Full Reviews : Citizen Kane- My review

[Lord Moe]

From the very beginning, "Citizen Kane" draws you in. The great newspaper tycoon, Charles Foster Kane, dies a lonely man in his expensive mansion. His dying breath is expelled with one word: "Rosebud". What does Rosebud mean? Is it a woman that Kane loved? The rest of the film unfolds in interviews and flashbacks, telling us the life story of Kane and giving us an insight on not only what makes this man tick, but what Rosebud really means.

Do I really need to go on about why "Citizen Kane" is amazing? I don't think I do. Although it was trashed back when it was released due to problems with William Randolph Hurst (whom it was based on), it has constantly been touted as the greatest film of all time for decades now. Why is that? Well, for one thing, it is much like King Kong in that it pioneered a bunch of different techniques. Before "Citizen Kane," you just didn't see the camera moving around as much as it did in Kane. In most movies you had a static camera that would simply show the action. In "Citizen Kane" the camera itself produces mood and drama. Who can forget the shot through the snow globe? And let's not forget the use of shadows. This film is just a marvel to look at. The soundtrack is also exceptional. Bernard Herrmann is simply one of the greatest movie composers of all time, and this is his first film score.

Plus the acting is great. Orson Welles is, of course, fantastic. I find him to be one of the most charismatic actors ever. He just has an air of coolness taht few match. I am always humbled by the power of his work.

Plus, I just find the story engrossing. It starts by sucking you in with new reports, telling you of the ups and downs of the life of Charles Foster Kane. You want to hear more about this monumental figure, and are intrigued from the very start. From there the movie unfolds in flashbacks and such, filling in the gaps of the story as it goes along. It's not in chronological order, but banks on the idea that the audience members can fill on the blanks in their own. This was also quite a novel idea back then which has, obviously, become a recurring technique in modern cinema.

Although it's not my favorite film, it's hard to argue with the idea that "Citizen Kane" is the greatest film of all time. I'd probably say that "Citizen Kane" and "King Kong" are the perfect bookends of the title Greatest Film of All Time. One is drama, one is fantasy. Both were huge innovators and pioneered new techniques that would change the art of cinema forever. But most of all, both are terrific, timeless films and are masterpieces of American cinema.

[tef]

I guess somebody had to do it.

[Lord Moe]

hah, no one made a Kane topic yet? wow

[ShogunRua]

Do I really need to go on about why "Citizen Kane" is amazing? I don't think I do.

It's a shame Ingmar Bergmann isn't alive to read this brilliant commentary; he thought "Citizen Kane" was crap, and made a much better film on a similar subject called "Wild Strawberries". However, after reading the sentence above, he would be forced to change his mind and declare "Citizen Kane" the greatest picture ever.

Personally, I thought "Citizen Kane" was a masterpiece and maybe even the best film ever made when it came out in 1941, but I feel sad for anyone who calls it the best ever.

[Pickpocket]

Personally, I thought "Citizen Kane" was a masterpiece and maybe even the best film ever made when it came out in 1941, but I feel sad for anyone who calls it the best ever.

True. It's also far from Orson Welles' best film.

[PetrosTser]

Ugh.

Maybe the expectations bar was pretty high, but, if this is the greatest film of all time, then what we call "cinema" would be best avoided; for this is a mostly boring film about an entirely unlikable fella that goes through childhood predicaments worthy of Disney kids films characters (including the - ahem - 'mystery' of "Rosebud", the brand of the sleigh with which the young Kane hit his guardian-to-be - no comment). I appreciate the technical innovations and, frankly, there are a couple of interesting scenes and some good acting, but the ridiculous 'script' (an awful narrator, some blokes commenting and a lot of flash-backs) pretty much condemns this one. "Citizen Kane" collapses under its own legend.

50/100