Rosebud

Rating: 10/10 (18 March 2006)

The greatest film of all time. Who ever knew that the greatest American film could be so... European? Rumor has it that Orson Welles saw Le Jour Se Leve, and the fotogenie of that film influenced him to adopt some of the camera techniques that were used for this landmark of cinema. It is infused with minimal comedy (seeing the young Kane starting a newspaper is perhaps the most lighthearted moment in the film), epic drama, detail, detail, detail, a powerful storyline and message (money doesn't buy happiness), brilliant writing, dialogue, camera work, and acting, especially on welles' part. the greatest thing about citizen kane? welles has given us the key to figuring out the enigma that is the title character through the revelation of rosebud. i had a huge grin on my face when this was pointed out to me in my film study class. However, we can sit here and praise Kane for all we want, but the point is that works of art such as this are being ignored by many people who are my age (19). many will opt for stoner flicks, cheap horror movies, and mind numbingly dull action movies. too many people are stuck in the star wars state of mind, and i've moved on beyond that. years ago. if people are serious about cinema, they'll take exactly two hours of their time to view citizen kane. you may not catch on at first, but with subsequent viewings, it flows much more easier. but this is merely a pipe dream of mine, but i'll give you my testament. i just decided to see citizen kane one day, because i felt it shouldn't be voted as the greatest film of all time. i was wrong - dead wrong.