The Greatest Film Ever Made? Who Am I to Argue?

Rating: Null/10 (24 October 2000)

If there was a ever a film that became a trail-blazer for every other great film of its kind, it is "Citizen Kane". Oh sure there were great films before "Citizen Kane" ("All Quiet on the Western Front", "It Happened One Night", "Gone With the Wind"), but none of those films, as great as they were, struck a nerve within the viewer like "Citizen Kane" does. Orson Welles (Oscar-nominated in acting and directing, Oscar-winning in writing) shows unmatched talent at the ripe old age of 26. A young reporter tries to discover what was meant by "Rosebud", Kane's last word on his deathbed, by interviewing those that were closest to him during his life. What follows are flashbacks into Kane's past. Kane's ambition leads to success, money, and basically anything he wants. He marries a beautiful young woman and they have a son almost immediately. However, as time passes Kane's ambition destroys his marriage. While Kane is making moves to get into high political offices, he is caught in a web of circumstance (being in a lady friend's apartment) and loses his wife and son. Then they are killed in a automobile accident. This knocks Kane down even further into an abyss of depression. He marries the young friend and tries to turn her into a star, now realizing that he is basically ruined politically. His newspaper still flourishes, but at what cost? As he gains material possessions, he loses all those closest to him and becomes a recluse at his elderly age. He rarely leaves his huge mansion, he ages terribly, and in the end not even Kane can escape the grips of death. Through it all, everything is explained about Kane with his final word "Rosebud" in the end. The film is dark, heartrending, and overall brilliant in every sense. Orson Welles was the catalyst, he drove everyone to the limits. Gregg Toland's cinematography is revolutionary, nothing like his camera-work had ever been done before. So many great films benefitted from "Citizen Kane". The list is almost endless. "Citizen Kane"'s timing was both a blessing and a curse for the film-makers. World War II probably kept the film from being as highly-acclaimed as it should have been in 1941. Oscar turned his eyes toward films like "How Green Was My Valley" and "Sergeant York" instead of the dark "Citizen Kane". However, the film's greatness puts it into a realm that Oscar will likely never be able to comprehend. It is one of the greatest achievements of the cinema and one of the greatest achievements of mankind. "Citizen Kane" is one of those things in this world that makes life great and worth living. 5 stars out of 5.