Orsen Welles Period Piece

Rating: 7/10 (26 June 2007)

This is an intelligent film, but it is more of a period piece than it is a classic. My apologies to AFI but as the memories of William Randolph Herst fade, this movie will fade too. That it has lasted this long amazes me. In fact, a poll of college students today would rarely put this in the top 10 films made. The AFI is not composed of college students.
This is a solid film, not total trash. It successfully tells a good story, has a fine cast, and shows a lot of Orsen Welles creativity in trying things on film that had not been tried until this film.
The hypnotic effect it had on the generation it was made for, made it one of the most revered films of that era. It even got lampooned on SNL a few years ago. But over-all, in time the legend of Hearst will fade out entirely & so will this films classic rating.
There are technical masterpiece touches in this film. Welles was always known in Hollywood as being difficult to work with & controversial. Because the studio he made this film with desperately needed to sell tickets to a blockbuster film, they gave Welles a creative freedom few film makers got a chance to savor.
Welles took full advantage of it, & made a big hit for his generation.