THE GREATEST FILM OF ALL TIME!

Rating: Null/10 (25 September 2000)

Citizen Kane(1941) has not only endured the test time but the early negative criticisms to become the #1 film in cinema history. There are three things that make the movie enduring. First, the complex nature of the title character. Second, the amazing technical innovations that changed the face of cinema. Third, the ability to make people from generation to generation give nothing but admiration for this classic.
Citizen Kane was not the first choice for Orson Welles. He originally planned to do a film adaptation of Joesph Conrad's Heart of Darkness that ended up falling through. Before this film, Welles was known for his infamous broadcast of The War of the Worlds. Orson Welles is one of the few artists to succeed in everly level of visual art and communications. He was heavly influenced by John Ford which helped him in making Citizen Kane. Because of his anti Hollywood atittude, Welles like a few others would be beloved by members of the French New Wave during the late 1950's.
The film is slightly based on the career of William Randolph Hearst, although some portrayal of the older Kane seems to be based on Joe Kennedy, JFK's father. Its about a man who goes from being an idealistic crusader to a bitter and corrupt old man. An amazing fact is that Welles had absolute control in making Citizen Kane(a rarity then as in now). The film's expressionistic look with the use of shadows and weird angles helped begin the era of Film Noir. It was both Citizen Kane and The Maltese Falcon(done by first timers John Huston & Orson Welles) that helped create one of the greatest periods in movie history.
The film begins with Kane's death as the story looks back at his life. A reporter is assigned to discover the meaning of Kane's last word. The first flashback shows Kane as a young boy and the event that would have an effect on him for the rest of his life. It goes from his time with his caretaker to inheriting a fortune to opening a newspaper company. The second flashback looks at the early and idealistic period of Charles Foster Kane.
The fourth flashback focuses on Charles Foster Kane's first marriage, his political ambition/disgrace, and his failed marriage. This flashback also reveals the affair that ruined his political career and first marriage. The next flashback shows his second marriage with Susan Alexander as well as her opera career, firing of Jed Leland, and the construction of Xanadu. The film climaxes with Kane's loniness and yearning to return to his days of innocence. The reporter comes to the conclusion that there is no conclusion to the meaning of Charles Foster Kane.
There are four remarkable sequences in Citizen Kane. One, the opening scene. Two, the passage of time scene where the distance between Charles Kane and his wife widen. Three, the opera scenes with Susan Alexander. Four, the closing scene.
Citizen Kane was co-written by Herman J. Mankiewich and Orson Welles. The direction helps carry the story along. William Randolph Hearst hatred the film and tried to have it destroyed. It didn't help that Hollywood resented Welles for being a genius and an upstart. Citizen Kane(1941) and The Trial(1963) were the only films in which Orson Welles had complete artistic control.
Citizen Kane is a great film that was cheated out of many Oscars including Best Picture. The director had used the John Ford/John Wayne vehicle Stagecoach(1939) as an inspiration for his feature debut. In fact, Welles had watched Stagecoach about forty times during the making of the film. The cast and crew were members of Welle's Mercury Theatre. The insertion of Kane into footage with famous world leaders is nothing short of brilliant.
Orson Welles does a balancing act of being selfish and sympathetic. Orson Succeed under the three hat role of director, writer, and producer. Joesph Cotten is super as Jed Leland in his portrayal of a hurt and betrayed man. The themes of friendship and betrayal would appear in films like The Third Man(1949), and Touch of Evil(1958). An early cameo is made by Hollywood legend Alan Ladd.
The ten greatest films of all time are 1.Citizen Kane(1941), 2.The Wild Bunch(1969), 3.City Lights(1931), 4.Battleship Potemkin(1925), 5.Raging Bull(1980), 6.The Godfather(1972), 7.Vertigo(1958), 8.Eight & a Half(1963), 9.Seven Samurai(1954), and 10.The Searchers(1956). Its fitting that the Film Noir period began with Citizen Kane in 1941 and ended with Touch of Evil in 1958. The film editor was West Side Story director Robert Wise. Welles had hurt his hands during the filming of the destruction of his second wife's room. The somber music was done by future Alfred Hitchcock collaborator, Bernard Hermann.