Citizen Kane: Review By ejk1

To quote a rather famous film series, "there can be only one." Only one can be known as the greatest. In terms of movies, that "one" is Citizen Kane. It's not even close really. In every which way, Citizen Kane is the closest a movie can get to perfection, if not actually being perfect. The magnum opus of Orson Welles is THE most influential film ever created. The way the story is told is unique, the direction is exquisite, the sound mixing is pitch-perfect, and the cinematography set a standard all subsequent films have strived to equal.

The story of Citizen Kane could be boiled down very easily into one sentence: A news reporter is delving into the last word, "Rosebud," of the newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane. As it is written down in the previous sentence, the story seems bland, but this is far from the case. The revolutionary use of the flashback sequences added great sp*ce to Citizen Kane. Yes, it is true that some films such as 1939's Wuthering Heights was mainly told in a flashback, but that film began in a present setting, then jumped to the beginning of its tale, and begin a linear story until it arrived back in the present. But Citizen Kane is different. Actor/director Orson Welles and screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz set up the film to take a non-linear form. Kane goes back and forth through time, to various moments of the tycoon's life, all the way from playing in the snow as a child to his secluded final days in Xanadu. This is brilliant by Welles and Mankiewicz. No film had ever been set up in this fashion before. In itself, the way the movie's back and forth is revolutionary. Not to mention that Citizen Kane is also told by different narrators who bring into these time frames, giving distinctly different looks at the life of Kane.

The acting in this film is superb. As an actor, Welles was more than capable, as many of his roles over time proved. His performance as Charles Foster Kane is excellently done. Welles gives Kane a maniacal stubbornness to always be right, even in the face of being totally wrong. This of course will lead to problems in his relationships down the road, as he will alienate everyone. Kane is the epitome of the "it's all about me" character, and Welles plays it to the hilt. The other acting performances in Citizen Kane were also great. This is noteworthy because each of the main actors and actresses in the film were from Welles's theater group, the Mercury Players. Notable Players include Joseph Cotten, who played Leland in Kane and would become a great actor in his own right, and Agnes Moorehead, who appeared briefly as Kane's mother, would become Samantha Stevens's mother Endora on TV's Bewitched. In short, each role was wonderfully filled, with Welles's characterization of Kane being the centerpiece.

The direction of Citizen Kane is maybe the single best directing job ever. Of all aspects of Welles' talent, directing may have been the true showcase of his ability. Kane is his masterstroke, moving every piece across the board in a calculated and brilliant fashion. But it is not just how he moved the actors through their lines, or how he paced the story. It's all in the details. And as far as handling the details, only Hitchc*ck is on par with Welles when it comes to making every second of film, and how those seconds are used, count. No scene is a waste. No line is a throwaway. And Welles goes perhaps a step farther, with his sound mixing and low angle shots. The sound mixing ability of Welles came from his days in radio--he knew exactly how to manipulate the background noise for dramatic effect. Welles also pioneered J-cuts, putting audio ahead of the visual in scene transitions, and favored overlapping dialogue, a technique that was rarely used at that time that has now been popularized. These innovations of Welles changed the way films would be made in the years to come, but it would be the innovative cinematography that would truly change Hollywood.

Kane changed the game concerning cinematography. The low angle shots were unique. Since films back then were primarily shot on soundstages, the ability to show ceilings were sparse. Welles had none of that, and had muslin draped to give the appearance of a room with an actual ceiling, with the boom microphones hidden from view above the drapes. Also innovative, although not new, is the use of deep focus, in which every single element on the screen is in focus. The background and foreground are both in focus. To sum up, everything on the screen can be seen in a clear, sharp manner (*).

