Mesmerizing Film

Rating: 10/10 (30 July 2006)

I did something I never do....I watched this movie twice, in the same day! Roger Eberts commentary is excellent, he points out things that I thought I noticed, but wasn't sure what I was seeing, and much, much more.
The film is really timeless in it's plot and story development. Essentially the story is that we all tend to love ourselves too much, and presented with too much money we demonstrate this fact abundantly, and to the excess of exactly how much money we have. People obsesses about the parallels with Hearst. This film is NOT about Hearst! It's about you! It's about me! Stop trying to analyze pictures from the outside looking in. These films are intended to move you....let them.
The technical aspects of this movie are really quite astounding as well! To this day there isn't many films that can even come close to it's photographic wizardry. The depth of field in every shot allowing the viewer to look all over the screen (like a digital picture), and using backlight and forelighting to move the viewers eye from one area of the screen to another is nothing short of brilliant! The visual juxtaposition is....I'm sorry, it's good. Let's just leave it at that! Watch it on DVD in HD, watch the commentaries to truly understand everything that's happening....if your not amazed at the accomplishment of this film from 1941....burn your TV!