Citizen Kane [DVD] [1942]

by Orson Welles (Director)

Other authorsJohn Houseman (Writer), Orson Welles (Primary Contributor), Orson Welles (Actor), Herman J. Mankiewicz (Writer), Joseph Cotten (Primary Contributor), Joseph Cotten (Actor), Dorothy Comingore (Actor), Agnes Moorehead (Actor), Ruth Warrick (Actor), George Schaefer (Producer), Mollie Kent (Writer) — 1 more, Roger Q. Denny (Writer)

DVD, 2004

Status

Available

Call number

791.43

Collection

DVDs

Publication

Universal Pictures UK (2004)

Description

Citizen Kane: Following the death of a publishing tycoon, news reporters scramble to discover the meaning of his final utterance. The battle over Citizen Kane: American experience documentary about the making of Citizen Kane and Orson Welles estate. RKO 281: Orson Welles produces his greatest film, Citizen Kane, despite the opposition of the film's de facto subject, William Randolph Hearst.

Media reviews

RogerEbert.com

It is one of the miracles of cinema that in 1941 a first-time director; a cynical, hard-drinking writer; an innovative cinematographer, and a group of New York stage and radio actors were given the keys to a studio and total control, and made a masterpiece. “Citizen Kane” is more than a great

movie; it is a gathering of all the lessons of the emerging era of sound, just as “Birth of a Nation” assembled everything learned at the summit of the silent era, and “2001” pointed the way beyond narrative. These peaks stand above all the others.

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— 2 more

New York Times

Within the withering spotlight as no other film has ever been before, Orson Welles's "Citizen Kane" had is world première at the Palace last evening. And now that the wraps are off, the mystery has been exposed and Mr. Welles and the RKO directors have taken the much-debated leap, it can be safely

stated that suppression of this film would have been a crime. For, in spite of some disconcerting lapses and strange ambiguities in the creation of the principal character, "Citizen Kane" is far and away the most surprising and cinematically exciting motion picture to be seen here in many a moon. As a matter of fact, it comes close to being the most sensational film ever made in Hollywood.

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Variety

‘Citizen Kane’ is a film possessing the sure dollar mark, which distinguishes every daring entertainment venture that is created by a workman who is a master of the technique and mechanics of his medium. It is a two-hour show, filled to the last minute with brilliant incident unreeled in method

and effects that sparkle with originality and invention. Within the trade, ‘Kane’ will stimulate keener creative efforts by Hollywood’s top directors.

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User reviews

LibraryThing member comfypants

The life of a newspaper tycoon who can't love.

It's nice to look at, but I just don't know why I'm supposed to care about this guy.

Concept: D
Story: C
Characters: B
Dialog: A
Pacing: B
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: A
Acting: B
Music: A

Enjoyment: C plus

GPA: 3.0/4

2 more

LibraryThing member paulsikora

If you are wondering where to direct your attention in your fifth or sixth viewing, watch how Welles dramatizes light.

LibraryThing member jgcorrea

Simon Callow's biography of Orson Welles makes Welles sound like a real bluff and bull artist.

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