Xanadu (Citizen Kane)
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Xanadu is the fictional estate of Charles Foster Kane, the title character of the film Citizen Kane. The estate gets its name from the real ancient Mongolian city, Xanadu, known for its splendour.
[edit] Appearance
Located on the "desert coast" of Florida (of which real-life Florida does not have), Xanadu is described as the world's largest private estate; "cost: no man can say" according to the newsreel at the beginning of the film. Built on an immense "private mountain" constructed from twenty thousand tons of marble, the estate boasts a forest of one hundred thousand trees, a championship-quality golf course, a Venetian-style canal with gondolas and an extensive zoo and aquarium stocked with a menagerie of animals. Central to the estate is Xanadu proper, the castle-like mansion (reportedly built from stones taken from other, lesser palaces) that serves as Kane's home and repository for his enormous collection of paintings, statues, and other antiquities and objets d'art. Xanadu has at least a few dozen butlers and maids.
Xanadu may be a reflection of Hearst Castle, especially considering some archive footage of Hearst Castle was used in the film. However, most shots of Xanadu were surrealistic, highly stylized matte paintings. Xanadu makes great use of Gothic architecture and almost always appears in the film at night with fog surounding it, giving it an "ominous" look. This is appropriate since Xanadu becomes something of a prison, rather than a castle, for Kane in the film.
Considering the size of the building, very little of the interior was shown, presumably due to the film's limited budget and the fact that little of the interior was needed for the required scenes. However, from what is shown of it, the interior seems to be as gloomy and imposing as the exterior, again emphaizing its status as a prison. Xanadu's interior especially does not appear at all homely or cozy, symbolizing the emptiness of Kane's later life.
The estate is featured in the opening and closing shots of the film, and is where Kane dies, virtually alone. Though he is still fabulously wealthy at the time of his death, Xanadu has fallen into visible disrepair, presumably from neglect and its impractical size. After his death, Xanadu is abandoned and its vast estates and holdings are catalogued and auctioned. Kane's personal effects, including a sled that reveals the meaning of "rosebud," are incinerated.
[edit] Recent usage of the term
Xanadu has been used in recent times to represent the foolish excess of lavish lifestyles such as Kane's. Various celebrities — particularly Michael Jackson with his Neverland Ranch — have been compared to Kane, with their inability to spend wisely and gradual disconnect from the everyday world. Xanadu's symbolic meaning of a "prison" built for oneself resonates to this day.
[edit] Influence
When similarly stylized Gothic buildings appear in film, Xanadu is often considered a source of inspiration and the similarity is often noted by critics. This includes Hogwarts in Roger Ebert's review of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
