Citizen Kane is filled with different cinematic elements in different unique ways giving the movie and perfection with elegance and something to ponder on. The element I would like to focus on the lighting that is used in the film.
In the film, lighting was used effectively at the moment when the three news reporters were discussing about what Charlie Kane meant when he said rosebud. The lighting indicated that the men are serious and their faces are hiding away from the camera suggesting that the men could be evil and the darkness in the movie. It could also show of how the director wants to cut their faces because it's showing how the news reporters are manipulating the story around.
Along with the midnight like darkness being put on the reporters faces, the lighting is effective in when the wife, Susan, left Charlie Kane after she denied of continuing her singing career being controlled. On the scene when Charlie's wife was is leaving him, she walks away through the darkness into the darkness "world". This could suggest that she is heading toward a dark path in her life as she walks away further and further away from her husband. Her walking away could have a foreshadow of her life going downhill as she steps away from Kane and her singing career.
With these two being very effective, the least very effective one is when at young, Kane is given up to another family. In that scene, there was minimal light and shadows that the characters produce don't matter as it it's not important in the scene as much as the characters being blurred out. How the director's use of lighting helped with the film was that the movie showed key themes and foreshadows with the use of lighting by exploiting that the characters are going to go to dark play or being evil in some way by being blended with the darkness. The director's use of repeated extreme close ups show the expressions being shown on characters.
The close ups show the characters being surprised at what is presented in front of them to the characters looking at something dramatic that's an important key aspect of the movie. Another film in which the lighting played a key role was Insidious. In Insidious, towards the end, a professional is in shock by what she is witnessing. How we can tell is when she looking at him, the room is filled with darkness and only her is filled with light suggesting that she is the source in which the devil is trying to go to. In her close up, she looks in horror and in shock as if she is looking at something will try to kill her.
I am choosing 20th Century Fox for their adventure films. I'm also choosing Warner Brothers for their films on social realism.
Cast/Crew: Director: Irving Thalberg A very talented young director who made prestigious, best picture-winning films also some very popular films such as the Grand hotel and Mutiny on the Bounty. He also was also known for the extravagant silent films with Erich von Stroheim. Cinematographer: Sol Polito An Oscar-nominated cinematographer who helped create visual characters for Warner Brothers. Sol will do anything to achieve efficiency and perfection even if that means having additional expenses.
James Cagney
Actors: Leslie Howard, James Cagney Leslie would play in movies where he played the character that's associated with him. he served in World War 1. James was known as a preeminent male star who was known as the tough guy and was also very accomplished.
Genre: Drama/ Action. A result and affects of WW 1. The life of two soldiers who are also who are friends and how they both are impacted by the war and the losses they endure.
Synopsis:
Leslie Howard
The movie will began when a an 18 teenage boy named Mark (James Cagney) is about to finish high school and he has fun with his friends and has a good time. While in high school, he starts to have plans on where to go and what to do with his life. While thinking about his life, He discusses with his friends on if they're going to live with each other and if where they're going to live. Mark is a guy who wants to chill and who also loves his friends and wants to live a peaceful live without violence. In approximately one month after finishing high school, he gets enlisted to a WW 1 draft all of a sudden knowing very little why and being confused and scared because he is just starting his life with his friends and with what he wants to do in life which becoming a middle school teacher. After being drafted and put directly to the war front, he encounters another soldier named Alexander (Leslie Howard). When meeting Alexander he finds out that Alexander is a guy is was very poor and lived below the poverty living between different alleys and was exited to join the army because at least he got served food and was put with other soldiers in which where he came from didn't matter but where they're in in that very moment. On the other side, Mark came from a wealthy family where he was treated well and had money for his education and was afraid and scared to go war. Days after the joining the army, Mark and Alexander become best friends because they feel that they can learn from each other with Alexander helps Mark on how to keep calm during the war and telling Mark his stories of him being poor and how it affects the way he lives while Mark tells him his stories and promising to Alexander that he will help after the war is over. From day to day, Mark and Alexander have a very good friendship where they feel as if they're brothers to each other. When they go to the battlefield, they witness a lot of their comrades being shot and injured. After they whiteness it, they are filled with fear and sadness from all their fellow comrades being killed and no one honoring them. While experiencing seeing comrades dying one after the other, they start having nightmares about the war and bullets traveling through their flesh and out the other end and seeing people all around them dying. With fear filling them , they start to go to each other because all they could trust is them. After six months and having two months left, they go to the battle front. In the battle front, Alexander gets shot his right breast. Being in much agony and miles away from the battle front, there's nothing they could do to save Alexander besides him having his last few breaths. Upon having his last few breaths, he tells to Mark to promise him that he'll help him after the war to survive the teal world, being in denial that he is dying. Mark replies with see home buddy while being in tears. Minutes later, Alexander is struggling breathing from a pulmonary embolism and later dies. Mark gets emotionally damaged by the fact that his closest friend ever and his brother died, Alexander. After two months when the war is over, Alexander comes home but develops PTSD and struggles to live normal. Mark starts to get disconnected with his closest friends back at home and from his family. Mark starts to develop depression as his closest friend is dead and that he has nobody else to relate to. Suffering from having images of seeing soldiers dying and Alexander's death, Mark goes into the kitchen writes an "I'm sorry" note to his parents. Afterwards while he's crying, he's going to the center of his kitchen, under his fan and he hangs himself.
