#1 and rightly so!

Rating: 10/10 (31 March 1999)

Many call this film the best American movie ever made and I happen to agree. Welles produced, directed, starred in, and co-wrote this great film at the age of 25. How many people can say they accomplished something that great by the age of 25? Welles outstanding use of mise-en-scene was phenomenal and it was a shame that it was booed at the academy awards. The lighting, sound, angles, and use of film stock is unparalleled. I love how Welles used lighting to make our eyes focus on the character that he wanted us to pay attention to. Throughout the movie we never really see the reporter following the rosebud case very well and rightly so because he is not the focus of the movie, Kane's life is. The movie started at the end, began in the middle and ended at the end of Kane's life, which sounds like every Quentin Tarentino movie I've seen. This film should be the measuring stick used by every filmmaker today.