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The Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day runs a couple of newspapers. What do you do?
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with today’s Behind the Scenes Pic!
It’s about time Citizen Kane rears its head around these parts. Orson Welles has shown up from time to time, but not his debut film which is widely considered the best film ever made.
I don’t go quite that far, but I love the movie. I can point to movies I enjoy more, that touch me more, that impress me more, but what’s amazing about watching Kane now is seeing the language of film being set. There were spectacles before Kane, but Welles really broke the mold, taking filmmaking from a more traditional stage-bound theatricality to an open fluidity that we now permanently associate with filmed storytelling.
Even if there was nothing else to like in that movie the technical achievement would be enough to justify the praise, but there’s more to the movie. Kane is a great character that’ll have you laughing one minute and crying the next and Welles’ troupe (including my favorite, Joseph Cotton) are all a pleasure to watch.
So, enjoy the photo! Yes, that’s Welles on the right directing with a broken ankle. I’d love to believe that big horn-shaped machine was a giant bullhorn that Welles used to blast direction at his actors and crew, but it’s probably just a big light. A fella can dream, can’t he?
Tomorrow’s pic is going on a bug hunt.
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
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Readers Talkback
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Taped it off of TCM like a year and a half ago, and I'll probably never remove it. Just one of those movies that I can put on, at just about any time, and marvel at it.
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Post something about Ron Howard's insightful comments about "The Dark Tower" adaptation, bro-ham. Us Tower-fanatics want to know what you think(and having a TB to discuss it all would be sweet, too).
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Very likely a horn used to isolate on set dialogue. Or not.
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I prefer the "giant bullhorn" theory.
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I hear there is something about a sled.
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In terms of scope of production, I guess there are plenty; but in actual skill and technique, I'm hard pressed to think of one that's more consistently dazzling.
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It boggles the mind, considering the era in which the film was made. But, personally, the production design in "2001: A Space Odyssey" will always be the most revelatory movie experience for me, in that regard.
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Aliens??? Vasquez full frontal?? *crosses fingers*
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C'mon guys! Can we have someone delete these spammers (like liuxing170) from these posts? And what is the point to having a Facebook login option if it doesn't work?
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Can we bring back the HTML bit where when one clicks on a message in the Talkbacks, the whole damn, dirty talkback appears, as opposed to having to click on one message at a time?
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its at the top right of the TB purple/blue part... that wil make all the conversations visible. My question for AICN is Why not just load all conversations? Since its at the bottom of the page, why not? I would prefer a TB layout more like fark.com myself. nice little edit box, being able to quote people directly etc. Oh well
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I think a huge part of Citizen Kane is lost on modern audiences because so much of technical things that it pioneered are so common place now days. The amazingly good use of dutch angles, pulling focus, Deep focus and long takes... though they weren't invented here were used so well to help tell the story. It's a visual treat for me, and simply amazing when you look at most of the other films from the late 30's early 40's
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This movie is the tits.
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on my mental list to watch, 'though the film's ending was "spoiled" by a multitude of shows during my lifetime. I can't wait till TCM shows it again.
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I'm hoping that tomorrow's pic is from Star Ship Troopers.
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amazing that movie is. Virtually every single cinematic trick in the movie, was invented by Welles. Done first by Welles. Tricks we've all seen either done elsewhere, or bettered elsewhere. It's like reading Olaf Stapledon's first novel. It might not impress you as much, but he invented more sci-fi ideas than HG Wells and Arthur C. Clarke combined. And he did most of it in his first novel. An example, from Citizen Kane: There's a scene where the camera is on a rooftop, and the point of view descends laterally and goes through a small opening in a rooftop sign, and continues on focusing on the building next door. This is nothing to todays CGI. But in the early 20th century, a shot like that was revolutionary. It had never been done before. Welles had to build a set that literally came apart dynamically as the camera approached, to allow it room to pass through. Or there's a scene later on as Kane walks between two mirrors, and you get the infinite tunnel effect of seeing a dozen Kanes reflected, walking across the screen. Again, trivially easy with todays techniques. But utterly brand new in Welle's day. We just look at that. Back then, people thought "Where the hell is the camera? It's not visible in the mirror!" Hundreds of tricks like that make Citizen Kane the greatest movie ever. Because he was like Newton, inventing all the tools he'd ever need, and profoundly enriching the medium in the process.
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They were quite useful, indeed.
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Dec. 19, 2010, 6:20 a.m. CST
Wasn't this BTS pic already posted like a long while back?
by tangcameo
It looks familiar.
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...everything I want to say about it has already been written many, many times. Welles' film towers over cinema like Kong over the Empire State. It's still as good today (I watched my Special Edition DVD last week and, when I finally purchase a bluray player, Kane is top of the 'must buy' list.)
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He is so much your favorite that you can't spell his name correctly, but I digress... On the special edition DVD, the picture is so clear you can actually make out Alan Ladd's face in the shadowy scene in the beginning when the projector is running. He was one of the anonymous people investigating Kane's final utterance.
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a light that big back in the day would have all sorts of provisions for heat & venting (look at the fins and tops on the big junior's in the background). The reason quint thinks "megaphone" is everything about the shape of the thing suggests sound projection. Looks like a megaphone or sound playback thing to me - I've seen these in other older BTS pix (and it looks like the studio had 5 more, right??)
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is Gregg Tolland wrapped around the tripod. The guy was a genius, totally on par with Welles when it comes to innovations in the film. That's why Welles gave him equal billing. That, and John Ford had done it, too.
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William Randolph Hurst's nickname for his mistresses' nether regions, (as that HBO docudrama implied) that's just an amazing diss...and no wonder Hurst set out to destroy him.
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That's how you directed in ALL CAPS back in the day.
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Hey I was wondering whether you could help me. I run a new site called <a href="www.movieinspired.com">Movie Inspired</a> Its a new upcoming site which specializes in Movie inspired apparel. I was wondering whether you would like to get involved - ie submit products help sell stuff? I would be the greatest help to us if you could recommend or just post our like in one of your articles... Thanks!
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That's cinematographer great Gregg Toland under the light in front of the camera. Dorothy Comingore played Susan Alexander shown in the scene. She didn't act in too many films after Kane and was part of the Hollywood witch hunt on the 50's. Kane broke a lot of ground for its time. Orson's use of low camera angles and deep focus shots were indeed groundbreaking, as was his use of audio, which came from his radio background. Hopefully, it will come out on Blu-Ray in 2011 for its 70th anniversary.
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When two BTS Pics run back to back, you guys might want to think about writing some articles.
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Dec. 19, 2010, 8:16 p.m. CST
A contemporary critic wrote, "It's as if you've never seen a movie before."
by CountryBoy
That pretty much sums it up.
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and it's the holidays. i wouldn't be expecting much...
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Dec. 20, 2010, 5:18 p.m. CST
You can't buy a bag of peanuts in this town without someone making you the BTS pic of the day!
by ExcaliburFfolkes
Superb film. You can't say enough good things about it.
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Slipped over in the Third Man drains?
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