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.
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.
Yeah, they handed it over to Robert Wise to edit it to a happy ending. Wise went on to be a pretty great director (The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Haunting, West Side Story, I Want to Live) but I heard from people who knew him that you never wanted to bring up Ambersons to him. It was a sore subject.