Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane begins with an establishing shot of Chalres Kane's ominous estate called Xanadu. The camera then lingers on the "No Trespassing" sign, a long shot, and then uses a zoom shot to gradually make its way towards the house. In the house, Kane on his death bed, holding a snow glob in his hands. Then, the next image is a close shot of Kane's hand and the snow globe crashing to the grounds as he utters his last words, "Rose bud".

In the next scene, a newsreel entitled News on the March announces the death of Charles Foster Kane, a famous, once-influential newspaper publisher. The announcer, or the narrator, would be considered a voice over in this case. The news reel acts as an obituary of Kane's life and when it ends, the scene switches to a dark movie theater. the lighting in the room shades the men's faces who are talking about Kane's life, also known as rim or kick light. One of the men in the room notes that Kane’s last word was "Rosebud" and wonders if that may hold the key to Kane’s character. He then decides to appoint a reporter, Jerry Thompson, to talk to Kane’s former associates to try to uncover the identity of Rosebud.

Throughout the film, there are numerous flashbacks during Thompson's interviews of people such as Ms. Susan Alexander Kane, Walter Parks Thatcher, and Jedidiah Leland. During Ms. Alexander Kane's first attempted interview, the director decides to use a deep focus shot with Thomson in the foreground and Ms. Alexander Kane in the background image. Later in Thatcher's interview, the director decides to use a spot light, a single light from above directly on Thatcher for a moment, creating a shadowy area around him. Then, during the interview with Thatcher, the audience is pulled into a flashback and we are at Kane's childhood where he first meets Thatcher. There is a deep focus during the image of the adults quarrelling in the foreground and Kane playing with his sled outside in the background. Ms. Alexander Kane's second interview with Thompson gives the audience another flashback into the life of Kane and Kane's ex-wive, Ms. Alexander Kane. In the flashback of the opera scene both a zoom shot and a tracking shot is used to first show Ms. Alexander Kane on the stage during her performance,zooming in on her face, and then a tracking shot to the celling, revealing to men. Also, the music in the film when Ms. Alexander Kane is singing, would be considered diagetic because it is part of the movie. In contrast, the booming sound of the band that plays every time a new newspaper comes out and encompasses the entire screen would be considered extra-diagetic sound because it is not actually part of the film.

Thompson interviews other people who were close to Kane, and these characters relate their memories of the man through flashbacks as well. He goes through Kane's close friends and ex-wives and even to the butler, Raymond, who remembers Kane saying “Rosebud” following a violent episode after Susan left him. Thompson never does find out the meaning of Kane's last words and finally, he gives up the quest. As Thompson leaves Xanadu, the camera pans the workers burning Kane's less valuable possessions. The camera zooms in on his burning sled from his childhood years and the words "Rose Bud" slowly melt off the sled.
The New York Times review considers this movie very controversial but at the same time, states that "it comes close to being the most sensational film ever made in Hollywood." This article reveals the deep and moral thought behind "Citizen Kane" saying that even if you gain all the wealth of the world, how can you be happy if it is in exchange for your soul? I think that this is one of the biggest themes throughout the movie and a major moral issue that people struggle with to this day. Even though the movie is not a clear ending, everyone who watches it still comes out with a lot to learn from.