How do the cinematic techniques used in the opening reel of Citizen Kane illustrate ideas seen in the whole film?

The opening reel of Citizen Kane is more famously known as the ‘Rosebud Prologue’. The section itself is a mere five minutes in length, but contains at least eighteen scenes. Each scene is very short but they are very cleverly linked. The entire opening sequence is called a reel, as the film would have been first stored on large reels of acetate film mounted on projection machines. Citizen Kane in its entirety would have been stored on about twenty reels.

Cinematography is the study of camerawork, cinematical photography and the visual composition of shots. This means looking at how the director has used different camera angles and lighting to enhance the viewing of the film. Cinematography also means thinking about why a director has changed the angle of camera in keeping with the mood of the film. Looking out for any use of light, colour and shadow, and any special photographic effects also come under the title of cinematography.

Extreme close-ups are used at several points during the opening reel. This effect highlights important detail shown in the foreground and also gives the point of view of someone spying or intruding. One example of this is of Charles Foster Kane’s lips saying ‘Rosebud’. The camera shows Kane’s moustache, lips and the tip of his nose only. Using this technique generates a sense of mystery, as we do not yet know who this man is. This also happens when we view Kane’s childhood home, his farmhouse. All the camera shows is a distant farmhouse, just visible through the snow. We then ‘zoom out’ to see that the farmhouse is in fact a model inside a ‘snow globe’. The meaning of the opening sequence is hidden and concealed, just like the life of Charles Foster Kane. All through Citizen Kane, Kane is never seen in his true colours, which are generosity, sincerity and honesty. Instead he is always putting on an act. Kane is a dichotomy in that he hides his trueness and displays a false image.

Going back to the close up of the farmhouse, we see that this is the place of Charles Foster Kane’s childhood, and this is where he lost his innocence and his happiness. Once the camera has ‘zoomed out’, we see things have changed and that Kane can only look back on the farmhouse as a distant memory. All the camera is doing is pulling back, but this simple operation shows how Charles Foster Kane’s life has changed. The ‘snow globe’ is purely a possession of a lonely old man. The fact that the snow globe smashes shows that Kane’s present and past life is completely gone. His fall to the ground is symbolic of his life once he left the farmhouse as life goes downward for him from then on. From then on his life begins to decline into misery, loneliness, solitude and unhappiness.

Light is used cleverly in the beginning of Citizen Kane. Lots of scenes were filmed at unusually low light levels and then ‘force-developed’ increasing the contrast. This would usually leave the film unacceptably grainy but the tonal range was high enough to compensate. All through the beginning we cannot make out what we are actually seeing. We are confused with images of gondolas, monkeys and marshes. Once the camera has panned up to the exterior of Xanadu, we see that there is a single light on inside Kane’s room. The next scene is then an interior shot of Kane’s room looking out. The opening sequence is filmed after the sun has gone down, so to be able to see outside Kane’s window, an exterior light is placed. This does not affect the view of the outside, but enables you to have a better view of the background as well as the foreground. Once the nurse covers the body with the bed sheet, nearly everything is in darkness. This symbolises isolation, desolation and transience, which is exactly what Kane is; dead. For Kane, Xanadu is a place of darkness. He is shown no love inside there and his face is almost always covered with a shadow whilst he remains there. When Kane is in a fight over the election with his first wife Emily at the breakfast table his face is covered with a shadow as well, once again symbolising despair. The light and dark can also be said to be resemble that of newsprint, as Kane’s life becomes a news story. This is ironic as Kane’s life is anything but black and white; it in fact shows the emotion of many shades in between when Kane is not hiding them. All through his life, Kane’s real personality is in the ‘dark’. It is therefore important that we see him end his life quietly, quickly and most importantly, in the dark.

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When Kane falls, he drops the ‘snow globe’, and we then see a very fast sequence of shots. One of which is seeing the nurse enter in the room from the view of the broken ‘snow globe’. We see the nurse through a ‘fish eye’ or distorted lens. This means that the outsides of the shot are rounded and viewed as if through a fish’s point of view. This is important because Kane’s life is all about distortion and hidden truths. This shot is also viewed at an extreme angle. It is one of the only times the camera points upwards. Looking up at something symbolises respect, admiration, dominance and authority. Slowly, Kane loses all of these through his life. The nurse seems to be much larger now that Kane is dead on the floor. For the first time in his life, Kane is smaller and more insignificant. He is now lower down than the nurse, as she is in control.

Editing plays a large part in the Rosebud prologue. The editing pulls all the scenes together in a way that makes it such a memorable and significant prologue. Editing is the process of placing one scene after another and cutting out the unwanted sections. This is one of the last things done in a film. It is known as ‘post production’ as it can only be done once all the scenes have been shot. The recorded film is then taken to the editor who works closely with the director in making the film into what you see on the screen. Many scenes are ‘lost’ or deleted at this point, as the director may not view them to be necessary in the whole storyline of the film. The rosebud prologue contains lots of very short scenes, so this whole opening sequence would have taken a lot of work and lots of hours in the editing room.

