Orson at his best

Rating: 10/10 (28 June 2002)

Citizen Kane is often regarded as the best motion picture ever. But if you show it to someone who is not into movies he won't understand the power of this movie. The plot is not that outrageous to make this movie great it's more the kind of expression Welles uses. In the 40's it was a scandal to make a movie that didn't fit into the stereotypical view of the Découpage Classique`. New techniques to tell a story ( for instance the main parts of the story are brought to the viewer by flashbacks), the new camera-system (to sharpen characters and the background at the same time) and the use of special effects (like matte-paintings). Furthermore the actors are playing sensational. It's real fun watching Welles developing from the young dynamic newspaper owner to an old unbearable bastard. He is realistic and overbearing at the same time which makes the character lovable. Not to forget the trouble with Hearst who almost managed to withdraw the picture from all cinemas and to destroy it. God thank he failed!