***** 08.19.08 - Citizen Kane... 1941... Director Orson WellesPart of what makes a film, is the time in which it was made. Some films are of the times... some behind the times and in the case of "Citizen Kane," it was and is still ahead of the times.
Generally regarded as the greatest American film ever made, Kane lives up to that billing every single time you watch it. At 25, Welles made his masterpiece and long after his death in 1985, it lives on as a testiment to great filmmaking.
Alas, Welles was not alone... Gregg Toland's cinematography is gorgeous and too was groundbreaking. The script Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz penned, based on publishing mogul, William Randolph Hearst is truly amazing. In fact it was so good, it won the Academy Award that year for best screenplay, the only Academy Award the film won, despite being nominated for nine.
The boxed DVD, Gold Version by Warner Brothers is brilliant as well. In addition to a great screening version of the film, the extra are worth it alone! With the film there is an American Experience documentary, "The Battle over Citizen Kane," which examines the film and the two men at the head of it all, Welles and Hearst. Then there is also the film, "RKO 281," originally made for HBO about Welles and making Kane.
I have 5 films in my life that I generally referred to when someone asks me what my favorite film is. They are the films that, for various reasons have led me to be a filmmaker. I think it's always unfair to ask a filmmaker that question for the record. When I list the five films, Kane is always on that list!
Take a look at it again and again... you'll see why it is so powerful.
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