Citizen Kane: I was looking forward to this film a lot after seeing it in so many best ever lists and it didn't disappoint me. Orson's performance is awesome throughout, he had a great smile. imo Kane never really seemed that happy throughout the whole journey even when he was at the height of his wealth - the beginning and ending of the film explains the reason for this, it's really heartbreaking. It makes that phrase ''money doesn't buy happiness'' (and love, in Kane's case) all the more true in this instance. It's unbelievable that this was Orson's first time directing a film, it's so wonderfully done. I loved it.
Who is Charles Foster Kane? After the death of media tycoon and politician, Charles Kane, a journalist searches for 'a story' in his dying word 'Rosebud'. In doing so a picture of the man is built from the varying perspectives of those who knew him (or thought they did). The fragments of the man is largely pieced together with flashbacks, sometimes with those recounting not actually seeing further than the surface of the story they tell; Thatcher's first meeting and the happy child playing in the snow, unknowing he is to be sent away that day from his family forever and torn between needing security and love and protecting himself from that point on; a wife's snobbery against a friend and his look of distaste going unnoticed and even maybe a change toward his wife changing from then on? Did his friend ever realise the loyalty he felt? So much more to this man than the black and white power seeker that many saw.
The camera choreography was magnificent! The layered shots of depth have been oft spoken about; the light was used to startling effect too, the shadow used to express power. I noticed that the vault where the journalist reads Thatcher's journal used amazing light very similar to the room at the Tyrell corp in Bladerunner, surely Ridley Scott was influenced by Welles.
A fascinating, wonderfully performed and beautifully made film.
The Scarlet Empress: I thought this was a really good blend of drama, romance and comedy. The moment Sophia sees Peter for the first time was superb. I found it really funny, I'm not sure if it was supposed to be intentionally funny though. The set design was masterfully done I have to say, very eerie, yet also quite a magical place too with the huge doors, amazingly lavish decor and the garden/forest area that Sophia frequented. The use of candles on those strange looking sculptures reminded me a lot with the film, La Belle et La Bete.
The Scarlet Empress: Enjoyed this more than I thought I would, I enjoy films with a lot to look at in any shot so I was certainly spoilt here with these intense, often grotesque, expressionistic and almost surrealistic set designs... the plot itself is a blend of operatic melodrama with court intrigue but at the heart of it is the same theme that all von Sternberg-Dietrich films had: how can a woman manage to assert herself in a male-dominated world? (A question all the films answer slightly differently) In this case it seems Catherine had to do it at the cost of her humanity and sanity.
Citizen Kane: I was looking forward to this film a lot after seeing it in so many best ever lists and it didn't disappoint me. Orson's performance is awesome throughout, he had a great smile. imo Kane never really seemed that happy throughout the whole journey even when he was at the height of his wealth - the beginning and ending of the film explains the reason for this, it's really heartbreaking. It makes that phrase ''money doesn't buy happiness'' (and love, in Kane's case) all the more true in this instance. It's unbelievable that this was Orson's first time directing a film, it's so wonderfully done. I loved it.
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ReplyDeleteCitizen Kane:
ReplyDeleteWho is Charles Foster Kane? After the death of media tycoon and politician, Charles Kane, a journalist searches for 'a story' in his dying word 'Rosebud'. In doing so a picture of the man is built from the varying perspectives of those who knew him (or thought they did). The fragments of the man is largely pieced together with flashbacks, sometimes with those recounting not actually seeing further than the surface of the story they tell; Thatcher's first meeting and the happy child playing in the snow, unknowing he is to be sent away that day from his family forever and torn between needing security and love and protecting himself from that point on; a wife's snobbery against a friend and his look of distaste going unnoticed and even maybe a change toward his wife changing from then on? Did his friend ever realise the loyalty he felt? So much more to this man than the black and white power seeker that many saw.
The camera choreography was magnificent! The layered shots of depth have been oft spoken about; the light was used to startling effect too, the shadow used to express power. I noticed that the vault where the journalist reads Thatcher's journal used amazing light very similar to the room at the Tyrell corp in Bladerunner, surely Ridley Scott was influenced by Welles.
A fascinating, wonderfully performed and beautifully made film.
The Scarlet Empress: I thought this was a really good blend of drama, romance and comedy. The moment Sophia sees Peter for the first time was superb. I found it really funny, I'm not sure if it was supposed to be intentionally funny though. The set design was masterfully done I have to say, very eerie, yet also quite a magical place too with the huge doors, amazingly lavish decor and the garden/forest area that Sophia frequented. The use of candles on those strange looking sculptures reminded me a lot with the film, La Belle et La Bete.
ReplyDeleteThe Scarlet Empress:
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed this more than I thought I would, I enjoy films with a lot to look at in any shot so I was certainly spoilt here with these intense, often grotesque, expressionistic and almost surrealistic set designs... the plot itself is a blend of operatic melodrama with court intrigue but at the heart of it is the same theme that all von Sternberg-Dietrich films had: how can a woman manage to assert herself in a male-dominated world? (A question all the films answer slightly differently) In this case it seems Catherine had to do it at the cost of her humanity and sanity.