Citizen Kane (1941) ****

Rating: 10/10 (10 June 2004)

I am totally elated to say I've just had my first - and by no means my last - wonderful experience with the well-labeled "classic" that is CITIZEN KANE.
I decided to see it bright and early, at 7:30 am where I could be at my most alert and perceptive. It did not disappoint me in a single way. And even though I was fully prepared in advance to think "there's just no way this is going to be the 'best film ever made'," the more I became entranced in it, the more I understood precisely why so many fans and critics over the decades have bestowed such an honor on it. It's a truly great motion picture - and if I'm not presently prepared to call it "The Single Greatest Film Ever Made," I certainly think it's one of the greatest, at least that I've ever seen.
I must say with regret, however, that I'd already heard what "Rosebud" was before watching the movie, and that's a real shame. Because I would have been totally blown away by that bittersweet revelation had I not expected it. The only thing for me to hope for was that, at least, the manner in which this information was revealed in the film would be properly dramatic and effective, and not just some character telling its meaning or some other less than stellar presentation. I was actually hoping that the movie would end with the "Rosebud" object somehow being amidst Kane's personal possessions -- but who would ever have though that it was going to be SO brilliantly revealed - with such grandeur! Absolutely perfect - drama at its finest!
The performances were marvelous, beginning with Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten (what a shame to think Cotten was ultimately to be handed such junk as LADY FRANKENSTEIN later on). I spotted people I never expected to see, such as George Coulouris as Thatcher (another who wound up in Grade Z horrors like 1957's THE MAN WITHOUT A BODY!).
I was totally intrigued with the character of Chuck Kane continuously, and I loved the manner in which this well-crafted story was told via flashbacks and time leaps backward and forward. Of course, the cinematography was second to none and, I imagine, astonishingly fresh and innovative for its day. Dialogue was great, too; I particularly liked one funny bit where the elderly Thatcher tells the young adult Kane: "You're too old to call me 'Mister'", to which Welles replies, "and you're too old to be called anything else" !
Orson Welles was a genius with this work of art. I can't wait to dig into the documentary, and perhaps even Roger Ebert's commentary. To think that Welles was so young when he fashioned this beautiful film, and had complete creative license! This is what I like with a director when I can get it - one who is in charge of everything, not just someone who is merely directing someone else's ideas. I like a director to conceive, write, direct, and edit everything (at this point I'm not positive that Welles did it ALL, but he did enough!).
Well, I could go on forever at this moment, but I'll let others get a word or two in. All I can say is - if you hadn't guessed by now - this baby's got a space on my shelf with its name on it! And by the way, EXCELLENT restoration job, Warner!