Ch. 4 Cinematography

Toland’s cinematographic innovations contributed greatly to the success of Citizen Kane. Toland and Welle’s willingness to challenge the status quo resulted in a film that broke boundaries and changed the cinematography forever. Toland was known as a “gadgeteer”, a cinematographer who customized his cameras and other gadgets in order to achieve his desired artistic effect. Toland signed on to work on this project early on and therefore was able to think about and carefully develop his shooting plan. Although many cinematographic elements in Citizen Kane can also be seen in Toland’s other films, such as Wuthering Heights, he was able to be more experimental in this film.  The competitive spirit between Welles and Toland caused them to push each other to imagine and execute more and more. They worked together well and before the shooting began, Toland spent a lot of time explaining the basic aspects of cinematography to Welles such as cameras, angles, and lenses. Toland worked a lot with depth of field and was able to shoot very complex scenes while maintaining focus in all of the planes from the extreme foreground to distant background. This concept is exemplified in the scene when Kane comes in to Susan’s room and finds her unconscious in bed after an overdose. The medicine bottle is in focus in the foreground and Kane breaking through the door is in the background. The close camaraderie between the two men, along with their unique visions for Citizen Kane contributed to the film’s legacy.