Xanadu, Kane’s palace, remains constantly in the top right hand corner of the screen as we come closer to it all through the opening reel. First of all, we see this palace through a perimeter fence. This is obstructing a clear view of Xanadu. As we dissolve our way through the next shots, Xanadu becomes nearer and nearer and then finally we enter into Kane’s room. Not only are we getting nearer to Kane’s bedroom, but more importantly, closer to the secret of Rosebud.

Most shots in this reel are ‘dissolved’ into one another. This means that there is not just a quick swap from scene to scene, but that each scene is ‘super imposed’ on top of the next and ‘dissolves’ into the emerging scene. Very little crystal clear at the beginning of the Rosebud Prologue. We cannot make out what we are seeing. We can only make out strange and contrasting objects in the foreground of each shot. Gondolas, monkeys and ruined buildings are all seen as we move closer to Xanadu. This is important because these things are out of place just as Kane’s life is out of place. These gondolas and monkeys do not belong in a private residence, as they don’t fit. Neither do they belong in the opening sequence, just as nothing ever belongs to Kane. To him, everything is just a mere possession. The mist also generates an air of mystery and confusion. This can make the viewer think that perhaps all this is a dream. In a way it is all a work of fiction.

Citizen Kane was only ever produced thanks to RKO Studios. They were having a complete revamp of their image, attempting to produce young and trendy films again, thus improving their intellectual profile. To do this the head of the studios, George J. Schaffer looked to sign young theatre directors. He offered Welles a large contract in 1939. Orson would be granted “artistic freedom”; freedom to choose his own projects; his own choice of cast and lastly a generous budget of $500,000. Orson used the opportunity of “artistic freedom” to its full extent, producing such a groundbreaking, innovative and original prologue. Orson badly needed this break as his current commitments at the Mercury Theatre were beginning to look very disappointing. His last productions of ‘Danton’s Death’ and ‘Five Kings’ had both been a “resounding flop”.

Welles first cinematic production was an adaptation of the Joseph Conrad novel, ‘Heart of Darkness’. RKO decided his plans were too elaborate and ambitious and not one shot was filmed. The screenplay and initial sketches did influence Citizen Kane however. ‘Heart of Darkness’ is the story of an idealistic ship’s captain setting off on a perilous voyage to find a legendary trader living in the Congo named Kurtz. Kurtz made his fortune through the trade of ivory. Local inhabitants surrounded Kurtz with praise and treated him as a god. On Marlow’s extensive and treacherous expedition, he hears many rumours about Kurtz. When Marlow reaches the ‘Heart of Darkness’, the deepest part of the jungle, he finds an ill, confused and pathetic Kurtz who dies shortly after Marlow’s arrival.

Kurtz in fact bears remarkable similarities to Kane. Marlow sets off on his journey wanting to discover the truth of Kurtz, just as the reporter set off on his quest into discovering the truth of Kane. When Kane is living out his senior years he is ill, confused and pathetic like Kurtz. He is no longer happy in his life and is now on a journey into darkness and death. In his prime Kane was praised and had a wide spread influence with his extensive wealth provided by his newspaper; his source of power. The sketches of Kurtz’s temple also bared noticeable similarities to the qualities that made up Xanadu; despair, melancholy, ugliness and distress.

Art direction is the procedure of how a film accomplishes its general look. Citizen Kane is a good example of the significance of art direction. A lot was done keeping inside the small budget. Xanadu dominates the beginning of the film with long shots of its outstanding structure. Kane, however, views Xanadu to be ugly and a place of misery. These long shots were not achieved by filming a real place. They were painted on to the background, which was then projected onto the rear of the shot. This art direction gives us our first impressions of Kane’s palace, Xanadu. The first impressions are that Xanadu is an eerie ‘haunted house’ on top of a hill, obstructed by a large ‘keep out’ sign and a perimeter fence. Architecturally, Xanadu can be regarded as a gothic building. This is important, as gothic buildings are quite ugly in appearance. It dates from the 12th century to the 15th century, largely being seen in Western European religious buildings. The structure however, also has renaissance influences in it. This is a very strange blend and is very confusing. It is placed on top of a far away hill, this symbolises seclusion. Xanadu is never a happy place for Kane.

Xanadu was also inspired by many other sources such as the castle of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. After all, what Citizen Kane is, is a fairy tale without a happy ending. John Mansbridge, the current head of the Disney art department was a draftsman in the RKO art department whilst Citizen Kane was being filmed. He and Welles deny the link and say that the painting is by matte artist Mario Larinaga. Another probable architectural inspiration is that of San Simeon, the house of the renowned editor William Randolph Hurst, who made the famous quote “You provide the pictures, I’ll provide the war”. Citizen Kane is actually based on William Randolph Hurst as an insult from Orson Welles. Kane is a young newspaper editor who makes it big time, as was William Randolph Hurst. The final insult to him would be to change his house into Xanadu.

