US 119m Dir: Orson Welles Key Cast: Orson Welles
Widely regarded as the best film ever made, Citizen Kane follows the life of newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane as he becomes successful, messes up two marriages and embarks on an unsuccessful politics career.
The film's structure is unusual, using a framing device to tell it's story. We see Kane die and then a newsreel gives us an overview of his life, and therefore the plot. Reporter Jerry Thompson is sent to find out the meaning of Kane's last word, "rosebud" and as Thompson interviews people that knew Kane we follow the story of his life.
It's certainly a masterpiece technically. Forties films tend to look so static and simple but this is far from that. Camera shots that are familiar to modern audiences are used extensively for the first time, especially deep focus. Radio techniques of sound production are used like overlapping dialogue and linking montages together with a series of related sounds. In terms of production it is far ahead of its time and few modern films do these things as well.
The film also looks amazing. There are some superb sets, not least the incredible Xanadu. The budget for the film was relatively modest so it's impressive that they still managed to make such large and detailed sets. The make-up also looks good, with the story necessitating many of the characters to appear aged and they look convincing.
Certainly the whole film is put together and looks incredible. I suspect the fact it was made pre-colour means it could get away with hiding things in the grayscale, with the sets and make-up unlikely to have looked so good in colour. Be that the case or not, I still don't think this is the best film ever.
My main issue with it is the story. It's just a bit rubbish. Kane's life isn't particularly fascinating and could be the tale of any high-profile businessman of the 20th century and beyond. We never spend enough time with any of the supporting cast to care about them too much and Kane himself is too ambiguous. Sometimes ambiguity can be a good thing but I think you do need at least some insight into what motivates a character, something we rarely have with Kane.
I also take issue with the fact that the film revolves around what or who "rosebud" is and when it's finally revealed to the audience I couldn't help but think 'that's it?'. The story sets up a strong mystery but I didn't find the reveal at all satisfying.
There can be no doubt that this was one of the best made films of the black and white era and beyond but it's clever structure and techniques don't make up an underwhelming story and characters that don't engage.
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