Orson Welles’ opulent giant Citizen Kane remains one of the greatest films of all time for its magnificent portrayal of the life of Charles Foster Kane, the fictitious newspaper mogul. Brilliantly blending aspects of the period into longer-reaching themes, Welles and Mankiewicz’s joint screenplay is complex and genius, coming back over Kane’s life in a circular motion again and again, each time unveiling a new layer or episode to his story. Welles’ film is full of mystery and symbolism, the most famous of which being Kane’s childhood sled Rosebud, the name being the tycoon’s last words and the research subject of many reporters. Rosebud symbolizes the innocence and joy of childhood, and is vastly contrasted with the many cold and distanced scenes that pepper Kane’s later adulthood. Yet Citizen Kane knows it must go beyond this one metaphor of lost childhood security, encompassing so many stages of Kane’s life with such brilliant cinematography and direction that it is a genuine delight to watch.
As we see the crumbling remains of a never quite finished Xanadu – Charles Foster Kane’s private estate, the “costliest monument of a man to himself” – during the opening scenes, we are welcomed into the collapsing world Kane lived in for his final years. Charles Kane, the lavishly wealthy newspaper magnate, has passed away in his home, uttering the elusive word “rosebud” upon his deathbed. The tabloids rush to discover the true meaning of this phrase, whether it was a nickname for a woman he loved?, a place he visited?, know one seems to know. The audience soon finds out that Rosebud was the name of Kane’s childhood sled that was taken away from him as a child when he was sent to boarding school in the east. To Kane, Rosebud represented the vast hope for the future that he held as a boy but has been lost as he grew.
As we see the crumbling remains of a never quite finished Xanadu – Charles Foster Kane’s private estate, the “costliest monument of a man to himself” – during the opening scenes, we are welcomed into the collapsing world Kane lived in for his final years. Charles Kane, the lavishly wealthy newspaper magnate, has passed away in his home, uttering the elusive word “rosebud” upon his deathbed. The tabloids rush to discover the true meaning of this phrase, whether it was a nickname for a woman he loved?, a place he visited?, know one seems to know. The audience soon finds out that Rosebud was the name of Kane’s childhood sled that was taken away from him as a child when he was sent to boarding school in the east. To Kane, Rosebud represented the vast hope for the future that he held as a boy but has been lost as he grew.
The story is told through a series of overlapping and interlocking flashbacks through Kane’s life. First we see him build the Daily Inquirer from a sparsely circulated newspaper to the largest daily paper in the country with his friend Jedediah. Kane then marries the American President’s niece Emily and subsequently runs for governor. His campaign is cut short when his affair with a woman named Susan Alexander is revealed, and after his initial courtship of Susan he funds her disastrous venture into opera. During his successful career and political campaign, Kane slowly alienated all those around him, leading to him retreating to isolation with Susan in Xanadu, his colossal yet unfinished palace. Susan eventually leaves Kane as their relationship grew colder and more distant, leaving Kane with no one.
One of the great tragedies of Charles Foster Kane is his desire for affection in spite of his actions that alienate those who get close to him. The message of Kane’s eventual state of affairs is simply an elaboration of the fact that money can not purchase love. Despite his elaborate home and decadent possessions, Charles Kane dies alone in his bed, cold, and wishing he were with his childhood sled once more.
The nature of this grandiose picture is hidden in its structure, and through the journalist’s delving into Kane’s life in search of the meaning of “rosebud” we see several themes begin to emerge. After Kane has passed away, his potential biographer asks the question “who, really, was Charles Foster Kane”? This is a question that will never be truly answered, for the film explores his life only through interpretation and stories by former friends or colleagues. His final word is the only clue that he had a life outside of his public image, and due to his isolation Kane’s private life remains a mystery, with the exception of insight from his second wife. Even the various witnesses to his life are unsure of who Kane really was, calling into question the reliability of memory. A degree of ambiguity is thus present in this work, and comes to represent the myth or mystique of the American dream. Charles Kane achieved the success and wealth many pursue or hope for, but in the end he is still left isolated. Kane has been isolated for much of his life, for example during a celebration in his honor we see him sat distanced from the festivities alone in his office.
One of the great tragedies of Charles Foster Kane is his desire for affection in spite of his actions that alienate those who get close to him. The message of Kane’s eventual state of affairs is simply an elaboration of the fact that money can not purchase love. Despite his elaborate home and decadent possessions, Charles Kane dies alone in his bed, cold, and wishing he were with his childhood sled once more.
The nature of this grandiose picture is hidden in its structure, and through the journalist’s delving into Kane’s life in search of the meaning of “rosebud” we see several themes begin to emerge. After Kane has passed away, his potential biographer asks the question “who, really, was Charles Foster Kane”? This is a question that will never be truly answered, for the film explores his life only through interpretation and stories by former friends or colleagues. His final word is the only clue that he had a life outside of his public image, and due to his isolation Kane’s private life remains a mystery, with the exception of insight from his second wife. Even the various witnesses to his life are unsure of who Kane really was, calling into question the reliability of memory. A degree of ambiguity is thus present in this work, and comes to represent the myth or mystique of the American dream. Charles Kane achieved the success and wealth many pursue or hope for, but in the end he is still left isolated. Kane has been isolated for much of his life, for example during a celebration in his honor we see him sat distanced from the festivities alone in his office.
Orson Welles was only 26 years old when Citizen Kane was first released; and despite his experience in theatre, he had little experience in film. Yet Welles was by and large allowed free reign and artistic control over this production. Welles was coming off the notoriety of his “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast, and was well known as a trickster to many in the country, in addition to his temper and for the loss of his mother – both personal details incorporated into Charles Foster Kane.
While the character of Kane remains the focus of the story and the film’s genius exploration of his life is what has let it age so well as a film, the title character was not the most influential feature of the film. Orson Welles’ achievement as a director is what has made other filmmakers so giddy when they speak of Citizen Kane. What Orson Welles achieved with this picture was monumental for its time; he was really the first director to use the camera almost as its own character. Until 1941, most filmmakers kept the camera off to the side, using a passive frame to view the action of the actors, yet Welles engages the camera with the action. Through the wide-angle lens Welles uses we see all that he wants us to, and the camera moves more than in most other films at that time, smoothly following characters or slowly transferring glances. With Citizen Kane, Welles not only gave us one of the most memorable stories (and characters) to grace the silver screen, but he opened up – as Martin Scorsese put it – “a Pandora’s box” for filmmakers, showing the true limitlessness of cinema.
While the character of Kane remains the focus of the story and the film’s genius exploration of his life is what has let it age so well as a film, the title character was not the most influential feature of the film. Orson Welles’ achievement as a director is what has made other filmmakers so giddy when they speak of Citizen Kane. What Orson Welles achieved with this picture was monumental for its time; he was really the first director to use the camera almost as its own character. Until 1941, most filmmakers kept the camera off to the side, using a passive frame to view the action of the actors, yet Welles engages the camera with the action. Through the wide-angle lens Welles uses we see all that he wants us to, and the camera moves more than in most other films at that time, smoothly following characters or slowly transferring glances. With Citizen Kane, Welles not only gave us one of the most memorable stories (and characters) to grace the silver screen, but he opened up – as Martin Scorsese put it – “a Pandora’s box” for filmmakers, showing the true limitlessness of cinema.