Probably the Greatest Film Ever Made

Rating: 10/10 (18 May 2011)

When I first saw this film I blown away. It was the first older film I ever saw and thought, "simply amazing!" It really turned me on to the classics and opened my mind to the concept that in terms of how great a movie is it doesn't matter when the film was made. Orson Welles was only twenty six when he made "Citizen Kane"(1941)! Some men will spend there wholes lives trying to create a movie as amazing as this and most will fail yet Welles hit this one out of the park at such a young age! On top of that it was Welles first film ever made! The success might be credited to that Welles was given full creative control of the film by RKO Pictures. The use of sound in this film is unreal, and it seems like every scene can be deconstructed to find 100 different meanings behind every characters action and the objects/places that surround them. This Film à clef uses exceptionally peculiar narrative and direction to tell you the story of Charles Foster Kane. Starting from Kane's last words, going to a news real, then jumping between the interviews of reporter Jerry Thompson to the flashbacks of the ones he questioned. All this accompanied by daring and creative cinematography and amazing acting by Orson Welles and his crew solidify this piece as cinema gold. Don't get me wrong this is in no way my favorite film but I'd think even a person who despised this film would have a hard time saying it wasn't the greatest film known to man. For this I give it 10/10.