Topic > Perceiving the Elements of a Film: Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane is an early 1940s film directed by Orson Welles. It is often said to be one of the greatest or most influential films ever made. His influences can still be felt today. The Greek philosopher described many of the elements that combine to form a great theatrical performance. These elements are a strong plot, well-drawn and described characters, well-thought-out language, music that fits the tone and mood of the production, and the final key element is having visually appealing or visually striking work. Citizen Kane receives high marks in all of these criteria. In fact, he does it so well that you can even find a demonstration of each in the first four minutes of the film. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The first component of Aristotle to explore is plot. Plot is the story that drives a film, play, or book. Within Citizen Kane, almost all of the time in the first few minutes is spent showing exterior shots of a house and the grounds surrounding it. This is done to help viewers understand the setting in which the film takes place. Once the camera moves inside the house, there are several disjointed shots that act as foreshadowing clues to help establish what will happen in the film. We see a person watching a snowball fall down a flight of stairs and shatter. From these scenes, you can tell that the movie will have a mystery involved. The film revolves around the mysterious last words of the dying man. Rosebud, which is a short and simple word, also arouses a lot of curiosity. Welles did a fantastic job in establishing the plot of the film, and it shows as soon as the film starts rolling. In the first four minutes, we are only introduced to two people who may or may not become major characters as the story progresses. There is the older man who drops the snowball and a nurse. From what we see, we can say that the man is probably wealthy since his house is large and decorated. We can also say that something bad happens to him in the film. In the film's introduction there isn't much time available to give the viewer a clear idea of ​​the mysterious man's qualities. The information provided does a good job of setting a high bar for character development. The third part of a good play is the thoughts conveyed by the directors. In the opening scenes, everything is shown in a dark light. Some of the backyard areas shown before entering the house appear to be in disrepair. The inky shadows and the scenery introduced show that the director of the film was trying to produce an eerie feeling in the minds of the people watching his film. The next element is diction. Diction refers to the dialogue in a play or film. This includes what words are said and how they are pronounced. The opening scene of Citizen Kane is unique in that it contains only one spoken word. The only speech in the film's first clip is a word that doesn't provide much (if any) help in determining the plot. The word that the Old Man uses is "rosebud." There isn't much substance to the word if taken literally, but the way the word is pronounced draws attention to itself. The word rosebud is spoken softly and clearly, as if the man is trying to tell someone a secret. The penultimate element taught by Aristotle is that the sounds and music of the presentation must increase the overall quality of the work. The music at the beginning of the film is very fitting. There is an ominous tone to the music. This tone comes from.