Citizen Kane (DVD)

When watching Citizen Kane, you have a whole host of expectations. After all, you're about to watch 'The Greatest Film of All time', right? (As voted, year after year, by critics, writers and directors in the British Film Institute's annual poll.) We watch in anticipation, waiting for the enigma to begin. For it to be given such an impressive honour, it must be something special. Really special. I'm sorry to break it to you, but it isn't. Citizen Kane is a great many things; but in my opinion, the greatest film of all time it is not. Synopsis: The film begins with a rather eerie opening, incorporating shots of a castle, accompanied by quite ...  Read the complete review

Consistently voted among the top ten films of all time, 'Citizen Kane' is indisputably a masterpiece of moviemaking. However, it wasn't always acknowledged as such. Snubbed at the Oscars in 1941 and originally released at only a limited number of cinemas, for ten years after its premiere the movie lay idle in RKO's vault. The reasons for this, and a lot more besides, are discussed in the Warner Brothers region 1 DVD release of the movie, which includes the movie and the Oscar-nominated documentary 'The Battle over Citizen Kane'. THE FILM 'Citizen Kane' is the story of a man, Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles), told ...  Read the complete review

Citizen Kane is regularly voted as the greatest film ever made by various critics. Chronicling the life of a barely fictional newspaper tycoon, its satirical edge was sharp enough to ensure that writer, director and leading man Orson Welles was never again allowed free rein in his movie making. But all that was almost half a century ago. How does this 'masterpiece' hold up for new generations of film enthusiasts, who already know the significance of the word 'Rosebud' from the Columbo episode in which the prop was central to a murder? I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the film. As the enigma surrounding Charles Foster Kane is never truly ...  Read the complete review

Citizen Kane is all about mysteries and riddles, with dark hints and subtle nuance. As the film commences, the newspaper magnate, Charles Foster Kane, lies dying, and utters as his last mortal word ?Rosebud?? kicking off a quest to find out what he meant by it, as the film backtracks and works through the story of his life, in search of the truth. However, there is a far deeper and much more intriguing mystery, and that is exactly why this quirky little film has generated such critical acclaim, such that it is rated by many knowledgeable critics as the best film ever made. And that really is the crux of the entire problem with ...  Read the complete review

Citizen Kane is considered to be the greatest film of all time. That accolade could be contended by some because there are films in each genre that are deemed classic with no one film being the best there is. However this is right up there, probably because it's still an effective piece of cinema after sixty years. Orson Welles write, produces and directs this tale of a millionaire newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane who's final word was 'Rosebud'. A reporter tracks down the people in Kane's life to reveal their stories about him and ultimately find out what that final word meant. I don't really want to say much about the film because ...  Read the complete review