up shot we see his face slowly change to a smile and gives a slight shoulder shrug like "What the hell, I might as well enjoy myself while I'm here." There are no words needed in this scene to express how he is feeling, we can just see it from look on this face.

I ended up really enjoying this movie being a history buff and also sucker for a good romantic comedy. I thought it was really well done and I liked the theme of nostalgia and wanting to live in the "Golden Age". Everyone has a different idea of what the "Golden Age" is and wants to live in a different time period other than the present because the present just isn't good enough. What I find funny is in fifty years 2015 will be the "Golden Age" for someone else. That aside I give this five out of five stars because it was an all around great movie.

5 out of 5 stars