Citizen Kane
I believe Citizen Kane is the best film of all time. While it is not my personal favorite film of all time, I understand why it normally tops the list. Its cinematography was groundbreaking (literally) for the time. A viewer with a keen eye realizes every angle, shadow, point of view and scene transition was deliberate and thought through. Welles had a hole cut into the floor for some scenes to make the actors appear extremely tall and show their “large way of life.” Welles’ shadow in the film covers other actors to show his hold and power over them. While we may be used to seeing this today, at the time of Citizen Kane’s release this was not often employed. Even still, many recent movies are more concerned with special effects and action than symbolism through cinematography.
Ideas of the American Dream are heavy-laden throughout the film. Kane evinces what every citizen is told he or she can do; as a child he has hardly anything, but he grows up to be one of the most powerful people in the country. Kane supposedly is concerned about the working man yet is truly more concerned about himself. He wants everyone to like him and tries to accrue this through buying love. Dystopia of the American Dream was not presented to the public in the manner of a film during the ‘40s before Citizen Kane. Questions concerning post-war life and pre-Cold War times were not centered on the possibility of not realizing or achieving a good job, plenty of money and a nuclear family. I believe this is one of the reasons the film was not a commercial success at its release.
As for today’s movie audiences, the emphasis of this film may be completely lost simply because it was made in 1941. Though at the same time, watching the film today may again bring into question the truths of the American Dream, wealth and class, and the meaning of love. I believe it is important for society to see this film in hopes of possibly regaining concern for symbolism, cinematography and social messages.