Citizen Kane Post-Screening Reflection Day #1 In the first half of the movie, there is an important scene which takes place at the very start of the beginning. It shows a very large, dismal looking mansion, and we see a man lying on a bed through a window. Then we see snow and a small cottage, and when the camera zooms out we see it is just a snow globe which is dropped from the hands of the man as he says “Rosebud”. A nurse comes and pulls the sheet over his body. This is a significant scene because it sets the audience up for the main topic of the movie, the man who we learn is Kane and the words that are his very last. Orson Welles uses filming techniques to accomplish this very well. When filming the mansion, he uses low angle shots to make it look dark and ominous. This works well to portray the type of man that Kane must have been to call the place his home. Also, when he uses the shot that comes from inside the snow globe, it has a fish eye effect and helps the audience to infer that Kane’s life was distorted and unnatural. Lastly he uses an extreme close shot to show Kane’s lips as he says his dying words: rosebud. That helped to put extra emphasis on Kane’s final words. This scene contributes to the film as a whole because the entire movie is a pursuit to understand the meaning of Kane’s final words through flashbacks of Kane’s past. Eventually, the viewer hopes to find out what rosebud really is because of the emphasis placed on it at the beginning of the film.
Citizen Kane Post-Screening Reflection Day #2
The most significant scene from the second half of Citizen Kane directed by Orson Welles, is the scene in which the actual rosebud is finally revealed. In this scene we see a group of reporters who decide that Rosebud will never be found, but must have been something that Mr. Kane either lost or could never attain. Then, we see a sled from his childhood pulled out of his mountains of possessions thrown into a furnace fire. As it catches fire, we see the name of the sled was rosebud. This is a significant scene because it finally explains the question that was asked from the beginning of the movie: what is rosebud? It explained that rosebud symbolized a time from his childhood living with his parents, the only time that he was ever truly happy. It was sad that out of all the valuable possessions he had, the simplest one meant the most to him and was burned like a piece of driftwood. Welles uses a long shot at first to show the reporters conversing, but he soon zooms out to show the mountains of valuables and possessions that Kane had, becoming an establishing shot as the camera flew above his inventory. Then, when the sled is thrown into the fire, a close shot reveals that it is rosebud. Then, a low angle shot shows the smoke of the furnace fire billowing into the dismal sky. A close shot then displays the no trespassing sign, and a final long shot of the remote palace of Xanadu fills the frame as the movie comes to a close. This final scene makes a statement that is slowly revealed throughout the film; that happiness doesn’t come from the luxuries or power in life but in the humble moments that we enjoy and hold dear to our hearts.
Welles Responses
Citizen Kane Post-Screening Reflection Day #1
In the first half of the movie, there is an important scene which takes place at the very start of the beginning. It shows a very large, dismal looking mansion, and we see a man lying on a bed through a window. Then we see snow and a small cottage, and when the camera zooms out we see it is just a snow globe which is dropped from the hands of the man as he says “Rosebud”. A nurse comes and pulls the sheet over his body. This is a significant scene because it sets the audience up for the main topic of the movie, the man who we learn is Kane and the words that are his very last. Orson Welles uses filming techniques to accomplish this very well. When filming the mansion, he uses low angle shots to make it look dark and ominous. This works well to portray the type of man that Kane must have been to call the place his home. Also, when he uses the shot that comes from inside the snow globe, it has a fish eye effect and helps the audience to infer that Kane’s life was distorted and unnatural. Lastly he uses an extreme close shot to show Kane’s lips as he says his dying words: rosebud. That helped to put extra emphasis on Kane’s final words. This scene contributes to the film as a whole because the entire movie is a pursuit to understand the meaning of Kane’s final words through flashbacks of Kane’s past. Eventually, the viewer hopes to find out what rosebud really is because of the emphasis placed on it at the beginning of the film.
Citizen Kane Post-Screening Reflection Day #2
The most significant scene from the second half of Citizen Kane directed by Orson Welles, is the scene in which the actual rosebud is finally revealed. In this scene we see a group of reporters who decide that Rosebud will never be found, but must have been something that Mr. Kane either lost or could never attain. Then, we see a sled from his childhood pulled out of his mountains of possessions thrown into a furnace fire. As it catches fire, we see the name of the sled was rosebud. This is a significant scene because it finally explains the question that was asked from the beginning of the movie: what is rosebud? It explained that rosebud symbolized a time from his childhood living with his parents, the only time that he was ever truly happy. It was sad that out of all the valuable possessions he had, the simplest one meant the most to him and was burned like a piece of driftwood. Welles uses a long shot at first to show the reporters conversing, but he soon zooms out to show the mountains of valuables and possessions that Kane had, becoming an establishing shot as the camera flew above his inventory. Then, when the sled is thrown into the fire, a close shot reveals that it is rosebud. Then, a low angle shot shows the smoke of the furnace fire billowing into the dismal sky. A close shot then displays the no trespassing sign, and a final long shot of the remote palace of Xanadu fills the frame as the movie comes to a close. This final scene makes a statement that is slowly revealed throughout the film; that happiness doesn’t come from the luxuries or power in life but in the humble moments that we enjoy and hold dear to our hearts.