manthabeat

6th Sep 2021

Citizen Kane (1941)

Trivia: Welles worked 16 to 18 hour days on the film, as it took nearly four hours to apply his makeup to make him look older. Welles also shot the film quickly, with very few takes as he wanted to be like John Ford. Some of the film's more significant scenes were shot before production actually began as Welles had claimed he was doing "camera tests" and RKO believed him.

manthabeat

6th Sep 2021

Citizen Kane (1941)

Trivia: Welles learned how to make films by watching what other directors were doing at the time, especially John Ford. In particular, he would watch Ford's "Stagecoach" nightly and ask his cinematographer how certain shots were done. Welles makes a nod to Ford by using a couple of Ford's most infamous shots. This includes a moving camera going through an opening door as the character walks through.

manthabeat

28th Jun 2021

Citizen Kane (1941)

Other mistake: In the extremely low angle shot where Leland is drunk talking to Kane, a black visible object is stuck to the frame of the camera, bottom left. As Kane walks out of the shot, the camera pans up and it is gone.

manthabeat

28th Jun 2021

Citizen Kane (1941)

Audio problem: When Kane is talking to Mr. Carter about what the Inquirer should be printing, we see a shot of Kane talking from behind. His mouth movements are slightly off from the audio.

manthabeat

28th Jun 2021

Citizen Kane (1941)

Visible crew/equipment: When Mr. Thompson goes to the Thatcher library, he walks through a door and the camera follows him. Just before the shot ends, the camera casts a shadow on the left wall.

manthabeat

20th Sep 2006

Citizen Kane (1941)

Trivia: To get most of his extremely low angle shots, Welles often had to dig a hole in the set to place the camera and its operator in, given the size of motion picture cameras at that time. The best example of this extreme low angle camera takes place after the political rally is finished.

manthabeat

1st Sep 2005

Citizen Kane (1941)

Visible crew/equipment: When Kane is talking to Leland, after the campaign is over, there is a low angle shot looking up at Leland from Kane's feet. The shadow of the camera can be seen on Kane's right leg until he moves.

manthabeat

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