Perhaps a bit overrated, but still a striking film

Rating: 7/10 (29 July 2012)

I thought I had watched this film several years ago...but if I did, I had forgotten most of it. So it was with fresh eyes that I watched it this time around.
It was not quite the hatchet job on William Randolph Heart that I had expected it to be. For nearly the first half of the movie, the Kane/Hearst character is portrayed as flamboyant, but in a positive way. Then, in a brilliant "marriage sequence", you begin to see the dark side of Kane/Hearst.
While I would not class this as the greatest American film, it is remarkable that Orson Welles produced this fine a film his first time around.
As an actor, Welles was extremely good here. But for balance, the performance by Joseph Cotten was equally fine, and Cotten is undoubtedly one of American's most underrated actors.
All the other supporting actors, with the exception of Ray Collins, are relatively unknown to film audiences, but they do their jobs well in this production. Collins, a very recognizable face, has a very short role here, but does it nicely.
One criticism I have with this film is the makeup as the characters age. I know a lot of old people, and I'm getting there myself, and trust me, as you age your skin doesn't get smoother and smoother.
Certainly well worth watching, but I think the sensation of "Rosebud" and the controversy behind the film has made this a more famous film than it deserves to be.