don't expect all that

Rating: 3/10 (7 July 2002)

Who hasn't heard Kane hailed as the 'greatest film ever made'?? Having heard this 1,000 times, I watched Kane with high expectations. All I saw was average character and plot development covered up by above average (pretty excellent, actually) cinematography (which, let's admit, is fairly dated by today's standards). Yes, it was a ground breaking movie. Yes, it inspired filmmakers all over the planet. Yes, it changed the industry. Even admitting all this, I still feel that Kane is over-rated. There have been much greater films made in recent times. To call Kane the 'best film ever' is to do so for nostalgic reasons and to ignore that better films have come along since. I can't pick 'the best film ever made' but I can list some that are better than Citizen Kane. How about The Godfather, Schindler's List, Gone With the Wind, Forrest Gump, or even American Beauty? These could all out shine Citizen Kane any day.