Citizen Kane - Memorable Shots

So we are halfway through Citizen Kane (I think) and I thought this would be a good time to write down all of the shots I considered to be interesting. Since we aren't done with the film yet, the list will probably grow and I'll create another post for them.

A man shrouded in darkness- Just after the newsreel in the beginning ends, the chief newspaper guy (I do believe that was his professional title) stands in complete darkness except for the light from the projector hitting him. This particular image is imprinted on my mind and regardless of whether I end up liking this movie or not, that shot will always be one of my favorites. The entire room is filled with men who are both literally and figuratively "in the dark". The small glints of light represent the little amount of knowledge they have about their subject.

Building on fire?- I wasn't sure if I was over-analyzing this but a short chat with Mr. Bennett convinced me that I was on to something with this one. Just before the scene where C.F. Kane writes out the "promises" he plans on keeping at his newspaper, there is an interesting transition. First we see an exterior shot of the building, and then as it fades, fire from an oil lamp is clearly visible in one of the windows. This proves to be from an oil lamp in the next scene, but if you freeze the picture during the transition, it really looks as though the building is on fire. I felt that this was foreshadowing of how very soon, Kane's life is going to be pulled from under his feet and he will begin to suffer.

Knock off that racket!- The scene where Kane's mother is signing off her son to be taken away, you can see a young Kane playing in the snow through the window. You can hear his joyful cries of glee even from far away. His father, then shuts the window that is housing his son, and the noise stops. When I first saw this, I knew it was probably important. I could go through what it means, but I feel it would be redundant since we have already gone over it in class and it is even up on Jimmy Cassidy's blog.

Come a little closer, you look so small from back there- This is another one we went over in class, but I'll mention it anyway. The scene where Kane is signing over his newspaper and he slowly walks to the back of the room, suddenly seeming so tiny in comparison to the two men in the foreground. This is just something I took notice of as being important, and when it was mentioned in class I felt happy because I was right. Yayyyyy.

Ah crap.- In a scene we watched today, Kane's alleged love affair with "singer" Susan Alexander was brought to his wife's attention by Boss Gettys. As Gettys, Susan, and wife Emily are having an obviously heated discussion, Kane can be seen in the background, smaller than everyone else, face covered by shadows. Previously in the movie, the news men covered in darkness represented how little they knew. This darkness I felt represents what Kane was feeling about being caught. Think about when you were a kid and you did something bad, and you knew you were going to get in trouble for it. You'd think about staying away from the people who could yell at you and just kind've hide so maybe they won't find you. Seeing Kane standing in the background, looking so small and with his face covered (possibly in shame), this was the picture that came to mind.

That's all I got for now. See ya.