Exceeded expectations and then some!

Rating: 10/10 (9 February 2016)

As someone who's seen plenty of excellent modern films, I expected Citizen Kane's greatness to strongly depend on historic innovations rather than truly timeless quality. But after watching it in my film course this week, I immediately recognized why it has been touted by many (including famous film critic Roger Ebert) as nothing less than the best piece of cinema to ever grace the silver screen.
Orson Welles and his team left no stone unturned in their quest to fill every scene with clever camera-work, intelligent blocking, smooth editing and... well the list goes on and on. Right from the first scene, where you are embraced with the cold and dark tone of the movie through creatively plastered-together shots of the ominous Kane castle, you know you are in for something special. Something that I don't normally notice in contemporary movies but I picked up on in this one is the lighting. The lighting in this film is practically another character, and this in and of itself is something to be in awe of. I can't imagine the amount of time, effort and talent it required to craft something so precisely beautiful. I feel like a sap going on like this but Citizen Kane truly is a masterclass in filmmaking.
I went into this movie expecting a dull experience with decent technical aspects and cheesy performances but left it with a whole new mindset on what makes a good film and what makes a good filmmaker. If you're a terrible cinephile like me who is reluctant to watch the 1940s classics, I strongly recommend giving this a watch.