The #1 film ever made? Sure. Why not?

Rating: 10/10 (18 August 1999)

The A.F.I. list came out not too long ago, and so everyone clamored to see what the number one film ever made was. Of course emotions were high, as well as tempers. Of course different people were rooting for different films, as to be expected. I remember the exact moment when I saw the list. It is actually in the latest issue of Newsweek magazine. Right there, in black and white, in the number one slot... "Citizen Kane."
I had never seen "Citizen Kane", actually, and the list prompted me to do so. When I saw the film itself, I was shocked. Here was a slight film, understated, and very simple, really, that had obviously rocked critics everywhere, that had done the impossible. Here is a first-time filmmaker trying something new, experimenting, if you will, and he ended up making what is considered the greatest film ever produced in America.
I wasn't disappointed. Welles' performance, as well as all of the others, were right on the money, the script was remarkable, and Gregg Toland's camera work took everything I thought to be reality, crumpled it up, and threw it away, never to be rediscovered.
I really see little reason to review "Citizen Kane" as a film. That has been done enough times, goodness knows. What I do see fit to do is recommend it. The average viewer will be bored, of course, because there is no action, no real adventure to be found. But there is drama, especially for any who see film as film, not so much as a story. There is suspense, I think, so many times, simply because of a camera move or a well-timed change in placement. This is film as film, not as anything else. Absolutely do not miss.
**** out of ****.