A Top Ten Film of All Time

Rating: 10/10 (19 July 2018)

This film is currently rated as being in the 600s of popularity among film viewers. This says quite a bit about the general illiteracy of the American filmgoer. This is easily one of the top ten films of all time; and without any possible contradiction, it certainly belongs in every critic's top 100 films. Any critic who doesn't have it in their top 100, would not be considered a real critic in my book.
Is it the best film of all time, as proposed by several critics? I don't think so, but it certainly is in that kind of company. The story of William Randolph Hearst (not Hurst, as one misinformed critic had written) is a tragedy on several levels. And yet, its life's illusions we all recall, we really don't know life at all (apologies to Joni Mitchell). The film is magnificently shot to perfection. Shots that had never been tried before on film were common in this one.
This unauthorized biography got Welles into a lot of hot water with Hearst, who tried to have the movie prevented from being completed or shown on several occasions. The dialogue is superb; the actors are letter-perfect, and the story is mesmerizing. What else could you want from a film?