English

EM: Citizen Kane 公民凯恩 DVD

Code : 9787884031214

When enormously-wealthy media magnate Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) dies, he utters the word "rosebud". An obituary newsreel documents the events in his public life. The producer of the newsreel asks a reporter, Jerry Thompson (William Alland), to find out about Kane's private life and personality, in particular to discover the meaning behind his last word. The reporter interviews the great man's friends and associates, and Kane's story unfolds as a series of flashbacks. First, Thompson approaches Kane's second wife, Susan Alexander (Dorothy Comingore), who refuses to tell him anything. Thompson then goes to the library of Walter Parks Thatcher (George Coulouris), a banker who served as Kane's guardian during his childhood. It is there that Thompson learns about Kane's childhood. In the first flashback, Kane as a young child is forced to leave his beloved mother (Agnes Moorehead) when he becomes suddenly wealthy, and is sent to live with Mr. Thatcher, despite the misgivings of Kane's abusive father. Thompson then interviews Kane's personal business manager Mr. Bernstein (Everett Sloane), best friend Jedediah Leland (Joseph Cotten), Susan for a second time, and Kane's butler Raymond (Paul Stewart). Other flashbacks show Kane's entry into the newspaper business and his profit-seeking with low-quality "yellow journalism." He takes control of the newspaper, the New York Inquirer, and hires all the best journalists (which he gets from the Chronicle, the main rival of the Inquirer). His attempted rise to power is documented, including his first marriage to Emily Monroe Norton (Ruth Warrick), a President's niece, and his campaign for the office of governor of New York State. A "love nest" scandal ends both his marriage and his political aspirations. Kane remarries, but his domineering personality destroys his relationships and pushes away his loved ones. Despite Thompson's interviews, he is unable to solve the mystery and concludes that "Rosebud" will forever remain an enigma. At that point, the camera pans over workers burning some of Kane's many possessions. One throws an old sled, with the word "Rosebud" painted on it, into the fire – the same sled that Kane was riding as a child the day his mother sent him away. There is a shot of a chimney with black smoke coming out. For the viewer this solves the "Rosebud" mystery: The sled is a token of the only time in his life when he was poor; but it also represents a time in which he was truly happy and wanted for nothing. After this twist ending, the film ends as it began, with the "No Trespassing" sign. 　1941年出品的《公民凯恩》是好莱坞历史上的“广播奇才”奥森·威尔斯在26岁时自编、自导、自演的银幕处女作，也是美国电影史上最重要的一部作品。 　　该片以美国亿万富翁、报业界的巨头威廉·伦道夫·赫斯特的生平事迹为原型创作的。影片从一位报业大亨孤独地在豪宅中死去写起，围绕着他临死前莫名其妙地说出的“玫瑰花蕾”一词，讲述了一名记者为了探究其中真义，遍访大亨的朋友们，从而编织成大亨一生的不凡经历。在电影技巧的运用方面，威尔斯采用了很多突破性的手法。即使是用今天的拍摄眼光看，仍让人觉得影片的表现手法十分新鲜，是一部不折不扣的、具有“不朽价值”的艺术精品。《公民凯恩》虽只获得过奥斯卡最佳编剧奖，但几乎在电影史上所有的“最佳电影”的选举中，它总是名列前茅。杜鹃/文