Post by ryan on May 10, 2003 12:45:34 GMT -5
I thought I'd put a little thing in here about one of my new favorite movies, one that was named the American Film Institute's Number 1 film of all time a few years ago. Citizen Kane was made by 25-year-old Orson Welles in 1941 and was the subject of enormous, very interesting controversy upon release, and won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar. Here's why I love it:
First, let's start with the concept. A man, born dirt-poor, rises to become near-legendary and also mysterious in stature by the time of his death. This whole American Dream idea is intriguing by itself, yet it goes further by starting at his death and in this, allows us to, layer by layer, sequence by sequence, flowing freely without normal restrictions in its own time, peel this man away to his essence - a man, nothing more. It breaks many conventions and many rules in his story- and it works because the story is so deceptively simple yet so complex in structure, this enigma gradually becomes more and more revealed and more and more relatable until we know this man, and basically, we feel we are this man. It has a lot to say about how society sees us as well (at one point, Kane is standing and his shadow is enormous, yet as he walks, the shadow grows smaller - a great commentary and a great scene in movie history).
The performances, especially that of Orson Welles, are amazing and work extremely well. Welles brings this man to life, the film wouldn't be nearly as good without him. The camera tricks and cinematography were revolutionary at the time and work beautifully in black-and-white. The visual structure is challenging and ever-moving, like Kane himself. The film moves at a fairly fast pace, like Kane himself. Everything in the movie comes back to one man, one legendary, but human man - Charles Foster Kane. That's why I love Citizen Kane.
First, let's start with the concept. A man, born dirt-poor, rises to become near-legendary and also mysterious in stature by the time of his death. This whole American Dream idea is intriguing by itself, yet it goes further by starting at his death and in this, allows us to, layer by layer, sequence by sequence, flowing freely without normal restrictions in its own time, peel this man away to his essence - a man, nothing more. It breaks many conventions and many rules in his story- and it works because the story is so deceptively simple yet so complex in structure, this enigma gradually becomes more and more revealed and more and more relatable until we know this man, and basically, we feel we are this man. It has a lot to say about how society sees us as well (at one point, Kane is standing and his shadow is enormous, yet as he walks, the shadow grows smaller - a great commentary and a great scene in movie history).
The performances, especially that of Orson Welles, are amazing and work extremely well. Welles brings this man to life, the film wouldn't be nearly as good without him. The camera tricks and cinematography were revolutionary at the time and work beautifully in black-and-white. The visual structure is challenging and ever-moving, like Kane himself. The film moves at a fairly fast pace, like Kane himself. Everything in the movie comes back to one man, one legendary, but human man - Charles Foster Kane. That's why I love Citizen Kane.