Citizen Kane...

[bags]

is fucking good! I bought it based on reputation and although I could not dub it the greatest or whatever it gets :yes::yes:

Opinions?

PS - Some of the cinematography ruled.

[Imploding Ed]

My girlfriend fell asleep during it. But I thought it was really good. Not the greatest, I agree. But it was really moving at times.

[Chopstick]

I thought the commentary on the DVD was superb. Of course, if I bothered to sit through the commentary, I thought the film was fantabulous.

[Kinbote]

He was no Gus Van Sant, that Orson Welles.

[Imploding Ed]

Originally posted by UncleLester
He was no Gus Van Sant, that Orson Welles.

Are you fucking writing for Pitchfork media yet? Cos you're snooty and sarcastic enough.

[Telegram Sam]

he's no Oliver Stone either

[Atomsk Iscariot]

Originally posted by Imploding Ed
Are you fucking writing for Pitchfork media yet? Cos you're snooty and sarcastic enough. Dude, he's not indie enough.

[Kinbote]

Originally posted by Nathan Barley
he's no Oliver Stone either

Yes. And no point even starting to compare Welles to David Lynch.

[Kinbote]

I don't know, though, I guess Citizen Kane is a classic: maybe on the same level as Donnie Darko.

[Reginald I. Perrin]

Ah, Orson. One of my favourites.

I wouldn't say Kane's his best film, actually. That title goes to F For Fake, with Touch of Evil and Chimes at Midnight rounding out the 3.

Still, Kane's a classic, no question. The almighty work of a genius mind. A genius in pretty much everything he touched. And Kane changed the rules of the game. And amazingly, it's the only film by this genius that got any major praise at the time.

And even then, somehow it didn't win big at the Oscars - this is one of the greatest crimes of all dirty deeds perpetrated by the Academy. John Ford's good, but he's not Orson Welles - one of the greatest who ever lived. His own never-ending vision just couldn't be embraced, and only here did Hollywood give him the ball and had him run with it. The results should have led to something more. But no, and ultimately Orson was reduced to taking every acting job he can just to try and fund his own works - which normally always ended up incomplete. If Orson could have run with the ball, then he could be truly recognised as one of the almighty, if not the most almighty. But when they burnt Ambersons' negatives, the battle was already lost. Discarded legend.





...but he's no Zach Braff.

[Squirrel]

Coming soon.

[vaya con dios]

Originally posted by Reginald I. Perrin
Ah, Orson. One of my favourites.

I wouldn't say Kane's his best film, actually. That title goes to F For Fake

You'd be surprised how many people call me an asshole for saying this exact same thing.

[Kelly Kapowski]

Originally posted by Squirrel
Coming soon.
:D!

i saw this movie a million million years ago and remember nothing because i was -98. BUT i did mock the snowglobe scene like, 2 days ago.

[Mr. Felix]

i just bought citizen kane and f for fake but haven't watched either of them yet.










but already i can tell that he's no Jonas Åkerlund.

[Eye]

Citizen Kane is an excellent, I especially like the cinematography. I prefer to Touch of Evil to it though.

There is another Welles film, 'The Stranger' that a co-worker suggested that I see.Apparently one critic said that movie is best scene back to back with Hitchock's 'Shadow of A Doubt', which I have not seen either. 'The Stranger' is supposed show how Hitchock directly influenced Welles.

Meanhile the opposite is sometimes said of 'Touch of Evil' influencing the look of 'Psycho' (Janet Lee is in both films as well).

[British_Rockstar]

Originally posted by vaya con dios
You'd be surprised how many people call me an asshole for saying this exact same thing.

Ahem, I think you're forgetting Confidential Report!! Welles was a great writer (I don't care what Miss so-and-so Kael wrote). There was a novelization of Mr. Arkadin out there somewhere (and I had a copy, too) but I think it was ghostwritten for Welles. Funny, just last week I read Welles' treatment for "The Cradle Will Rock." It was beauiful and oddly, it struck me as being very authentic. Welles managed to romanticize his youth but only in the way an old man does when remembering the folly of it. It's wistful to say the least but he does manage to come off as insane in it. Obviously, it was the closest thing to an autobiography we got. But he really saved a lot of love for his first wife and composer Marc Blitztein. It is different that the treatment Tim Robbins gave it. I interviewed Robbins about it when the movie came out and he said he just wanted something different than Orson's script. Robbins wanted to focus on the era and the left wing politics of the day. Putting the whole Diego Rivera story into it was not only inaccurate but unnecessary and distracting. Trying to turn it into a screwball comedy? That just weakened it in my eyes. And then trying to humanize the cast by creating fictional characters? Groan... Turturro worked though. It was the first time I actually left the theater liking him. The finale was done well, I think.

Anyway, the only work of his I haven't seen is what's left of Don Quijote. Will we wever see the other side of the wind?

[vaya con dios]

Tim Robbins... jesus.

[Mr. Felix]

i FINALLY watched Citizen Kane. it is definitely a spectacular film, not my personal favorite, but is in my top twenty. it is definitely a very influental film, a very experimental film. orson welles was a genius, and his acting at age 25 is something to be respected. great talents all around.

[British_Rockstar]

Originally posted by vaya con dios
Tim Robbins... jesus.

yeah, he's a bit of a... oh, never mind.

[motorcyclemptiness]

I like how cutting a hole in the floor boards is considered experimental.

I like the film and all, but I dig Touch of Evil ten times more.

[British_Rockstar]

well, yeah. It was 1940. They only shot on soundstages with no ceilings. Look at some of D.W. Griffith's short work. When it came to drama the studios were essentially trying to reproduce flat looking plays for the screen. That's why all the great silent films have so many outdoor scenes and preferred action to drama.

Now think of the magic Welles created on stage. In New York, he did some work that even to this day is considered quite innovative. Welles' initial idea wasto make his first film from the first perspective where you never see the main character. As this was impractical, he instead learned to work with focus. And the development of the deep focus lense was almost a godsend. He just wanted to push the boundaries of what he could do. No damn floor board was gonna get in his way. Worked pretty well if you ask me. To this day the images of Charles Foster Kane are what I think of when people say "Great American". He really made a visual stick in your mind.

Flash forward 55 years, and people thought Pulp Fiction's story telling was innovative.

[Mr. Felix]

Originally posted by Squirrel
Coming soon.

someone should assassinate that rat bastard ashton kucher......