Multimedia Masterpiece

Rating: Null/10 (6 July 2000)

Citizen Kane (CK) is considered the archetypal art film, even by many of its biggest fans. But at the time it was made many of the "arty" techniques it employs so effortlessly were new and innovative uses of sound and high-tech visual effects. What Orson Welles (the 25 year old boy genius who wrote, directed, and stars in the movie) achieved in CK was the realization of cinema as multi - media capable of imparting rapid cognition. We do not actually meet protagonist Charles Foster Kane (played by Welles) until half an hour into the movie, yet by that time we pretty much know (one version) of his life story.
Every scene, every line of dialogue, contributes to the whole yet we are left pretty much at the beginning (despite the famous surprise end) when the movie ends. But you have the sense of having been on a long insightful journey.
Citizen Kane is almost 60 years old, yet is still considered one of the (if not the) greatest films ever made. This reviewer scoffed at the idea at college and has searched for more perfect films but has to admit that it remains fresh and terrific. Why? Because, like good fiction, CK takes you into a world that is almost real and through a tale that spans the ages. It is still a masterwork.