Posted on 09/15/2011 6:04:44 PM PDT by nickcarraway
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the classic movie, Citizen Kane, which many consider to be the greatest movie ever made.
The film, loosely based on publishing mogul William Randolph Hearst, stars Orson Welles, who also co-wrote, directed and produced the film - all when he was just 25 years old. Hearst prohibited mention of the film in any of his newspapers.
Welles is the title character, one Charles Foster Kane, who becomes more and more powerful in the publishing industry until a scandal leaves him ruined and alone.
The line, “Rosebud,” has become one of the most-quoted movie lines. A special edition Blu-ray of the film was released Tuesday. It has already gotten praise for its picture quality, as well as its special features, which include several documentaries discussing the film, as well as the HBO original movie RKO 281.
Welles won the Oscar (with Herman J. Mankiewicz) for Original Screenplay. The film also earned eight other Oscar nominations. Welles also became the youngest man to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Director until John Singleton was nominated five decades later for Boyz N the Hood (1991).
I liked the movie because it started out with Kane living up to all his ideals and then they slowly eroded away as he got more and more power.
There's a certain amount of snobbery going on with some who watch Citizen Kane because they think they have to appreciate it and treat it too reverently (thereby sucking the fun out of it).
I happened to catch it on late night TV in the early 60's and wasn't aware of the accolades the film had garnered. Because I had no preconceived notions, I just enjoyed it for the sheer entertainment value and the fact that it spins a heck of good yarn. Now that I know how great Kane is, when I watch it, I don't let its stellar reputation get in the way. It's just a fine film, with first-rate acting and, as you alluded to, the storyline is compelling.
My favorite film. My Blu-ray arrived today. I’ve collected Kane on VHS, laserdisc, DVD and now Blu-ray. It never fails to fascinate me.
I think now that the opposite is true. There are lots of young viewers who have little respect for old films. Now you often hear "I don't see what''s so great about Citizen Kane".
The film was way ahead of its time, in so many ways. Really ground-braking. But I can’t say I revisit it too terribly often, maybe once every ten years. I think “Magnificent Ambersons” might have been an even better film, had it not gotten choppy and uneven towards the end (apparently taken out of Welles’ hands, I think?). Something about the way it captures the passage of time really grabs me and resonates with me more than “Kane.” But “Kane” was the groundbraker.
I was forced to watch this film during an ‘arts appreciation class’ is college, and I thought the movie was crap.
I believe watching the proverbial ‘drying of paint’ would be far more entertaining.
Well, someone had to start the Slow Clap.
An interesting point. It tends to weirdly grate on me the way some old movie ‘classics’ are basically sold in a snooty, pretentious manner to their audiences nowadays, like they are solely to broaden your cultural horizons. Rathery PBS-y. It’s such a turn-off. I just miss when late-shows presented a wild mix of A-films, B-films, good ones, bad ones, and nothing but relaxing entertainment was the name of the game. You could go from “Citizen Kane” one night, to “Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair” the next! Loved it.
Good grief.
Brake = Break.
How on earth did I get hung up on mispelling that word? Never have before. Weird. Must have had the idea of a railroad brakeman stuck in my head.
“Now you often hear “I don’t see what’s so great about Citizen Kane”.
And they’re right. That’s pretty much how I’ve always felt about that movie and I ain’t young. And I’m a movie buff and know a lot of other movie buffs, and they don’t believe that movie is the greatest film ever made either. Not even close.
It’s like the claim that Charlie Chaplin is a comedic genius. I never once laughed at anything he did. And again I know a lot of movie buffs that feel the same way. Chaplin was adulated by the left and that adulation was perpetuated by the leftist film schools. Most likely all this claptrap about Kane being the greatest movie ever made is just more film school BS of one kind or another.
Maybe Kane was great for it’s time. But that has worn off now. Sixty years later, Kane is merely an interesting and engaging film that was excellently made.
>Brake = Break.
How on earth did I get hung up on mispelling that word? Never have before. Weird. Must have had the idea of a railroad brakeman stuck in my head.<<
What a greenhorn excuse. You been here for 6 years and you don’t know the mantra?
Blame.
Spell.
Check.
;)
>>Sixty years later, Kane is merely an interesting and engaging film that was excellently made.<<
And how many of those can you count? One hand, one had and a half?
I am probably going to get flamed for this, but I feel the same way about “Casablanca”.
I honestly can’t see why people considered Bogart a great actor. He’s wooden, over-rehearsed and about as spontaneous as turtle sex.
The female lead was totally forgettable. The only decent, or at least amusing, character in the entire film was the French cop.
Total yawner. Yet movie snobs talk about that film like it the greatest work of all time.
Yawn. There have always been people who want to be first in line to say they don't think Kane is a good film.
Rosebud was a sled!!
Jeez. Where’s your Spoiler Alert?
Couldn’t resist. Besides I first found out about it in a song by Julie Brown called “The Homecoming Queen’s Got a Gun”!
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