1. The narrative structure of Citizen Kane, the way the story is told, is one of the film’s most distinctive aspects, and certain episodes in the film serve more than one function. What functions does the “News on the March” newsreel serve? What does it provide for you, the viewer? I love the way the film was filmed, it was a huge jump from earlier films. The news or march is inspiring because of all the hard work the brothers put into the bussiness.
2. The story of Citizen Kane is told primarily in flashback, and some episodes are related more than once by different people. What is the effect of this? Do the different versions of events contradict each other? Is there any significance to who tells what? I liked the flashbacks in the filmm to the brothers child hood and such it gives the movie a nice emotional touch. I liked seeing things in past it allows you to connect and help you better understand the film. It gives an emotional connection to the one who is telling.
3. Many people (including Welles himself) have referred to the whole “Rosebud” devise as “dollar book Freud,” a cheap and superficial plot device. What do you think Rosebud contributes to the film? Is it meant to “explain” Kane’s character? Does it? Assuming you haven’t guessed already, do you feel cheated when Rosebud is explained at the end? I think that the Rosebud did show Kanes charactor. Unfortunaltely dissapointed when the rosebud was explained.
4. When Orson Welles first saw RKO studios, he is reported to have said, “This is the biggest electric train set a boy ever had to play with.” Is this feeling reflected in Citizen Kane? In what ways? It shows Kanes hard work and he did a good job making a successful newspaper company.
5. Citizen Kane employs much “depth of focus” photography, which allows people and objects to be in sharp focus both in the foreground and the background simultaneously. In which sequences is this particularly evident? What does this technique contribute to the film? The depth of focus was helpful for scenes when the actors/actresses were alone thinking in a room or in a dialogue setting. This contributed new aspects to film because people tried new things with photography. This adds depth and seriousness to movies.
6. Citizen Kane is frequently compared to film noir, with many critics calling it an early film noir. What elements of film noir does Welles use in Citizen Kane? Can you think of any reasons why it isn’t a film noir in the traditional sense? I think its a film noir movie because I felt like it did have dark aspects to it. Its about hard work theres no fluff in the movie, its realtistic and relatable..