Of course, Citizen Kane would not be the legendary film it is without the controversy that surrounds it. In a minor controversy, there was a debate over who wrote most of the screenplay, Welles or Herman Mankiewicz. Although Welles wanted to take all the credit, there was overwhelming proof that Mankiewicz wrote most of the screenplay. Mankiewicz went to the Writer's Guild over his concerns. Welles eventually acquiesced and gave Mankiewicz the top credit for the screenplay, which ironically was the only Oscar Citizen Kane would win. Yes, that's right, even though Kane is the greatest film ever, it only won ONE Oscar. This could be because of the great controversy surrounding the film's alleged depiction of William Randolph Hearst, the man who is most likely the main inspiration for Charles Foster Kane. Hearst tried to have the film buried as soon as he found out about the film's plot, which sounded an awful lot like his own life. Hearst banned Citizen Kane from being advertised or reviewed in his newspapers, which were some of the most important in the country at the time. Needless to say, this hurt Kane's box office, and the film was only a moderate success at the theaters. As far as the Oscars goes, a case could be made that Hollywood was so afraid of Hearst that they did not vote for Kane in the hopes of making good with the old newspaper tycoon. It really is a slap in the face of Welles that the only Oscar that his masterpiece received was the only one in which he wasn't the main reason. The screenplay was mainly Mankiewicz's, and therefore it was his win more than Welles.'

Even though it did not win at the Oscars, its greatness has only been confirmed through the years. In both the AFI greatest films lists, Citizen Kane was voted #1. In its poll of the greatest films ever, the magazine Sight & Sound has had Kane ranked as #1 since 1962. That's right, let that settle in for a minute. For fifty years, Kane has been #1. All the movies that have been made since, and none have been able to knock Kane of the mountaintop. Simply unbelievable.

I remember my first encounters with Citizen Kane. They were not with the movie, but with homages--animated homages. One that comes to mind is The Simpsons episode "Rosebud," in which Mr. Burns searches for his beloved teddy bear Bobo. I also remember the Tiny Toons Adventures episode called "Citizen Max," in which Montana Max is thrust into the position of Kane. There are countless others, in films, television, cartoons, and even comics. A film, RKO 281, was made depicting the events surrounding the creation of Citizen Kane and Hearst's attempts to destroy the film. How many films have films made about its creation? Not many. Besides RKO 281, the only one I can think of is White Hunter, Black Heart. However, it must also be said that White Hunter, Black Heart is based on a novel by Peter Viertel, who wrote a fictionalized account of his time with John Huston while The African Queen was filming. So take that for what you think it is worth.

Yes, Citizen Kane has some detractors. All things do. Some say Kane has shallow characters, some say it is boring, and some say that it is not as good as (fill in movie's name here) because (fill in reason here). Blah, blah, blah. I personally don't agree that Citizen Kane is boring, and the shallowness of the characters is no big deal; in a world where a "Snooki" can become a pop culture icon, it is clear shallowness permeates reality. Shallow characters in films shouldn't detract from a film, but make viewers aware that some people are just not deep. One thing that cannot be denied is this: Citizen Kane changed the way films are made. The use of multiple narrators, deep focus, low angle shots, etc. are things that many had used individually, but none had tried to incorporate all of them in one film. Yet Citizen Kane melds all of these techniques together seamlessly. Without the risky innovations used on Citizen Kane, would some of our greatest films have been made in the same way, or at all even? The answer is no. How important is Kane to realm of film. Steven Spielberg bought the Rosebud sled to remind himself to remind himself that "quality in movies comes first" (*). The point is that when talking about the greatest film ever, more than how entertaining the movie was must be factored in. In terms of story, countless films may in fact be more entertaining than Citizen Kane. But when you consider all things--it's acting, directing, visuals, sound, and how it influenced Hollywood in the seven decades since--Citizen Kane is clearly the G.O.A.T. On September 13th, Citizen Kane will be given a Blu-Ray release for its 70th anniversary. I highly recommend to everyone that has yet to see the film to put the money down for this release.

(*)--This symbol denotes a citation, as I used some information from Wikipedia.

Citizen Kane has been ranked the greatest film on numerous lists, including both AFI lists, Sight & Sound (since 1962), and has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.