Fantastic, but not the best

Rating: Null/10 (15 October 2002)

How anyone could call this the best film of all time... just ludicrous. There can be no "best", but Citizen Kane is a fine film. Before I experienced it, I had heard all the praise and saw the 100 best films of all time. Then one night my film school showed us a brand new 35 mm print. I wasn't blown away... in fact I thought it was just ok, and wondered what all the fuss was about. But Citizen Kane is a film that grows on you... much like Kubrick's work. I find that the best films are ones that grow on you over time... they're almost like living organisms that demand your attention. I rented it again on DVD a couple years later and I slowly began to realize (with the help of maturity) what all the fuss was about. Not only does Citizen Kane use many film techniques that were FAR ahead of it's time, but it also managed to grow a beating heart under all the celluloid. It's a sad film, especially towards the end. The scene where Kane goes berserk and destroys the room is very unsettling... I can't imagine what it was like the to see it for the first time back when it came out. Incredibly, this film also manages to hide the fact that the story is sprung from a GIGANTIC plot hole... probably the biggest in cinema history. Kane's dying words, "Rosebud", are what set the wheels in motion, right? But Kane was the only person in the room, so how could anyone have known his last word? Sure, there may have been someone else there, but Welles never shows them... and in movies, if the camera or soundtrack doesn't reveal it... it don't exist. The characters are very 3 dimentional, almost TOO real... and it takes a few viewings to "get" all the subtleties this film has to offer. This film is loaded with subtlety and it's one of the best staged movies I've ever seen. Every camera angle, movement... the staging of the actors... it's all flawless. The acting is amazing. Welles' transformation into Kane, young and old (the makeup) is almost frightening, it's so real. What more can I say?