Thursday, April 18, 2013


Citizen Kane

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening
            Citizen Kane written and directed by Orson Welles, this film is rated the greatest American film of all time according to the American Film institute. The film stared Orson Welles playing the role of Charles Foster Kane. The movie was largely based on the life of William Randolph Hearst who like Kane decided that it would be fun to run a newspaper, and was born into money due from his father’s success. Although the movie was similarly based on Hearst’s life, the film did not amuse Hearst. The film has notable photography and direction in the scenes. Orson Welles was given full control of the project from production, to script control, and casting. The Film was made under RKO and was not a commercial success. In my opinion Orson Welles did a fantastic job directing especially this being his first film. The hard work and dedication in this film is outstanding.
2)  Find a related article and summarize the content. 
                The article discusses the idea if Kane is still Number one after 50 years. Debating does it still hold its reputation to this and questioning what film would take its place. Although this article is from the UK, The magazine Sight and Sound takes a poll from movie critics judging which film should be number one. Although this award may not be as prestigious as a polling from the American Film institute, I found it interesting to see how people from a different continent itself react to this discussion. During this polling the magazine is using a 1,000+ directors, writers, and curators to the film industry to judge if Citizen Kane still remains at the top spot next to films like The Godfather. The writer states that some people feel the need to state that Citizen Kane is number one just on the basis of other critics.

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class.
                I found this article interesting, because being that Citizen Kane has such a high stature, its almost hard to question it after 50 years of its top spot. The big question is what film would take it’s place. It is hard to say because even if Citizen Kane did not win the polling, the argument for why would definitely be a big debate. I thought this article came into play with what I thought about the film. I personally did not care for film itself. I thought the way the film was directed was a major achievement to film and I can see why so many directors praise it. Holding a 50 year title of being the best is a hard feat to conquer.


4) Write a critical analysis of the film
                I thought the Citizen Kane was good in a sense of the way it was directed and production. You can see the time put into the script itself. Would I watch this film again? Possibly just to maybe get a second viewing to catch things I might have missed or looked over during the first viewing. However, judging from my first viewing, I did not see what was so great about the plot itself. I do see elements that are adapted in present day films. I would not rate this film as the greatest American film. The film did not intrigue my interest and bored me during the screening. I did appreciate the elements it brought, as for Orson Welles this being his first film, I consider this film a major achievement for the young man of his time.


CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 
1) ( x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) (x ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

3) (x  ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.

4) (x  ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.

5) ( x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) (x  ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) (x  ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) (x  ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.

Name: _________Erik L. Rivera_____________________________  Date: ____________________4/18/2013________




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