Hays Code: considering the movie has soldiers dying on the battle front and a suicide, this movie will be a challenge to pass through the administration and being put out in public. However, this movies is portrayed as someone who is affected by war and how their behavior can change dramatically from the loss of their fellow comrades friends. For a majority of audiences, this movie isn't relatable in any way but it is relatable to those who served in the army and who have gone though similar obstacles. This movie will show audiences on how much they should honor the soldiers in the battle and to respect them as well.
Technology: Black and white. Shows the two individuals going through a rough time in the war and how one is affected. receives award for the best drama movie of the year.
Why this is a good film: This would a good for 1935 because even though World War 1 ended in 1918, I feel like people don't know what it was like in the battle front and don't know how much of impact it can have on a soldier if they join the army and fight. This film is universal because it shows the affect from all the soldiers from any country serving, not just in America.
I love horror films and I'm pretty judgmental on deciding if the film is scary enough for me and by the way I'm not so easily scared from horror films and or if the film has a unique ending that will be remembered by me. The director James Wan directed this film and others including "The Conjuring", "Saw" and "Demonic" which were intended to put the audience on the edge of their seats wondering what would happen next while at the same time being scared from what's going on. while watching the movie, I was being judgmental in figuring out that the next scene was going to happen next. however, when half way through the film, I started noticing that the film was taking a different turn in its events. In most movies I watched, I usually get bored while watching about half way of a horror film in hoping that either the movie ends or that someone that I thought would least die would die, but this movie took at better approach. (Spoiler) The film starts of when the child (person on the front cover) of a family of three become possessed by the devil. As a possessed child, the kid starts doing possessed things until the family decide the physically and mentally help the child by tying him up and getting the devil out of his body by saying rituals to get the devil out. When realizing that it was a lot harder than it looks to get him back, the family decide to take a different approach. The family tie up the son and father and put these gas like mask in them. Next, the family brings in a professional to help in bring back the son. With the gas like mask, the professional sends the fathers soul and mind to "hell" to bring back the son's soul. When the father does bring him back, he beats the devil. I thought it would another typical movie where the good guy wins but instead what happens is when the father brings back his son's soul, he becomes possessed coming back. At the end of the movie, the father talk with the professional and in the middle of the conversation, the professional realizes that the father is possessed and when the professional comes to a full realization, the father kills her while the rest of the family is in the kitchen comforting the child who has been possessed.
* Photo of the father being possessed by the devil at the end of the film.
Towards the end of the movie we are taking a closer look at the moment in which the professional realizes of is happening. (Spoiler) The professional is breathless in what happened
to the father as the father becomes possessed (above picture). The professional takes a photo of the father because she can't see the devil inside him so she decided to take a photo of him in hoping that she might spot the devil in which she did. the camera taken from the scene shows a close up the professional woman face showing that she's scared and horrified. Her action is important because it leads us to a foreshadow of what's about to happen to the character or something more dramatic that's going to happen in the near future. the low key lighting shining on the character's face reveals of a dramatic scene that's going to take place. The character seems threaten and in horror in what she had just revealed. She reveals with the light shining in half of her face while the other side is covered with a light darkness as is if she is looking at something dark from either the object of the threat that fills the room. The background shows that the darkness of the character has filled the room and is approaching the character while the character is in fear.
In my own opinion, what I enjoyed about this movie is the major plot twist the characters were involved in, especially toward the ending. The characters endured a lot especially the father and the son with a major battle to save the son while the mother watched in hoping that everything will go fine and that nothing bad will happen. This movie went well when the plot twist came up with weird obstacles and challenges the character faced along with the ending was perhaps one of the best endings and it's usually hard to say with a film never the less and horror film. What I didn't like is that before the plot twist happened everything happened in a typical horror film with a family coming in contact with something possessed and that possessed scaring the victims and audience half to death before killing the victims. I would recommend this movie to those who love horror films but specifically to those who love horror films and who are judgmental when it comes to movies for they may get their comments wrong.
With these two being very effective, the least very effective one is when at young, Kane is given up to another family. In that scene, there was minimal light and shadows that the characters produce don't matter as it it's not important in the scene as much as the characters being blurred out. How the director's use of lighting helped with the film was that the movie showed key themes and foreshadows with the use of lighting by exploiting that the characters are going to go to dark play or being evil in some way by being blended with the darkness. The director's use of repeated extreme close ups show the expressions being shown on characters. 
