An Introduction to Film

>helps represent time (e.g., the sound here is

synchronous with the action).

>fulfills our expectations (e.g., of how a party

of this kind might sound and of the fact that

Kane is continuing on his rapid rise to jour-

nalistic and political power).

>creates rhythm beyond that provided by the

music (within the changing dramatic arc that

starts with a celebration involving all the men

and ends with one man’s colossal display of

ego).

>reveals, through the dialogue, aspects of each

main character (e.g., establishes a conflict

between Kane and Leland over personal and

journalistic ethics, one in which Bernstein

predictably takes Kane’s side).

>underscores one principal theme of the

entire movie (e.g., the song “There Is a

Man” not only puts “good old Charlie Kane”

in the spotlight—he sings and dances

throughout it—but also serves as the cam-

paign theme song when he runs for governor

and becomes a dirge after his defeat; at

the same time, while the lyric attempts to

answer the question “Who is this man?” it

has no more success than the rest of the

movie).

>arouses our expectations about what’s going

to happen as the film evolves (e.g., the march-

ing band signals both that the Inquirerwon

over the Chronicleand that the Inquirer

“declares” war on Spain—a war the United

States will win).

>enhances continuity with sound bridges (the

smooth transitions from shot to shot and

scene to scene within the sequence).

Sound creates mood At this party, where spirits are high,
almost everyone joins in the act, including Kane, the
performers, and Kane’s staff of reporters, here pretending
as if they were members of the band.

Who is this man? “Who is this man,” a line in Kane’s
campaign song “There Is a Man,” might function as a
subtitle for the movie itself and allows Kane——singing,
dancing, and mugging his way through the act——to show a
lighter side of his many-faceted personality.

Complex mix of soundIn addition to the distinctive

voices of the three main characters and the voices of the

guests and performers, there is a brass marching band——all

of this constituting a sound design and mix that was very

advanced for its time.

SOUND IN ORSON WELLES’S CITIZEN KANE 425