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Citizen Kane
directed by Orson Welles
This unit was prepared by Judith Rix, Pendle Hill High SchoolEssay questions
- “Although Welles acknowledged the importance of photographer Gregg Toland’s contribution, and others have insisted that scriptwriter H.J. Mankiewicz is the real author of the film, Citizen Kane retains its reputation as the first Wellesian masterpiece.” Discuss.
- “The truth about any man can only be calculated by the sum of everything that has been said about him” - Orson Welles. Discuss how Welles portrays this idea in his film Citizen Kane.
- Orson Welles believed that Kane was: “a very great man and a mediocre individual.” Discuss.
- “There is no question here of experiment for experiment’s sake; it is a question of a man with a problem of narrative to solve, using lighting, setting, sound, camera angles and movement such as a genuine writer uses words, phrases, cadences, rhythms; using them with the ease and boldness and resource of one who controls and is not controlled by the medium” - Dilys Powell (1941).
- How does Welles resolve the narrative problem of Citizen Kane?
- “Citizen Kane is a strange title for the film. It appears to me that Kane was far too powerful to ever be considered just like one of us.” Discuss.
- “Citizen Kane is a director’s triumph!” Discuss.
- Is Citizen Kane the finest movie ever made? Explain.
- What is the significance of “rosebud” and how does Orson Welles reveal its meaning in Citizen Kane?
- “Citizen Kane is truly a classic film. It is a film that stands the test of time. One does not care when the setting is or what the period of dress is. The story could be told in any time.” Do you agree? Discuss.
- “Citizen Kane involves us in a stream of conscious chronological narrative dance” - Dan Jardaine. Discuss how the narrative works in the film. Who is the narrator?
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