Rating: Summary: I loved it Review: Citizen Kane has been considered one of the best movies to come out of the black and white era, much less of all time. It also is probably the top of Orson Well's movie career. The movie starts off with a distant fog haunting over the famed gothic castle, "Xanadu". Moving past fences, and gates it goes to show how private and closed the star of the show, Charles Foster Kane, really is. Moving toward the castle you get a glimpse of Mr. Kane. Then you see him take his last breath and mumble the famous word, "Rosebud". This word is then the basis of the whole movie. It then jumps to a newsroom, with a crew watching a documentary on Kane. They feel like something is missing from it that would give it the edge it needed. They then thought that if they knew what this "Rosebud" meant that possibly they could get the upper hand on the news and make some serious money. So the case is afoot. Soon a reporter is going all over the country, talking to friends, family, and ex-employees to possibly get a hint of what this "rosebud" is. The film is made with multiple flashbacks that are introduced by the men and women that the reporter is interviewing. Going back to his childhood and how he ended up in the money, all the way until his political career is destroyed by a careless affair, and ending with his wife leaving him. Kane's life is filled with highs and lows. Disappointments have made him hard, and good times give him an arrogance that made his role in the film very eye appealing. I felt that this movie was extremely well done. It caught my attention from start to finish. It was put together in such a way that it left people wanting to know even more about this fictitious, larger than life character. I don't know if one can say enough about this movie. It was in black and white, which usually kind of bothers me, but I thought it really helped add the necessary film fundamentals that encompass the viewer to the point of questioning ones reality. This film, though fiction is also a semi-direct representation of a real life character. William Randolph Hearst was a man living in same time as the movie came out. He was greatly offended by the similarities portrayed in the movie. Though Hearst tried to use his power to get "Kane" out of the theatres before it started, he failed. But the after shocks of Hearst's outrage hit Welles' career hard. The film was up for nine Academy Awards, but only receive one. And after "Kane" there was a gradual downfall in Welles career up until he died in 1985. I thought this movie was great. I don't always like old movies, but this one was superb. I hope all of you feel the same way. Please, check it out, you wont be disappointed. David Johnson
Rating: Summary: Get a Grip people Review: What is everyone's morbid fascination with this movie? I found it to be very boring and worthless. The acting is not good and the story is dull. I understand that Welles broke new ground with technology during the filming. So What? If it was not done by him it would of been done by someone. I give this movie zero stars and just to warn people not to waste their money on this flop.
Rating: Summary: what the...? Review: I guess most film critics must take lots of drugs. I just couldn't see the point of this movie. Watch "Billy Budd" instead if you want B&W film and lots of emotion. Watch any Marx Brothers film if you want B&W film and comedy. Watch "2001" if you want something to ponder, because at least it's in color.
Rating: Summary: WHERE IS THE DVD ? Review: Ok, this is considered widely as the best film ever made, so why isn't it on DVD yet? Is the movie industry still confused at what to make of this amazing film which was way ahead of it's time in 41' and probably still is? When considering how many terrible movies are being put in the DVD format today, it's a disgrace to see Kane only in VHS. Even Welles great B movie Touch of Evil made it on DVD, so why isn't his best flick?
Rating: Summary: Greatest movie I have ever seen Review: Citizen Kane is considered by many, with Casablanca, to be the best American movie in history. Although I am not an avid movie-goer or a film buff, I can't disagree with that appreciation. It is certainly the greatest movie I have ever seen. Despite being in b/w, Welles' use of light and camera angles is nothing short of stunning, esp. the group scene after the first newsreel. One little problem, though : I don't know if it's because of this recording in particular, but the sound volume grows terribly loud as the movie progresses, so keep your remote in hand. But the most incredible aspect of this movie is without a doubt the story. We follow the quest of a journalist as he is assigned to find out the meaning behind Charles Kane's dying word : "rosebud". The journalist goes to talk to many people who knew Kane during his life, and gives rise to numerous flashbacks of their contacts with Kane. Despite his never-ending wealth and ambition, Charles Foster Kane is a complex and tortured man. He runs a newspaper empire, attempts to run for governor, and erects a gargantuan castle called "Xanadu", where he cannot find peace. His apparent paradoxal nature is explained when we understand that what he seeks is love, but on his own terms. He seeks what he does not have. This movie is powerful and asks pointed questions about, for example, the difference between egoism and self-centeredness, and how this affects our view of the world. This is, in a good sense, a very spiritual and involving movie.
