citizen kane
William Randolph Hearst and Citizen KaneCitizen Kane has often been considered one the best film ever made. This film is about a conflict between two twentieth century icons, the publisher William Randolph Hearst and the prodigy of his time, Orson Welles. This movie was nominated for nine Academy Awards, but is booted off the stage with only one award, for Best Screenplay. This was due to the great pressure from one of the most powerful men in the nation, the man that Citizen Kane portrayed as a corrupt power hungry man, William Randolph Hearst. There is no way that one cannot ignore the striking similarities between Hearst and Kane. Orson Welles included a few details about the young Kane's life that, anyone with some knowledge of Hearst life, would set anyone thinking about the newspaper giant's life. Shortly after the film begins, a reporter is seen trying to discover the meaning of Kane's last words "rosebud". This reporter begins his search by going through the records of Kane's guardian Thatcher. The scene then begins to come to life in the midwinter that takes place at the Kane's house. Kane's mother has come into one of the richest gold mines in the world, and at age twenty-five, Kane will inherit this si
The movie then shifts to Susan Alexander's portrayal of Kane as her own personal ambition factory. Whatever she was lacking, Kane supplied it for her and put his soul into backing her, even though she was a terrible singer. Hearst did the same for Davies, making each movie a greater triumph for her. Davies was however talented, unlike Susan, but there was enough similarities between the two women. The women were both singers, both loved jigsaw puzzles, and both were in well-publicized affairs. Both Kane and Hearst pushed and pushed their mistresses to their breaking point and ran their lives completely. Kane then decided to start building Xanadu, for them, a gigantic castle with gigantic animals from all over the world. Hearst built San Simeon for them, which included a zoo. Hearst however was truly devoted to Davies, unlike that of Kane and Susan. Right after taking over the Inquirer, Kane ordered the editor to play up the less important stories of the newspaper. The kind of things the nation wanted to see and read about, not just boring old news. Kane then became more involved in the paper and realized that he wanted his main competitor staff from the Chronicle. He bribed these men with large sums of cash to move to his paper. Now taking into account the evidence that was just presented in the above paper, it is very clear to see that Orson Welles based the movie Citizen Kane around the life of William Randolph Hearst, a fact that did not upset Hearst at all. However, Welles claimed that he had no intention on his movie being about someone. Welles stated that the movie "was not based upon the life of Mr. Hearst or anyone else". The next scene opens with Leland, one of Kane's only friends. Leland explained how no one could understand Kane because of the contradictions in his life and his beliefs. Leland explained how Kane was a firm believer in law and government, but he stated that he did not see how either applied to him. Hearst was incredibly egomaniac and also shared the same beliefs as Kane did. Both were in constant conflict with themselves. This trait is one that Kane played out to full effect in the movie. Both were also firm believers in their own power. In conclusion, Orson Welles directed, helped write, and starred in one of the greatest films of all times, which had one sole purpose. The purpose of this movie was to denounce Hearst and all men who were abusive with their power and public trust. Why did Welles spend so much time and effort on this one man's life? It was bec
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Approximate Word count = 1710
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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