Directed by Orson Welles. Starring Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, and Dorothy Comingore.
Whew, only my second post, and I'm already trying to tackle what is generally regarded as the best film of all time. We watched this film in Film History II yesterday, as something to contrast with Only Angels Have Wings. Whereas that film, and Howard Hawks' work in general, were examples of Classical Hollywood, Citizen Kane is an example of a non-classical film that was somehow still made in the Hollywood studio system.
Let me back up. I had seen Citizen Kane only once before, when I was in fourth or fifth grade. Suffice it to say, I didn't get it then. I was coming into yesterday's class -- and my Film History II course in general -- with the ultimate goal of figuring out why heck this film is such a big deal. After a second time seeing it, well, I'd say I have a slightly grasp of why this film is so remarkable.
Reasons this is an all-time great film, as I understand them:
1) Orson Welles was 26 when he made this film. Let me repeat, 26 years-old when he made what is called by men the #1 film of all time. Wow. No wonder they called him the "Boy Genius." As it says in an original review of Citizen Kane from the New York Times, Welles, (who had previous staged an all-black theater production of Macbeth and a radio production of War of the Worlds that many people thought was a real alien invasion)... "moved right into the movies, grabbed the medium by the ears, and began to toss it around with the dexterity of a seasoned veteran." To top it off, in my opinion, Welles is also a great actor. His portrayal of Charles Foster Kane is oddly moving. Even as you hate the man, you feel for him... not an easy thing to achieve with such an egomaniac.
1a) Welles got extraordinary creative freedom in making this film... the kind of opportunity that was rare under the studio system. Now, this is interesting (and this is a bit of a tangent) because Welles never really got this opportunity again. In fact, if I have my information right, he never got the final cut of his films again. Why? Because Citizen Kane was actually a financial flop. That's right... the film that many call #1 lost $150,000 at the box office! But let me get back to why this film is great...
2) Quite simply, in this movie, style and technique MATTERED. And this was rare for this day and age. Considering the historical context, it's really remarkable that Orson Welles was given basically a carte blanche from RKO Studios... the chance to make the kind of film he wanted to make. He was given a kind of artistic freedom that was not really heard of in Hollywood then.
3) The film is complex, but understandable. Okay, maybe the only thing you remember is "Rosebud..." but if you were to sit down and watch this film (which you should!), you would be able to follow it. It's comprehensible despite the heavy handed artistic technique, the non-linear time, and the flashback (and even flashback-within-a-flashback) device. In a time when studios literally thought you had to repeat things multiple times for the audience to understand it (this was called the "rule of threes"), a film that walks the line between confusing and complicated must have been incredibly refreshing to viewers.
4) The film is based on a true story -- the life of William Randolph Hearst, (as well as a bit of Howard Hughes and Welles himself mixed in there) and boy, was he an interesting guy. I mean, he basically started the Spanish-American War through his yellow journalism... not to mention the fact that he actually did build a real life Xanadu in Hearst Castle, which sounds like an incredible place.
So, yes, this film is impressive. It's certainly not MY favorite film of all time, but I can see why it has been called #1 and timeless by many. And yes, I'm going to call this a "must-see"... it's just THAT classic.
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