One Word to Describe a Man's Life

Rating: 10/10 (21 June 2014)

When I was fourteen I saw two movies that cemented my love for classic films. One was John Ford's The Grapes of Wrath and the other was Citizen Kane, touted as the 'greatest movie of all time.' You can imagine how skeptical I was going into watching Kane with literally the highest praise you can give a movie hanging on it. However, I was not disappointed. In fact, I was blown away. I was glued to the screen the whole time, fascinated by the actors, the story, the gorgeous Gregg Toland cinematography. Like countless young film fans before me I suddenly had to see more. More movies by Orson Welles, more movies from before I was born, more movies with decades of praise under their belts. Unlike a lot of modern film fans, I don't bristle when Kane is referred to as the greatest movie of all time. I understand why it's called that and take no offense on behalf of films that are more personal favorites of mine to watch. It's difficult to compare movies when tastes are so subjective. Citizen Kane is called the greatest primarily due to its technical accomplishments and how influential it has been, on filmmakers as well as fans. I can certainly attest to the latter from my own experience as it was highly influential in turning me onto movies as more than something you pass the time with. It is a masterpiece of cinema and one of the greatest films of all time, if not THE greatest.