How is time presented in Citizen Kane in sequences and shots
Hey, Citizen Kane is such a classic for many reasons. Both Orson Wells and his cinematographer , Gregg Toland, manipulate time in a most skillful way. The transitions they use to shift time in telling Kane's life story were innovative if not genius. These flashbacks and flashforwards work like a jigsaw puzzle (note the puzzle Susan is working on near the end of the movie). One of the most famous time transition shots is Mr. Kane's marriage to Susan Alexander and the disintegration of it. Note the newlyweds in their marriage bliss. The screen blurs and spins (which is not dizzying) to successive vignettes of the marriage deteriorating over breakfast; finally, in the last vignette, they no longer speak to each other. They age in each scene to match the forward vignettes. It's really brilliant. Transitions like this are all over the place. Each forward and backward transition serve to underscore character and plot development.
