016: Analysis of Citizen Kane's Opening

Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, has long been considered one of the greatest films ever made. On the American Film Institute's special 100 Years, 100 Films, Citizen Kane ranked number one, beating out films such as Gone With the Wind and The Godfather. But why is it so acclaimed? Even from watching the first twelve minutes of the movie, this is fairly evident to the audience.

The film starts off with two title cards: "directed by Orson Welles" reads one and "Citizen Kane" is the other. These cards are completely silent. As the scene changes into a slow camera gliding up an eerie looking fence, some light music begins to play, giving the audience an even stronger feeling of mystery. The camera continues to dissolve into more images showing neglect of something that once was a place of great beauty. This location is Xanadu, the last resting place of Charles Foster Kane. These shots all have a sinister feel to them. The audience is eventually shown a castle, and after a moment one realizes the presence of one illuminated window. The camera goes closer as one sees the light turn off. Moments later, however, the window is once again lit and one realizes that they are now viewing this same window from inside the castle.

The shot is then full of snow as we see a hand holding a snowglobe. Then, suddenly, the snowglobe drops as there is an extreme closeup of lips saying the word "Rosebud". This is the only closeup on another person for the remainder of the opening, an interesting technique used by Orson Welles. Even more interesting is the word "Rosebud". Already, something about that word leaves the audience feeling uneasy. A nurse rushes into the room and is only seen through the reflection in the broken glass of the snow globe.

And just as suddenly, the film cuts to a news bulleton, full of blaring music that almost makes one forget about the haunting feeling of the previous scene. Unlike the last scenes, this news broadcast is full of quick cuts, loud music and the mood feels light. However, after having just seen the previous scene, one has a better view of just how fake this broadcast about Kane is. Whereas the last scene was more of a private, dream-like view of Kane's final moments, this broadcast shows the audience the public side, leaving one confused over which is the true essence of Charles Foster Kane.

Then, the news broadcast stops and the viewer finds themselves in a screening room full of shadowy figures. The room is dimly lit and one can already tell that these men are manipulative and hide behind words and big names. Interesting to look at is the man Thompson. Throughout the scene, you never see his face, which makes him appear to be a pushover and rather small and inadequate next to the important reporters in the room.

Thus after watching the beginning three scenes of this film, it is easy to understand why so many people call Citizen Kane the greatest movie ever made and one of the most influential films of all time.