Citizen Kane (1941)

SIMPSONS ALREADY DID IT!!!

For five decades, Citizen Kane topped the Sight and Sound poll as the greatest film of all-time until finally in 2012 it was dethroned by Hitchcock's Vertigo, Kane has had the lasting power that no other film has sustained to be consistently considered the magnus opus of the film medium between critics and directors both.

With that lofty reputation on its back, the question is, does Citizen Kane deliver?

Does it ever! I gave this one a re-watch last night, I had it down at 5 stars but needed a reminder of whether its reputation played any part in my rating and I was pleased to find it didn't. This is a five star film and deserves all the plaudits its lauded with.

The story of Charles Foster Kane is both compelling and heart-breaking. He is an idealist, a champion for the working man. He also happens to be one of the richest people in America with a trust fund cited as the 6th largest in America, not to mention his National Inquirer which under his stewardship and shoddy practices (yellow journalism) becomes the leading New York publication.

Often read as a loose biopic of William Randoplh Heart (who went to great lengths to have the film shut down and blacklisted), Kane also in retrospect reads as an allegory of Welles' own career. A man who found fame and fortune early in his career, Welles was a darling of the theater and had film exec's fawning over themselves to try and get him into Hollywood - he made his debut feature Citizen Kane with RKO Pictures offering what is generally considered the greatest contract in cinema history - full creative control over his picture including final cut. For a seasoned director this was unusual at the time but for Welles, who had no body of work in Hollywood and was just a tender 25 years old it was extraordinary. Like Charles Foster Kane, Welles was untouchable in his youth, a man who had the power and charisma to go and take what he wanted. But when you're one of the biggest stars in the world at 25, there is only one way to go and Kane and Welles both found struggles later in their lives.

The story, of newspaper men trying to find out the meaning of Kane's dying words, 'Rosebud', is sliced between flashbacks of Kane's life, told through interviews with imporatnt figures in his life, such as his best friend, his faithful assistant, his adopted guardian's notes and his 2nd wife. An innovative narrative that is held so tightly together and told to perfection.

It is easy to watch older films and pick apart narrative flaws, weird jump cuts or camera choices but its important to remember that these are techniques that have been moulded over time and that early cinema were often trying, testing and pioneering new ideas. What makes Citizen Kane so highly thought of is that it does pioneer many things in cinema, but unlike so many others, it doesn't take a mis-step. This is perfect filmmaking. You could watch this in 1941, 2011 or 2041 and it will still be a tight, perfectly told story with values and ideas behind it that are still relevant.

Upon all the praise already heaped on Orson Welles, I haven't even spoken yet of his acting which, like his direction, is world class. Welles convincingly plays a brash 24 year old upstart as well as he plays a lonely old man. His natural charisma fills every scene.

Is Citizen Kane my favourite film of all-time? No. But it's somewhere in the conversation - certainly in the top 50. Is Citizen Kane the greatest film ever made? Perhaps. It's certainly on a shortlist.





BEST SCENE: There are so many to choose but personally I enjoyed the period of the film when Kane was a cocky, confident 24 year old just getting into the Newspaper business and the scene where he has a song sung about him and gets up and dances with the girls. "There is a man..."

BEST CHARACTER: Charles Foster Kane - there is a great depth to Charles Foster Kane, his dying words inspire the driving force behind the narrative, he is a multi-layered character with good intentions, hypocrisy, greed, sympathy, nobility, loneliness, frivolity, ambition and regret all at the centre of him.

BEST QUOTE: "You know, Mr. Bernstein, if I hadn't been very rich, I might have been a really great man."

RATING:  ★★★★★ - It lives up to its top billing. This is a perfect piece of film making.

MOVIES WATCHED: 13
MOVIES REMAINING: 988