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Overall Rating
  Awesome: 77.27%
Worth A Look: 9.09%
Average: 3.79%
Pretty Bad: 1.52%
Total Crap: 8.33%
4 reviews, 108 user ratings
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| Citizen Kane |
by punkass
"Greatest film of all yadah yadah, zzzzz..."
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So it's brilliant, an all time classic - that much is beyond doubt. BUT IS IT THE GREATEST FILM OF ALL TIME? That question will be answered/pondered/deferred to a later date EXCLUSIVELY in this review. n.b. exclusivity does not exclude anyone else from attempting the same.From it's creepy, trippy beginning (keep those eye's peeled for references to later), to it's 'My God, I finally understand what drives this man!' ending, Citizen Kane rocks. It often comes as a surprise to me when classic films are as good as everyone says, but this one surpassed my expectations.
What I love about this film is that it is solely about trying to understand one man, about delving into his psychology, living with him and empathizing with him. Film-makers have tended to leave this to novelists, but this film shows that it can be done, if only we have the courage to try. Just as the difference between trash and literature can be seen to consist of depth and humanity, this film elevates itself above its peers by delving beneath the surface.
Yet it is when we consider what the film's peers were that we can perhaps see why it has achieved such a lofty status. It is ahead of its time, and the much vaunted technical achievements are good enough to be unnoticeable unless you're anal and film class related. Does this make it a better film? No, although it makes it more impressive.
However, the fact that the cinematography is beautiful throughout does make the film better, as does the fact that it is innovative and thoughtful. This is film as art in the best sense of the word - not pretentious and ponderous but as a true expression of the human soul. Welles saw a different vision of what cinema could achieve, a vision that is yet to be realised, one that has rarely been matched. This film is a challenge to modern film makers, yet it is a challenge that few have accepted. It would be no bad thing to force all new directors and writers to watch this film and force them to try and really understand it. This is a yardstick which would find even people's aspirations wanting.
Yet I can't help but feel that the iconic status this film has been afforded is at least in some part due to the mythology surrounding it and the tragedy that is Welles' career (may God deliver us from Transformers: The Movie). The fact that this was one of the few times we get to see a geniuses vision untainted by money men and committees gives it a certain poignancy. The fact that there was a high chance we might never have seen this film at all gives it power. Yet one can watch it without knowing any of this without it suffering.In the end, when films get this good, it's impossible to compare them and come up with a definite winner. So even if this comes out on top for reasons external to the film itself, good luck to it I say. See it for yourself, you won't be disapointed.
 del.icio.us 
link directly to this review at http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=1617&reviewer=215
originally posted: 09/11/02 04:07:40
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USA
01-May-1941 (PG)
UK
N/A
Australia
02-Feb-1942
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