Rating: Summary: MOST ARTISTIC MOVIE EVER MADE! Review: I'm 15 years old, and I just recently saw this movie. I just have to say a couple things about it, besides the fact that it is the greatest film ever made and it's perfect in every way, because we all know that. I have a message for all the viewers...if you watch this movie and expect something entertaining then, you should just not watch this film at all...it is not meant to be entertaining. It is like a work of art. "CITIZEN KANE" is like Piscasso's Old Guitarist painting...it's not exactly the happiest most entertaining painting in the world but...IT'S GOOD! This movie is one you don't just go to Blockbuster and pick up for a good Saturday night movie..NO NO! It is a film which needs to be studied ahead of time, watched very carefully, and probed into. This is a film which calls for the human mind to function on a higher level...much higher than the normal standard of thinking. The camera shots- we know they are beautifully mapped out and have such an artistic value to them that you could take almost any still from this movie and hang it in a art museum! You need understand this movie...study each character...especially Kane...the title of the movie is "Citizen Kane" because underneath all that money, power, greed, and corruption- he is just a citizen, like you and me. So, I suggest to anyone who wants to see this movie to ask someone about it...who has studied it before...ask them to explain it...My dad helped me alot in the understanding of this movie, as he does with many movies. Once you understand this movie, it becomes MORE than a movie...it helps you understand all movies...and how character is crucial to plot, and how the camera angles and lighting is what makes a movie different from a play....it adds an artistic element to a motion picture that you cannot acheive in a play..and Orson Welles understands this, for he is the most important and brilliant film director to ever grace the screen with one of his films. This picture single-handedly rises above all other pictures as a masterpiece of film...and it will remain that way forever because Welles is the Shakespeare of the motion picture, and just as there will never be another William Shakespeare, there will never be another Orson Welles.
Rating: Summary: B.F.D. Review: I took precious time out of my schedule to watch this "Citizen Kane" and found it acceptable. I had a nice time viewing this film, eating popcorn and drinking generic soda. The girl I sat with, more than a friend and less than a romantic interest, also had a pleasent evening. I felt that the ending was both enjoyable and unfortunate. If you liked this movie as much as I did, which was only an average amount, check out Gator.
Rating: Summary: Worn out filmprint, no extras, no thanks Review: Recently bought Citizen Kane on DVD (see Amazon UK, it's the yellow sleeve with Kane looking up) but what a disappointment! Except for one theatrical trailer and a booklet, there are no extras on this disc, yet many a good documentary about this film has been made. To add injury to insult a worn out filmprint has been used: cables, dots, et cetera. Shame on the schmuck that made the decision to release what many people call the best film ever made this way!! Do not waste your money on this one.
Rating: Summary: : ) Review: Is there anyone Out there who still doesn't know What Rosebud labels?
Rating: Summary: Don't watch this movie on drugs Review: Citizen Kane, like all brilliant movies, was never designed to be entertaining. One of the things it could be designed to be is a big message, a headline in one of Kanes newspapers even. The headline reads: America is powerful, and power corrupts. Kane could represent America, a country that was given great power, from another. The country hoped to enlighten those of the underprivileged and bring liberty to all. The country hoped to have fun and was innocent and nice to all the other countries. As America became more and more powerful though, it began to care only about itself. America now foolishly views itself as the greatest nation of them all now. America thinks that it can control everything, and forced the other countries to love itself, two of them are Russia and Vietnam. When these countries do not agree to love him, we retreat to our material world and die cold and lonely, forgetting Americas youth of love and happiness. I know im starting to ramble, but the point is, Citizen Kane has not one message or theme, but many. It's a brilliant movie that shouldn't be watched because its entertaining or dramatic or whatever, It should be watched because it's art. I would even argue that if you classified Citizen Kane under one genre it would have to be a comedy, with the joke on America, and our sick twisted ways of valuing money and material over anything else.
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