Citizen Kane (Two-Disc Special Edition)

I actually like this movie, but a long time ago I realised that people usually skip over the favorable reviews, particularly if there are THOUSANDS of them, and want to see what the few cranks had to say.

I have one real issue with this movie- the overacting! About the only person in the whole film that doesn't is Ray Collins and unfortunately he had only a small part. Ruth Warrick and Agnes Moorehead are good too, but the others? Joseph Cotten is the worst, with Dorothy Comingore right behind him. Even Welles indulges himself a time or two.

I love the camera work, the angles, the lighting, the music,and all the other innovations, but when you have people acting like they are breaking in at the local dinner-theatre, it really spoils the effect.

One of the other reviewers claims that Amazon reviews of the movie tend to fall into two categories: reviews by those with a sophisticated and technical knowledge of movies, and reviews written by MTV generation types with little knowledge of film.

I don't believe I fall into either category. I was an English major years ago and love old movies.

"Citizen Kane" may be a work of great originality; but I find it a boring film, so boring that I am unable to get through it. The problem is the protagonist, Kane. He is a boring blow-hard, in my opinion. I contend you can't make great and interesting movies with too an intense focus on people whose psyches tend towards the mechanical and repetitive. Drunks and crazy people are other examples of types who make poor protagonists.

By the way, just saw another older film in which Welles plays an equally repellent character; but in which the focus of the film is less on the character played by Welles - "The Third Man." Such a great, moving film. Welles' part is much briefer than in "Citizen Kane;" but is all the more chilling and repellent for its brevity.

In 1941 actor/director/writer Orson Welles would release one of the most cherished films to ever hit the silver screen. Many have cited it as the greatest film of all time, and many more agree that Citizen Kane is the quintessential American movie. Like all great films it transcends traditional narrative to become something all its own. The movie almost holds a surreal feel as audiences are thrust into the luxurious, yet lonely life of Charles Foster Kane.

Citizen Kane is a great looking film, no question about it. It's obvious that the sets are fake but the movie uses that to its full advantage. Each of these sets is so exaggerated and ornate that it allows the film to transcend generations. It's a kind of timeless quality that is rarely seen in contemporary pieces. What looked good in this film upon its release still looks good to this day because it is an exaggeration of the American culture, which when someone really thinks about it, hasn't changed much since the time of Citizen Kane's release.

Even more important to Citizen Kane's set designs are the lighting mixed with expert photography. Lighting of Kane becomes the most crucial aspect of discerning his character and foreshadowing his path. Though the dialogue is often brilliant, Citizen Kane seems to have been made with solely the visuals in mind, because it is clear that the story of Kane's rise and fall can be told through the powerful imagery presented throughout the movie.

From being the "voice of the people" through the use of his newspaper (The Inquirer) to giving off the ferocious political campaign speeches clearly inspired by Adolf Hitler, the scope of Citizen Kane never seems to back down in its uncompromising character-study of a man who could never back down. As the viewer follows his path towards self-destruction they realize that this character is not unlike many who still inhabit the country to this very day. When they look at Orson Welles as Kane they can see the type of person everyone knows all too well. Everyone knows about someone who will do anything for love, only to discover he's done all the wrong things. Kane fails in life because he never learns that an emotion such as love can never be bought. Gratitude can be bought, or appreciation, but love requires something beyond the material realm of personal interaction. All these emotional issues are brought to focus by the film's outstanding scope, which is far ahead of its time.

What else stands out about this film? Everyone cites the lighting, directing, and sets, but also one needs to keep in mind: Orson Welles' acting is extraordinary. He can be funny, tragic, compelling, charismatic, and many scenes he is in make-up in order to play Kane through the decades. Surely it is one of the greatest performances ever captured on the silver screen.

So, is Citizen Kane the "greatest movie ever made"? Without much hesitation the answer is yes. Maybe it isn't at times the most entertaining film ever made, but it clearly has the merits that make it worth seeing again and again. This film looks great, its story is full of loose-ends for the audience to solve for themselves, but most important of all is how well the film has aged. There are not many, if any complaints to be had in regards to Orson Welles cinematic landmark.

Citizen Kane remains the undisputed champion of American cinema...

But how is the DVD? Well, in short: the two-disc special edition is a great restoration of this film and includes a great deal of special features. The best of these features is a feature length commentary by infamous film critic Roger Ebert and the other being the documentary "The Battle for Citizen Kane" which is a great overview of the conflict between Orson Welles and communications tycoon William Hearst.

If you truly love movies you'd be a fool not to have this landmark film as a part of your collection.

The greatest film ever made? That's debatable. It's debatable whether or not CITIZEN KANE is even Orson Welles' greatest film since TOUCH OF EVIL is regarded by many of the director's devotees as being better. Logically then, that would have to make TOUCH OF EVIL the greatest film ever made.

Actually, no single film has a right to such a designation as being the greatest. Every movie is limited by its genre and the specific story it proposes to tell. Different films have different things to say and many diverse ways of saying them. One genre - be it drama, horror, comedy, musical, etc. - is not above another. There are outstanding films of every type. Having said that, CITIZEN KANE is definitely one of the greatest films of its genre and of all time, and the influence it had on motion pictures is undeniable. However, many of the techniques accredited to it as being "firsts" have been used in movies well before KANE. Devices like flashbacks, overlapping dialogue, visible ceilings - these things weren't introduced in KANE as it's often cited. The difference was that Welles put them all together in one film to create a cinematic synthesis, like a magician's bag of tricks opened up to dazzle and enthrall the spectator. This comes as no surprise given the fact that Welles himself liked to dabble in magic and the art of illusion. One implausibility in the script was overlooked: When Kane whispers "Rosebud" on his deathbed no one is around to hear him, so how does everyone in the film know that those were his last words? The fact that we're willing to dismiss or not even notice this rather major oversight is a tribute to how the film's magic spell affects us.

Kept in proper perspective, CITIZEN KANE is still a powerful work, its vivid imagery lingers in our memory and its message - "of what profit is it to a man if he gains the world but forfeits his soul?" - remains as relevant as ever.

I will agree that this is definitely one of the greatest movies of all time. It has a solid story, rich characters, beautiful cinematography, and, of course, a riveting performance from Orson Welles. The character study of Charles Foster Kane is the strongest part of the film, and it's really fascinating. However, in my opinion, I wouldn't necessarily call it THE greatest movie of all time, as some critics would say. To me, The Godfather takes that place, but that's a completely different movie. Also, while it is an excellent film, Citizen Kane is not one of my personal favorites. Movies such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, No Country for Old Men, Das Boot, & The Insider are some of my favorites, but Citizen Kane is not. I've seen it straight-through at least twice, and it didn't leave a huge impression on me. Still, I can acknowledge Citizen Kane as one of the greatest movies of all time (but not THE greatest). It's an excellent film, and it's hard not to like it. I would easily recommend it to every single moviegoer on the planet.