Citizen Kane

Movie: Citizen Kane

Genre: Drama

Release: 1941

Publisher: RKO Radio Pictures

Director: Orson Welles
Introduction

Citizen Kane is not a movie, which goes like every abc movie with a simple good/evil story. It has many hidden features and symbols you have to find to enjoy this movie. I watched this movie one time and I think that is not enough, because I have the feeling of missing many parts in the movie, which are essential of understanding the storyline. That is probabaly the reason why this movie is the favorite for film-critics, because they have a different point of view for movies and  look for different things in movies than regular people, who watch movies just to get entertained.

Story

The movie starts out very secretly and awkward with a No-Trespassing sign and a huge scary castle, which is in the building process. The main character is a boy named Charles Foster Kane, who lives in Colorado and was given away from his parents to get a better chance for life than it is possible in rural Colorado, because he got adopted by a rich man. You will see that the natural parents of Kane had different opinions about Kane and whether it is the right descision to give him away. When he becomes an adult he is saying for me a special quote which I had in my mind for the entire movie. He said: "If I would be rich, I would be a good men". Later on his way of life he becomes a newspaper tycoon and gets that wealth and from this moment I started to look at his way of life as a wealthy man and how his love, satisfaction, friends and way of behavior goes. He's going to encounter the highs and lows of the life of beeing one of the richest and wealthiest men, and if money is really everything and makes him a good man.

Another essential part of the movie is the Kane's seek for Rosebud. The word Rosebud and it's possible meaning was bugging me over the entrire movie. It was also the last word Kane said before he passed away.

Rosebud, probaly the thing you are going to question about the most.

Camera Technique

Citizen Kane was also revolutionizing in how to record the scenes. There were some new techniques, which fascinated the people of 1941. Just watch for the camera techniques they use throughout the movie like zooming into a building through a window or the angles to emphasize special characters. I think everybody should give a chance to Citizen Kane, because if this movie hooks you, it is going to be your favorite!

Conclusion

All in all this movie is just a big puzzle whose pieces and parts are spread and hinted throughout the movie. In my oppinion you have to be a passioned movie watcher to find these parts and put them together, because there are so many things to discover in this movie, part of them are through symbols aswell.

Positive Points

+ Lot of things to discover
+ Awesome  and revolutionizing technique in camera & sound
+ High possibility to rewatch the movie
+ Deep story

Negative Points

- Hard to understand for non experienced movie watchers.
- Couple awkward scenes which are not unterstandable

Movie Rating: 85/100

Fun Rating: 60%


sources:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Kane

Review: Gone with the Wind

Movie: Gone With the Wind                                                                           

Genre: Drama

Release: 1939

Publisher: Selznick International

Director: Victor Flemming

Introduction

I am going to blog about the most successful movie of all time with the calculation of inflations Gone With the Wind, under direction of Victor Flemming and produced by Selznick International. It was recorded in Technicolor. The Drama was released in year 1939, so shortly before World War II started for America. The time period of the movie is the Civil War.

Story

The movie Gone With the Wind is about a young woman called Scarlett, who is in a desperation to find her way to happiness in love. She is the main character of the movie and affects many events throughout the movie. She is in love with a man called Ashley, although he is in love with Melanie. Scarlett married Charles Hamilton after a while, who unfortunately died in war. Another character called Rhett came with a horse into scene saving Scarlett’s life from the battleground, which made him from then on to one of the important characters in the movie. This short meeting ended with a kiss and the glorious men went back to war. Out of this scene we can say that Scarlett is very unsure according to love.

Later on a Yankee attempted to do a robbery in Scarlett’s house, but Scarlett pulled the gun and shot him. This scene was not unheard by the Yankees, like expected they came and wanted 300$ in taxes from her. Because she didn’t had the money she went to her lover Ashley, who was in prison, but instead of money they kissed once more. After that she went to Rhett, who was in jail as well, but the begging didn’t work also because she lied to him. At the end she stole the money from Mr. Kennedy, who married Scarlett later on but got killed in war after a short time once they got married. I think here does the action slowly go to its highest point.

Shortly after that Rhett got in love with Scarlett and they married and got a baby names Bani, but the relationship really didn’t work at all red found out that Scarlett still has feeling for Ashley. This moment starts of the climax of the movie. Many people and especially main characters are passing away; this is very unusual for a movie.

You are going to see famous quotes in the movie like "Frankly, my dear i don't give a damn." from Rhett. The definition of this quote is, that he doesn't care about it anymore.

I think that the director made this on purpose to message the people that war is bad. The time period is perfect for that; 1939 is shortly before World War 2, and most parts of Europe were already in conflict and America was in preparation to interfere.The Director does also use the horse as a message for death. You are going to see that frequently throughout the movie.

Scarlett and Rhett

Positive points

+ Many characters with detailed personalities
+ Impressive Effects for that time (1939)
+ Well-chosen director’s message
+ Usage of Symbols (horse)

Negative Points

-  Too long for today’s standards (224 minutes, a regular movie for today is about 90-120 minutes long)
- Very few action scenes

My opinion

In my opinion the movie Gone With the Wind is a revolution of the movie scene. If you are interested to discover the history of movies or just a fan of classics, you shouldn’t miss this movie. But if you just want an entertaining movie with some popcorn and friends, Gone With the Wind is probably nothing for you.

Movie-Rating:78/100

Fun-Rating: 55%