Citizen Kane 1941

Yes , I lost a million this year . I 'll lose a million next year . I 'll probably lose a million the year after that . In about fifty or sixty years , I 'll have to shut this news down

So went the words of Charles Foster Kane as played by Orson Welles in the classic film CITIZEN KANE . Those short lines of dialogue do a great deal in setting the tone for what has widely grown to be considered the greatest film ever made . While there will always be pro and con arguments as

to whether or not CITIZEN KANE is the greatest film ever made , it is impossible to deny that the film is a masterpiece and one of the best achievements in cinema ever devised

The character of Charles Foster Kane is an amazing and complex creature whose life is the focus of the film . More than just a mere narrative or timeline of events in a life that was once lived , CITIZEN KANE offers amazing technical achievements that help to complement the amazing cinematic narrative presentation of Kane 's rise , fall and rebirth in death

The black and white photography of the film is a major factor in creating a unique and interesting presentation of the character of Kane The motion picture takes on a film noir style look that grounds the character and the events surrounding his life into a world of grim realism . While such realism would have been captured on color stock easily , it may not have had the dramatic impact that the grainy black and white film deliver . To a degree , the black and white colors give the film a newsreel type effect that was common during the time period in which the film was made . As such , watching the film through the dark colors that Black /White film offers gives the seriousness and severity of the film an edge that would not have been easily captured with Technicolor . Such realism heightens the internal madness that Kane exudes in his driven personality and makes the character and in turn the film , quite believable

There is far more to the technical achievements of CITIZEN KANE than merely Welles ' choice of film stock , as the film contains a host of technological achievements that help complement the narrative . The integration of newsreel footage woven into the narrative of the film helps blur the lines of where the real world and the world of the film begin and end

The structure of Citizen Kane ' is circular , adding more depth every time it passes over the life . The movie opens with newsreel obituary footage that briefs us on the life and times of Charles Foster Kane this footage , with its portentous narration , is Welles ' bemused nod in the direction of the March of Time ' newsreels then being produced by another media mogul , Henry Luce . They provide a map of Kane 's trajectory , and it will keep us oriented as the screenplay skips around in time , piecing together the memories...