Citizen Kane
Warner : Drama : 1.33 : AC3 1.0 : Rated PG : DVD-9 x 2 : NTSC : 1941 : 119 mins
The Film
Is Citizen Kane, Orson Welle's masterwork, the greatest movie ever made ? Many surveys and polls suggest it might be. I don't believe it is, however I do believe it is one of the most important and influential films ever committed to celluloid. It is a tour-de-force of ego and brilliance, and the arrogance of a young film maker who had been given unprecedented autonomy for his feature debut. The film is a thinnly disguised attack on newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, portrayed here as Charles Foster Kane. It tells of Kane's rise from poverty, through a lazy adolescence to become one of the most powerful men in America, before falling from grace and dying alone. The story begins at the moment of his death, and is told through flashbacks. The script is solid, Welle's portrayal of Kane is astounding (moreso given his age at the time), and the supporting cast of players rounds out the talent nicely. The techniques and style are so far ahead of the times that it was years before many of them wre used in regularly in mainstream, cinema. The films is not without it's flaws however. It is pretentious at times, and often apears to the work of a man who knows he is a genious, but has not matured enough to be modest about it. The camera setups of some scenes, while inarguably effective, also scream 'look at me, aren't I clever ?'.
The DVD
The print is as clean as you are going to see it. Restored for it's 60th anniversary, this is the best it has looked. The audio is clear, but mono, so don't expect the surround system to get a workout - it's not that kind of film. You get wto commentaries - Roger Ebbert on one, Peter Bogdadovich on the other. A newsreel of the 1941 Premiere, storyboards, ads, posters and a phto gallery round out disk one.
The story of the making of Citizen Kane is almost as extraordingary as the film itself. Catpured in a two part documentary (disk 2 of this set) "The Battle for Citizen Kane" is riviting viewing for film buffs as it chronicles the journey of Welle's and the film. It also explains why Welle's would never again be able to make a film unfettered by studio interference, and why some many of his subsequent works suffered so atrociously.
If you have never seen this landmark film, go out and get it now. It is a s powerful and important as they come. If you have seen it on some tatty public domain budget video, go and get this excellent double disk set and add it to your collection. This is where modern cinema began.
Film : 5/5 DVD : 5/5 (The perfect release, given Welle's isn't around for a commentary)
The Film
Is Citizen Kane, Orson Welle's masterwork, the greatest movie ever made ? Many surveys and polls suggest it might be. I don't believe it is, however I do believe it is one of the most important and influential films ever committed to celluloid. It is a tour-de-force of ego and brilliance, and the arrogance of a young film maker who had been given unprecedented autonomy for his feature debut. The film is a thinnly disguised attack on newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, portrayed here as Charles Foster Kane. It tells of Kane's rise from poverty, through a lazy adolescence to become one of the most powerful men in America, before falling from grace and dying alone. The story begins at the moment of his death, and is told through flashbacks. The script is solid, Welle's portrayal of Kane is astounding (moreso given his age at the time), and the supporting cast of players rounds out the talent nicely. The techniques and style are so far ahead of the times that it was years before many of them wre used in regularly in mainstream, cinema. The films is not without it's flaws however. It is pretentious at times, and often apears to the work of a man who knows he is a genious, but has not matured enough to be modest about it. The camera setups of some scenes, while inarguably effective, also scream 'look at me, aren't I clever ?'.
The DVD
The print is as clean as you are going to see it. Restored for it's 60th anniversary, this is the best it has looked. The audio is clear, but mono, so don't expect the surround system to get a workout - it's not that kind of film. You get wto commentaries - Roger Ebbert on one, Peter Bogdadovich on the other. A newsreel of the 1941 Premiere, storyboards, ads, posters and a phto gallery round out disk one.
The story of the making of Citizen Kane is almost as extraordingary as the film itself. Catpured in a two part documentary (disk 2 of this set) "The Battle for Citizen Kane" is riviting viewing for film buffs as it chronicles the journey of Welle's and the film. It also explains why Welle's would never again be able to make a film unfettered by studio interference, and why some many of his subsequent works suffered so atrociously.
If you have never seen this landmark film, go out and get it now. It is a s powerful and important as they come. If you have seen it on some tatty public domain budget video, go and get this excellent double disk set and add it to your collection. This is where modern cinema began.
Film : 5/5 DVD : 5/5 (The perfect release, given Welle's isn't around for a commentary)
posted by Gunslinger at 14:59
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