The "Greatest Movie Ever Made"

Rating: 10/10 (1 April 2009)

All critics agree, this movie is the best, not many people agree, including me. But the fact remains that the most trained eyes of judging film see this movie as the best, probably seeing more than we see. Aside from all this, there are visuals that will stay with anyone longer than the story. What comes to mind first? An opera house, six shadows falling across the room, leading to one man, a thousand Kanes walking, a snow globe, a sea of statues, jigsaw puzzles, and snow going over a sled. This cinematography is what would come to someone in a dream, or an empty thought, years after they have seen the movie. Maybe they have forgotten what it was from, it hovers on the edge of the mind, but no one will forget all of Citizen Kane, no matter what. Although many movies rely heavily on cinematography, very few have that cinematography more memorable than the movie. I am not saying that the movie is, on the whole, forgettable, I am saying that if someone forgets it, they will always feel part of it on the edge of their mind.
However, cinematography is far from all of the film. First off, this film is blessed with an immortal story, not a very exciting one, but an emotional one. It is so human that we are all moved by it. We feel sorry for him, not in spite of how awful he is, but because of it. His plight is understandable to anyone, no matter how different he is. Anyone can empathize with him because deep down, we know most of us would suffer like him in his position. This beautiful story, backed by excellent screenplay, and told through cinematography so great that Orson Welles, famous for ego, allowed the cinematographer's name to appear on the same card as his, also has the bonus of great acting. It is so demonstrated especially in the scene where Kane trashes his wife's room. It is a masterpiece in almost every sense of film, and from a first time director to. To use one of the characters analogies: each aspect of film-making is just a piece of a jigsaw puzzle, fitting in with all others and, after careful hunting and searching, it all fits together to form one beautiful picture.