What more is there to say?

Rating: 10/10 (8 January 2004)

I won't reiterate what has been already said about the film by countless film critics and movie scholars. As a critic and scholar of film myself, I'm well aware of the innovativeness of Toland's work, the masterful acting by the Mercury Theater players, the brashness and subtleness of Welles' direction -- as well as his portrayal of the title character.
I think the highest praise I can give the film is that whenever it is on -- whether I'm playing it or it happens to be on TV -- time seems to stop. My eyes and ears belong to the movie. Even though I know every word nearly by heart, the film just DEMANDS my attention. I can't channel flip when this black-and-white masterpiece is showing. I feel like Francois Truffaut did -- the film is something Welles was never able to replicate again; the stars were aligned in film history for possibly the only time ever (though some, like Casablanca, come damned close!)
I doubt one word can describe a man's life -- a thousand can't describe one man's film.