Citizen Kane made cinematic advances
on many fronts, and its most significant contribution to cinematography
came from the use of a technique known as deep focus. Deep focus
refers to having everything in the frame, even the background, in
focus at the same time, as opposed to having only the people and
things in the foreground in focus. The deep focus technique requires
the cinematographer to combine lighting, composition, and type of
camera lens to produce the desired effect. With deep focus, a filmmaker
can showcase overlapping actions, and mise-en-scène (the
physical environment in which a film takes place) becomes more critical.
Effectively manipulating the mise-en-scène for
deep focus actively engages the whole space of the frame without
leaving the viewer confused. Deep focus is most effective in scenes
that depict Kane’s loss of control and his personal isolation because
it gives the audience a clear view of the space Kane commands as
well as the space over which he has no power. Gregg Toland, the
cinematographer Welles chose for Citizen Kane,
had used the technique in an earlier film he had worked on, The
Long Voyage Home, but Citizen Kane marked
the first time it was used so extensively or effectively. Citizen
Kane introduced Hollywood to the creative potential of
other cinematic techniques as well. One such innovation was a technique
known as the "wipe," where one image is "wiped" off the screen by
another. Other innovations involved unique experiments with camera
angles.
Welles’s chosen Mercury Theatre cast was an asset to the
film and vital to the success of techniques like deep focus. These
cast members were classically trained theatrical actors, and none
had ever made a movie before Welles brought them to Hollywood. Their stage
training, rather than being overpowering, helped them to place themselves
firmly in each scene, which complements the use of deep focus. The
cinematography and acting technique combined so perfectly that the
total control Welles was given over casting was justified. The combination
of innovative techniques, not one individual technique, is what
makes Citizen Kane such a cinematically important
film.
Citizen Kane employs creative storytelling
techniques as well. Acting almost as a biopic (biographical film), Citizen
Kane portrays a long period of time realistically, allowing
the characters to age as the story goes on. Instead of being told
in a linear, completely chronological manner, Kane’s story unfolds
in overlapping segments that add more information as each narrator
adds his or her story. Telling Kane’s life story entirely in flashbacks
was another innovative approach to storytelling. Flashbacks had
been used in earlier films, but Citizen Kane used
them most effectively. The flashbacks are given from the perspectives
of characters who are aging or forgetful, which casts doubt on the
memories being discussed. In other words, these are unreliable narrators
whose own opinions and interpretations affect their accuracy. The
storytelling techniques succeed in painting Charles Foster Kane
as an enigma, a tortured, complicated man who, in the end, leaves
viewers with more questions than answers and inevitably invokes
sympathy rather than contempt.
Welles's achievements in this film marked a new direction
in cinema. Many critics argue that Citizen Kane,
with itsinventive use of lighting and shadow,
is the first film noir, or at least the direct predecessor of noir,
a genre that employs dark, moody atmosphere to augment the often
violent or mysterious events taking place. Citizen Kane introduced
Hollywood to the creative potential of cinematic technique. Even
apart from the controversy the film stirred, a multitude of innovations
made Citizen Kane the most exciting movie in the
history of cinema at that time.