The original title for Citizen Kane was ‘American’. It represented the American Dream and its fall into nothing. The Gettysburg Address and The Declaration of Independence state that every American is entitled to ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’. However, the title was not the only thing changed before the final film was produced. Lots of money was lost when sets were built for scenes in the original screenplay but were not used in the final cut. One of which is the ‘Brothel Sequence’. Originally, the celebration party for the ‘Inquirer’ staff was to have moved on to a high-class brothel, ‘Georgie’s Place’. This was cut as the Hays Office objected. The girls were used instead as the dancers at the party. It was rumoured also that Kane was pimping these girls.

A set for the hospital scenes had also begun to be built. It had an exaggerated depth perspective; this would have been made possible with a 24mm wide-angle lens. The set however, was never completed as Welles sprained his ankle in shooting and the scenes were played in front of a blank screen, the backdrop being drawn in later. In the early scripts Kane and Leland were young single men who enjoyed the company of women who had questionable morals. They were described as ‘Loose Women’. Kane was also a frequent visitor to Georgie’s Place. Other deleted scenes include Kane interrupting his honeymoon to confront the president of a scandal; Kane arranging for Susan’s young lover to have a fatal ‘accident’; and the death of his son. Howard, Kane’s son from his first marriage is killed when he and other protestors from a fascist group attempt to capture an armoury in Washington. He is buried in the chapel of Xanadu alongside his warm, loving grandmother. None of these scenes were used in the final cut of Citizen Kane. It is unknown as to why they were cut, but it may have been because it would have made the film a higher rating.

The soundtrack for Citizen Kane is another ‘post production’ element. The soundtrack can be split into two parts; music and any other sound, particularly dialogue. The only dialogue in the Rosebud prologue is from Kane, when he says “Rosebud”. When Kane says this, there is a heavy echo put on his voice. This would have been done in the sound editing room. This procedure could have been in either of two ways. The first is that it would have been recorded as it was filmed and the echo was put on afterwards. The second is that a ‘wild track’ would have been recorded. This means that Orson Welles would have been separately recorded after the shooting of the scene, and his voice would have been recorded independently. This speech would have then been put in place in the editing stages.

The word ‘Rosebud’ plays a very important part to the rest of the film. The reporter’s search is to find out what ‘Rosebud’ means. The last words of a dead person are often noted down and researched upon. The reporter never does find out what ‘Rosebud’ means and neither do we until the end of the film. Right at the very end we realise that ‘Rosebud’ is the name of the sled given to Charles Foster Kane as a child, when he had no cares and had innocence and happiness. Echo symbolises that it is now just a memory and that time has past him by too quickly.

Dissonant, inharmonious, minor chords make up the music in the Rosebud Prologue. The repeated phrases have stark orchestration and are minimalist and atonal. This gives you an impression of spookiness as we come closer to Xanadu. When an important person dies in a film there is normally extensive orchestration making you weep and feel sorrow. This was especially true in 40s Hollywood. However, atonal music is played so that we feel no sorrow for Kane. Each time this music is played it is in a different key or a different tempo. This symbolises Kane in that he was man but can be seen in many different ways. All through Citizen Kane there is a severe contrast of music. Dancing Girls sing ‘There is a man’ for Kane at his party when he is at a high point in his life. This is a happy song and shows Kane is enjoying life. When he destroys his room and many of his possessions, the music is once again discordant and abstract. The traditional use of a soundtrack is to complement the film, not draw attention away from it. This however, is untrue for Citizen Kane.

Before Susan Alexander leaves Kane, she tells him that he has never actually shown her any real love or given anything of himself. He has just supplied her with meaningless possessions. This is true throughout Kane’s life. His collections of statues and priceless artefacts mean nothing to him, they are just expensive possessions. It would seem that the film is trying to say Kane only ever really owned one thing, and that was ‘Rosebud’.

Through this essay I have tried to show how the cinematic techniques used in the prologue of Citizen Kane demonstrate ideas seen in the remainder of the film. The opening reel gives a snap shot of what is seen throughout the entire motion picture. Every part of the production commented in this essay contributed to the creation of an original prologue. One question, however, remains - are we reading too closely into it all? Did Orson Welles really mean to make such a landmark piece of footage? It would seem so as there has been so much media coverage over it. Books have been written, documentaries have been filmed and millions have watched interviews wanting to know the secret of Rosebud. Orson Welles’ life also mirrors that of Kane. After this picture Orson’s film career went down hill. As Kane grew older he was out of his prime just as Orson was. Kane’s major big break was the newspaper, a way of expressing his views to the whole world; Orson’s major big break was this film, a way of expressing his views to the whole world.

Adam Sopp