Truly a Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (17 October 2010)

The drama mystery Citizen Kane is directed by Orson Welles and stars Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, and Dorothy Comingore. The film takes place in 1941 with flashbacks from as far back as the late eighteen hundreds.
The film starts out with Charles Foster Kane (Welles) dieing in his castle with his last words being rose bud. At a news station a reporter is assigned to find out why Kane said those as his last words so he goes to everyone that Kane knew to find out. He discovers how at an early age Kane was taken away from his family to become a big success, how in his early twenties he began to run a newspaper, how as he got older he became one of the most powerful men in the country. The reporter learns about Kane's two marriages and divorces and how he also ran to become governor. This film is about the ups and downs of a life of an extremely wealthy man, and has one of the greatest morals of any film ever.
The screenplay for this film was absolutely brilliant. It is extremely intriguing how it was set up as a mystery to discover the meaning behind Kane's final words rose bud but in doing so the audience discovers the life of Kane. The characters were all extremely elaborate and realistic and the film was entertaining the whole way through. The moral is great and films these days do not have morals anymore, which is why I don't really like them as much as the ones back in the day.
Welles's direction was stunning. The camera movements were absolutely outstanding, few films direction can compare with this ones. It is extremely difficult to be the lead actor and director which is why I give extreme props to Mr. Welles. One of my favorite scenes in the film is when he is making his speech to the people when he is running for governor because I really like him, but then I also like when towards the end he is destroying some of his things it really makes me able to feel the pain he is going through. Also I believe the opening scene in the film where Kane dies is one of the most iconic scenes in film history.
The acting for this film is as well wonderful. Orson Welles gave the performance of a lifetime, letting me love him when he is supposed to be loved and hate him when he is supposed to be hated. Everyone else in the supporting cast such as Cotten and Comingore did a fine job, but nothing award worthy. Welles really carried the film, if he did a poor job this film would not be widely regarded as the best film ever made.
The score for this film is also legendary. It really adds another layer to the film making the emotions sink in even deeper. The film is known for its revolutionary sound and again I can think of few films that use sound as well as this one.
Overall I give this film a 10/10 because it is perfect in every way. I would recommend this film to anyone who wants to see great quality in a film.