Rating: 
Summary: IF YOU LOVE FILM (and "Citizen Kane"), DON’T BUY THIS DVD!
Review: (...) With films of the caliber of Citizen Kane this is all the more important...and I can't believe that they would go to so much trouble to release this fine film, with all these "bonus materials" AND NOT PRESENT IT IN WIDESCREEN! It's not even an option! (And for a nice dash of salt in the wound, they use a widescreen still of one of the first scenes in the movie as a background for the menu…hit “Play,” and then watch that same scene in all 2/3rds of it’s glory!) (...)
Rating: 
Summary: Missing Kane
Review: I can't believe that after waiting years for one of the greatest films of all time
to be released on DVD, that it was released in full screen/pan & scan!
This film is one of the most influential films ever made, in large part due to
the cinematography, yet the philistines who released it obviously don't understand
this, or they wouldn't have chopped half or more of the film off before releasing it!
Why not colorize it while they were at it?
Guess I'll have to keep waiting until Warner Home Video (or whomever is
responsible) stop(s) being colossally stupid and actually release the entire film.
Rating: 
Summary: Welles' Undisputed Masterpiece - At Last on DVD
Review: We all know by now that Citizen Kane is almost always named the best or one of the best movies ever made. With its arrival on DVD, we can see why in a different light. The sound and picture are fantastic considering the age of the film, and the bonus features, though sparse, certainly add to the experience. Orson Welles inserts his own past, present, and future into the telling of the life of William Randolph Hearst, and the results are less than uplifting. The young Kane shows an admirable disdain for his money, and money never really gets hold of him, directly; but the power and art that money can buy do indeed take over his soul, and his youthful idealism (or was it just a put-on) gives way to the central fact of his life - "If I say it is so, it is so, for I am Charles Foster Kane!" Welles is a fine actor, but a greater director - the film is full of memorable images that have no doubt come to define what many of us expect from motion pictures. The two-hour documentary on disc two is interesting stuff, but better still was the made-for-HBO "RKO 281". Catch it if you can.
Rating:
Summary: ALL RIGHT.
Review: "Citizen Kane" is all right, but it's nothing to write home about. And it's definitely NOT the best American film ever made, according to AFI. I would nominate Lumet's "Long Day's Journey Into Night," Nichols' "The Graduate," Allen's "Annie Hall," Spielberg's "Schindler's List," and a host of others. The narrative structure of "Kane" reminded me of Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying." Here you have a dead character, who goes by the name of Kane. The people who knew him talk about what kind of an impact he had on their lives. I didn't mind this structure in "Dying" because I liked the Addie character--who is like the Kane character. The main problem I had with "Kane" is that I didn't care about the Kane character. I did not find him very well developed at all--unlike the brilliant characters in "Long Day's Journey," "The Graduate," "Annie Hall," and "Schindler's List." So the Kane character was seeking the love that he lost as a child throughtout his life. Big deal. And that's why this film is considered a classic? Fancy directing and camera angles do NOT make a masterpiece. It all comes down to the writing.
Rating:
Summary: What's more to say...
Review: Film purists have praised this film endlessly. Film novices are in awe. Regular everyday people are riveted by the entertaining narrative. Every film afficianado has been waiting for the DVD release of this film, and no one could possibly be disappointed. A fine quality transfer is great, but the second disc, the documentary, is every bit as riveting as the film itself. Loaded with extras, as only a film of this stature could be accepted, it's hard to imagine a finer version. The greatest film of all time? Perhaps. CITIZEN KANE paved the way for film technique from its inception. Even the boredom scenes (Susan stuck in Xanadu while her friends are playing) are anything but boring. It's a rapid-fire screenplay about a megalomaniac...who you actually felt sorry for. What was Hearst so upset about?
Rating:
Summary: Ohh good GAWD
Review: As a photographer its hard for me to comprehend how anyone was able to create such a beautiful movie with such deep focus. How you can draw a clean image, and prevent your eyes from wandering without using the focus of the lenses is a stunning feat.Just flawless directing, acting, and editing. Great script, and a great achievement from a cocky young upstart in Hollywood. We need more people like Orson Wells in the world.
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: i'm sure many others have stated many things about this film, so i won't add much more except that this is an exceptional story, absolutely well written. i've not been a big fan of older films, but this is one i would watch over and over.
Rating:
Summary: Great film to analyze and a classic in it's own right!
Review: Orson Welles, a visionary for his time, was a man of many things. He was a man of teperament, and genius. And through his early comings in theater and radio, he soon achieved an unprecedented deal: to make a feature film, no strings attached (an almost impossible thing to comprehend today). After several mishaps, Welles settled on "Citizen Kane," which utilized incredible cinematography, a great cast of theater actors, and meaningful dialogue and storylines. The film starts at the end of a life, with the passing of Charles Foster Kane. Kane's family inherited a supposedly worthless Colorado mine that tielded untold millions. His mother put this into a fund for Charles to befully his by his 25th birthday. Throughout his lifetime, Kane used the moeny for profit, controlling an entire newspaper empire, and also used his wealth for pleasure, buying up countless art treasures, and creating his own heaven on earth, a gigantic private kingdom called Xanadu. One news company, while putting together a newsreel of Kane footage, soon realizes that there's no real hook to keep the person interested, until one of them remembers what Kane's last word was: "Rosebud." none of the newsmen know, and one is promptly sent on an investigative search for the truth, tracking down countless friends of Kane, as well as reading the memoirs of the man who was entrusted to be his legal guardian, and a former wife. A great bonus on this disc is the documentary "The Battle over Citizen Kane," which tells how William Randolph Hearst, who was somewhat portrayed in the film (Hearst was also a newspaper tycoon, spent frivolously, and created his own private estate), tried to use his power in Hollywood to keep the film from being seen (even having a huge sum of money to destroy the original negative). Word of mouth kept advertisements from Hearst's papers, and even possibly cost Welles the Oscars (the only one the film won was for screenplay). Ok, why am I praising this film and have not given a concrete fact? Well, here they are: the cinematography is planned out in almost every frame. things represent a character's power, be it the size of the room or camera position. Even the actors are the best cast I can think of from that time. Normally when people look back on films from early cinema, the dialogue seems somewhat stilted. Here, all the characters talk believably and their actions always come to a great means. Orson Welles, being Actor/cowriter/producer/director really did a magnificent job as Kane. He plays him from the young man, through his leap to bellowing power, and into his old age when he can't quite grasp what he wants. Makeup done so well, it's hard to believe it's the same person.
Rating:
Summary: Pauline Kael's Fav
Review: And mine as well.
With audacity and flair, this film still burns the brightest. Many have tried to imitate Kane, but no go. Citizen Kane has everything. AND, it's fun, too.
Make sure you pay attention to Agnes Moorehead, as his Mother. A great example of brevity and depth. A great actress, greatly over-looked.
Rating:
Summary: wowzers
Review: I liked it. It's one of the best DVD transfers I've seen, and I honestly enjoyed watching this DVD version at home more than I have seeing it on the big screen. There isn't much to say that other people haven't said. The sound seems to have been left alone, and I sincerely think this was a good thing--fake stereo enhancement just isn't quite there yet. I didn't notice *anything* bad from the video enhancements, just good things; it struck me from the first that a lot of the film in this version is much more visible than any previous showing I've seen. Feel free to disagree, but I will suggest the folks that didn't like the transfer are playing at being video snobs and losing badly, like so many other fields we must be saddled with "experts"... *sigh* Could it be done better? Anything can be done better. Is this good enough? Much more than "good enough", it's an excellent DVD, and I strongly recommend it.
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