Kill Your Idols: "Citizen Kane"

Bubbler, when I say "pooh-poohed," I mean that I agree with you: It wasn't taken seriously. I might have misued that colloquialism.

 

True. I didn't include it. But if the question was top 10 best movies, rather than top 10 favorite movies, I think more people would've included it.

I think of Kane much as I do, oh say, 2001: A Space Odyssey, or in the realm of music, Dark Side Of The Moon. Neither of them would be my first choice to watch/listen to, but when I do watch/listen, I understand the greatness.

 

Worth remembering Robert Wise edited 'Kane' and was strongarmed by the studio to edit 'Magnificent Ambersons,' too.

www.nytimes.com/2005/09/15/arts/15wise.html?pagewanted=all

 

Yes, but ...

Welles did not just sit back and let Wise cut Kane. With Ambersons, a full print of Welles' version remains one of the holy grails for film buffs. (Not meant as criticism of the estimable Wise.)

At the end of his career, though, Welles desperately needed an editor. He couldn't get to the final cut.

 

Beyond the technical advances and the groundbreaking structure of "Citizen Kane," I think the writing gets overlooked. It's brilliant. One of my favorite scenes in any movie:

 

Welles and Toland certainly had the last say in how Kane was cut. But Welles hired Wise because he admired his work.

Wise was made to recut Ambersons in Welles' absence. (I think Welles was already in Brazil scouting his next picture.) Until his death, Wise admitted that Welles' version was the superior work of art. In fact, Kane remains Welles' only fully realized movie.

There's so much to honor in Kane it's impossible to know what to single out. From the cinematography to the script to the sound design to the editing, there was nothing about it that wasn't groundbreaking.

Ebert is a place to start.

rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19980524/reviews08/401010334/1023

online.wSportsJournalists.com/article/SB10000872396390443537404577581473647481982.html

 

Looking forward to the "Friends" and/or "Seinfeld" version of this thread.

A Springsteen one would be awesome as well.

 

That might be my favorite line from any movie.

 

Yes, it was not my intention to suggest otherwise.

 

I'm planning on finally watching The Wire this spring. Another one I might start is about The Usual Suspects, which I noticed was on tons of favorite movie lists, though I think maybe the better discussion there would focus on the 1990s' big-twist trend.

 

Something as simple as building sets with ceilings might not jump out at people, but it was very unusual.

 

One narrative flaw I've always found amusing:

Kane's dying word was "Rosebud," and the unseen reporter spends the entire film trying to find out what "Rosebud" might mean... but there was no one in the room when Kane whispered the word. The nurse walked in moments later, but there's no way she could have heard him.