While watching

Citizen Kane

Before watching

I. Look at the following headlines from Citizen Kane and work out what they mean, then say what each story may be about.

1. Entrapped by Wife as Love Pirate Kane Refuses to Quit the Race.
2. Traction Trust Bleeds Public White.
3. Profit from Tenement Dwellings Outweighs Plans to Assist Poor.
4. Fraud at Polls!
5. Applause Lavished on Susan Alexander for Rendition.
6. Detroit Has “Sell Out” for Susan Alexander.

II. Find the examples of the following stylistic devices in the words/phrases given below:

a) antonomasia

b) epithet

c) euphemism

d) irony

e) meiosis

f) metaphor

g) metonymy

h) simile

1. lay somebody to rest
2. America’s Kublai Khan
3. like the pharaoh
4. ramshackle building
5. as loved, and hated, and talked about as any other man
6. In politics – always a bridesmaid, never a bride.
7. an emperor of newsprint
8. hated his guts
9. the underprivileged
10. gagged on that silver spoon (from be born with a silver spoon in your mouth)
11. he never had a nickel
12. like a kid in a candy store
13. a stuffed shirt
14. my name would be dragged through the mud
15. caught in love nest with “singer”
16. He was disappointed with the world, so he built one of his own – an absolute monarchy.
17. behave like a swine
18. sacred cause of reforms

While watching

III. What are the key elements of Charles Foster Kane’s life as seen at the beginning of the film in the newsreel News on the March? Complete the table.

Xanadu (his home)
Career in journalism
Wealth
Childhood
Relationship with his guardian, Walter P. Thatcher
Political views
Marriage and family
Career in politics
Death

IV. Unscramble the words in brackets and use them to fill in the gaps (all the sentences have been taken from Citizen Kane). Then use these words in your own sentences.

1. To forty-four million US news buyers, more ___ (sonewrthwy) than the names in his own headlines, was Kane himself, greatest newspaper ___ (otyocn) of this or any other generation.
2. Kane’s empire in its glory held over 37 newspapers, 2 ___ (syciadtesn) and a radio network.
3. Less than one week before election defeat. Shameful. ___ (siogminniou).
4. With respect to the said newspapers, the said Charles Foster Kane hereby ___ (rlheinuisqes) all control thereof, and all the syndicates ___ (geratipnin) thereto, and any and all other newspaper press and publishing properties of any kind whatsoever.
5. I have a ___ (hcuhn) it may turn out to be pretty important.
6. Am I a New England ___ (mmchosolar)?
7. I’m ___ (wniglgig) both my ears at the same time.
8. The working man and the ___ (lmsu) child know they can expect my best effort in their interests.
9. My first official act as a governor of this state will be to appoint a special district attorney to arrange for the ___ (tidncmeitn), prosecution and the conviction of Boss Jim W. Gettis.
10. I will be the laughing ___ (ksoct) of the musical world.

V. Read the questions and find the answers as you watch the film.

1. Feature films before Citizen Kane tended to be very straight-forward in their treatment of time. Flashbacks and Flash-forwards were extremely rare. A typical film of the time would have started with a very young Kane and progressed through his life, period by period, until his death. Instead, Citizen Kane opens with the death of its hero. Why do you think this was done, and what was to be gained by this narrative structure?
2. Montage sequences, in which a quick succession of related shots are used to indicate the passage of time, are an effective means of compressing time and of showing the effects of the passage of time on characters. The most celebrated example of this effect is the "breakfast sequence," which shows the deterioration of Charles Kane's first marriage; another would be the sequence showing the "progress" of Susan's opera career. Analyze these sequences. Do you think they are an effective way to compress time while keeping units coherent?
3. Another noted device in Citizen Kane is Gregg Toland's use of deep-focus cinematography for expressive purposes. Most Hollywood films of the 1920s and 1930s used shallow-focus cinematography; one plane of the image would be in focus (usually the plane in which the leading actors stood), and the rest of the image would be blurred. Deep-focus technique allows foreground, midground, and background to remain in sharp focus, thereby allowing for expressive conflict between the planes of action--there may well be conflict between what is going on in the foreground and what is going on in the background. One famous example of this expressive use of deep-focus is the scene at the Kane boarding house in which Mrs. Kane "signs away" her son to the banker. Mention a few other scenes that make noteworthy use of deep-focus.
4. Discuss the use of lighting in the film. How does it contribute to the overall mood and impact of the film? Does the lighting change as the film goes on? Examples?
5. Discuss the use of music in the film. Does the mood created by the music change over the course of the film? Do any segments stand out to you?

Дата добавления: 2015-10-30