Citizen Kane - Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film

Country: united_states

Year: 1941

Running time: 119

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033467/reference

Michael says: “I have seen CITIZEN KANE before… about twenty years ago, so when it came up again in the Brattle podcast, about how it’s such a classic, in fact, probably THE classic film, and I couldn’t really remember much about it, I thought it was time to watch it again. I’m glad I did. It’s a good movie. It’s epic in scale, it tells s strong story of the rise and fall of a man, and it was groundbreaking for its time. That said, it does leave me wondering how it attains such lofty praise above and beyond so many other films. Many people praise the cinematography, and it does use shadows creatively, but… (and perhaps it suffered from not being screened in a movie theater) some of the shots were in such heavy shadow that I couldn’t even see the speakers’ faces! The acting was good, in fact, I was particularly struck by Ruth Warrick as Kane’s first wife, and it’s always nice to see Agnes Moorhead, this time playing Kane’s mother. I also enjoyed Joseph Cotten as Kane’s best friend, Jebediah Leland, who is an interesting character that I’d like to take a moment to discuss. Perhaps this is a common theory, but I’m surprised I haven’t seen it mentioned: clearly Leland and Kane were in love with each other, or at least, Leland was in love with Kane. Theirs is the major relationship in the film, and it’s when Leland breaks with Kane that the man truly loses himself. There are so many moments where this coded relationship is suggested, I find it hard to believe it wasn’t intentional. Still, as I said, a strong film and one that I enjoyed revisiting. 3 1/2 cats”

Cheryl responds: “I love teaching CITIZEN KANE for the opening sequence camera work and the story within a story narrative structure. Here it works perfectly as a device beginning with the newsreel and then transitioning to trying to find the true story of who was Kane? Another film about the power of journalism!

“I also love Orson Welles in this film – much more than Gary Oldman as Mank – I think the only Welles role that’s more compelling is his Falstaff in CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT.”

Brett responds: “Add me as a plus-one who would use CITIZEN KANE as the ultimate example of the bar an aspiring filmmaker would need to reach in order to achieve next level greatness. It’s a master class in film-making in every thinkable, achievable way. Especially set against the backdrop of every cinematic achievement up to that point, it’s the equivalent of proving the universe is infinite to what was once a horde of believers in the earth-at-the-center-of-the-universe mindset.”

Jana responds: “CITIZEN KANE was one of the first films I watched that required critical thinking rather than simply watching for pure entertainment. My dad suggested we watch this movie when I was in middle school and interested in journalism.”

Citizen Kane

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