Joseph Cotten
Dorothy Comingore
Everett Sloane
Ray Collins
Whether this movie is
overrated or not, Citizen Kane tops the list of many reviewers. I feel the
movie is overrated, and there were certain elements that dragged longer than
they should.
This 1941 drama film
was directed, written, and starred Orson Welles, who at the time was making his
directorial debut. Citizen Kane is a movie I may not boldly say “go watch,” but
if you like the art of filmmaking, then this is one classic you should see.
The high points in the
movie have to be the storytelling, based primarily on flashbacks. The movie is
about a man named Charles Foster Kane, a newspaper magnate played by Orson
Welles, whose story is loosely based on the lives of four men: American newspaper
magnate William Randolph Hearst, Chicago tycoons Samuel Insull and Harold
McCormick, and some aspects of Welles's own life.
Narrated principally
through flashbacks, the story of Charles Foster Kane is revealed through the
research of a newsreel reporter seeking to uncover the mystery of Kane's dying
word: “Rosebud.” The movie depicts a man who had everything but lacked empathy.
This makes you, the audience, either judge his actions or commend them as
brave. The plot navigates through his life, marriage, wealth, and how he
managed everything from a view that sometimes feels too dark to relate to as a
viewer.
The thrill in this
movie is how it moves from flashback to real time with such powerful continuity
that it makes you respect the art. If you compare this movie to something like Inception
and co, you may view it as an overrated classic, but the cinematography is one
for the books.
Viewing the film with
an objective eye, you remember it was made in 1941, in black and white, with no
CGI at all. Yet makeup artists did their absolute best to carry you along in
the growth of Kane himself.
Then comes the
question in your heart. The portrayal of the character. Orson did so well at
various stages in the life of Kane that he convinces you he’s actually playing
his own life story.
The directing style of
Orson is also something to talk about, focusing entirely on the life of Kane
and making the newspaper reporter kind of anonymous.
The film was nominated
for nine Academy Awards but took home one, for Best Writing (Original
Screenplay) by Herman Mankiewicz and Welles. It has topped many reviewers’
“greatest film ever made” lists, such as Sight & Sound's decennial poll,
the AFI’s 100 Years...100 Movies list, and its 10th Anniversary Update.
This movie is a classic, true and true.
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