Even After Seventy Years, Welles' Debut Film is Still a Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (16 September 2014)

What else can be said about CITIZEN KANE that hasn't been already said? Some viewers describe it as the greatest movie of all time; others consider it rubbish. Produced by the wunderkind of the classical Hollywood era, the film incorporates most of the Mercury Theater cast who had spent most of their time working with Welles in New York.
Thematically speaking, it is an incredibly daring film for its time, in that it attacked precisely those forces of capitalism that drove the Hollywood studios. Like Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles), the studios enjoyed a monopoly over the production and distribution of their products; and could distribute whatever forms of propaganda they wished. If we accept that CITIZEN KANE is in part based on the life of William Randolph Hearst, then the link between Hollywood and the newspapers becomes more pronounced, as Susan Alexander Kane (Dorothy Comingore), the would-be opera star who fails on her debut, is a fictional representation of Hearst's belle Marion Davies, who had an equally distinguished Hollywood career.
Welles' satire of the shallowness of capitalism is chiefly communicated through the interaction between Kane and his closest associate Jedediah Leland (Joseph Cotten), who works closely with Kane on improving the circulation of the "New York Inquirer," but soon realizes how Kane's judgment changes almost daily. The list of "principles" that Kane sets forth, when taking over the newspaper, become lost as the tycoon becomes more and more obsessive in his desire for power. In an important sequence, Kane opens an envelope sent by Leland, and finds the principles crumpled up inside, together with a torn check. Money, it seems, cannot buy everything.
What sets CITIZEN KANE apart from other movies is the complexity of its visual score. Gregg Toland's deep-focus photography is just magical, especially in the scenes taking place at Xanadu (Kane's residence), where the sheer size and scope of the property has been emphasized. There are some memorable shots - notably the image of Kane as reflected in a hall of mirrors, suggesting that nothing exists beneath the surface. Welles and Toland also achieve some memorable sequences shot from the floor upwards looking at the characters - a strategy that not only emphasizes their sheer size (and domination of the frame), but reinforces the film's major theme of the desire for power. Such shots are contrasted with the shots at the end, where the camera tracks backwards, focusing on Kane's possessions which become smaller and smaller and more and more insignificant as the shot continues. The film subsequently cuts to a shot of Xanadu with flames coming out of the chimney, emphasizing the total destruction of Kane's world.
The experience of watching CITIZEN KANE demands our attention; every sequence, it seems, is carefully structured, with a precise concern for lighting and scenic design. The cast are just brilliant; every actor, it seems, has been ideally cast for their roles. This is the kind of film that can be watched again and again; on each viewing, it seems, something new can be discovered.