Comparative analysis of Citizen Kane and The Roaring Twenties

¶ … films "Citizen Kane" directed by Orson Welles, vs. "Roaring Twenties," directed by Raoul Walsh and then compare, and contrast the basic film making techniques and themes that Orson Welles and Raoul Walsh utilized in telling essentially the same story. Both of these stories are set in the 1920s, and both illustrate aspects of the American dream, with the rise and fall of the hero in the story. Ultimately, these are stories of good and evil in a society torn by war, excess, and then crushing economic crisis. In a way, they are stories that reflect our own society at this very moment in time.

Both of these films use techniques we are familiar with today to tell their stories, but they were avant garde at the time. They seem as if they are documentaries, telling a true story the audience should believe is true, but of course, they are purely fiction, with a little bit of real basis on real people. In other words, as author Villarejo notes, they "play" with history and make it seem real. She writes, "But other films also play with history, if in more conventional ways, in order to challenge bios or commonsensical attitudes toward simple ways of understanding the past" (Villarejo 26). Both of these films portray the American past at a point of turmoil, financial ruin, and fear (much like the current economic situation the world faces today), and they show just how fleeting happiness can be. They also vividly portray a time in our history when the American Dream was alive, possible, and attainable, a time that may only be a nostalgic look back compared to the current crisis the country faces. In fact, "Roaring Twenties" opens with the statement, "It may come to pass that, at some distant date, we will be confronted with another period similar to the one depicted in this photoplay. If that happens, I pray that the events, as dramatized here, will be remembered" (Walsh), a statement that rings far too true in today's upside down world, which makes the film all the more poignant and frightening at the same time.

Both of these films are created in stark black-and-white, even though color in films did make its debut in 1939, with the classic "Wizard of Oz," and 1939 was the same year "Roaring Twenties" debuted. Both of these films are based on the lives of real people, even thought they might not acknowledge that. "Kane" is based on the life of wealthy publisher William Randolph Hearst, while "Roaring Twenties" is loosely based on the life of gambler and racketeer Larry Fay. There is one major difference between the two characters that is made quite clear in the film. Eddie, the hero of "Roaring Twenties" (played by film great James Cagney), is basically a good man who is thrown into the world of gangsters and bootlegging due to society and economics. Charles Foster Kane (played by Orson Welles), is a good child who becomes corrupt early, and becomes enamored of his own power and prestige so much that any traces of good left in him only seem to emerge on his death bed, when his last word is of his precious sled from so long ago. Both men become incredibly successful, (as is possible in the American Dream), but both fall from grace, losing everything important to them. Eddie is gunned down by gangsters, while Kane dies alone and depressed in his grand mansion that no longer means anything to him. One man is basically good and society treats him poorly, while the other is powerful and corrupt, and he seems to get what he deserves in the end.

The filmmakers accomplish their storytelling by using unique devices (especially Welles, who has continually been commended for this film), including the documentary type style, including newsreels and announcers that give the style authenticity, and unique camera movements that add a dark, dramatic style to the films. In fact, lighting and camera movements are key to both these films, and many experts speculate that "Citizen Kane's" dramatic lighting, including chiaroscuro, high-contrast lighting, and backlighting, helped contribute to the rise of film noir in the 1940s, used in many detective and gangster films, and characterized by dramatic lighting, sparse storytelling, and often dark, broodings subjects or characters.

Citizen Kane" is known for creating many new filmmaking techniques, and has been hailed as one of the greatest films ever made. "Roaring Twenties" is known as one of the best gangster films ever made and director Walsh is often heralded for his dramatic, memorable gun scenes, where the action is extremely fast, the camera stays with the action, and it is so fast and furious that the audience is literally drawn into the film. The depth-of-field or focus of both films comes into play in the overall success of the films, in that in "Citizen Kane," they show the grandeur of Kane's mansion, and the violence of the gunplay in the gangsters' world. Dutch-angled scenes in "Twenties" indicate the very canted world of the 20s gangsters, and even though Eddie becomes successful, it is clear he is a world away from the opulence, excess, and power of the mighty Charles Foster Kane.

Also of supreme importance in Kane is the opulence of the set, the hair, make-up and costuming, to indicate Kane's immense wealth and power. Eddie becomes successful, but never to the point of over the top opulence, and the Great Depression affects both men, but Eddie can never recover. The difference between the two men, even at their most powerful, is all about money, and that is evident when Kane builds an entire theater to showcase his wife, while Eddie opens a speakeasy to showcase Jean's budding career. The sets, hair, make-up and costuming all show the two different levels of success of these men, and add dramatically to the overall impact of the films.

There is another thing in common these two characters share. They both "fall" for the wrong women, and die alone in the end. Eddie always holds a place in his heart for Jean, and tries to promote her career, even though she never loves him the way he loves her, and ignores the fact that Panama adores him. Kane falls for the singer Susan, builds her an opera house, where she fails miserably and leaves him. Their weakness, it seems, is beautiful women with little talent, and they both suffer because of it, and they both end up alone as a result. The real tragedy of these films is not that they lose their fortunes, it is the fact that they die alone, and neither of their lives seem to matter at all, despite all their success and glory, no matter how fleeting it was. As Panama says at the end of "Roaring Twenties," "He used to be a big shot" (Walsh), and that pretty much says it all about the lives of these two men.