Kill Your Idols: "Citizen Kane"

It's funny you ask that question. A friend of mine the other day presented a case that "Romeo and Juliet" was actually a comedy. I didn't buy it, but it was a fun discussion.

I think that "Kane" is a drama, primarily, with some moments of comic relief.

 

It's a pretty straightforward tragedy, by the definition. It tells the story of Charles Foster Kane suffering through his greed and existential crises, and it ends (and begins) with his death. That's a by-the-book tragedy.

 

Looking at it as comedy is definitely a post-modern and revisionist approach.
If Kane is a tragic hero, what is his tragic flaw? Hubris?

 

I just watched it for the first time and wondered what the heck that was in the movie for. Makes sense, but geez... And I too wondered about how anyone knew his last word was "Rosebud" when nobody was in the room with him.

Overall, a great movie. As I watched it, I kept thinking to myself, "I can't believe this movie is 70 years old." I'll have to watch it again sometime, because I'm sure there are things I missed that I'll pick up on further viewing.

 

Coincidentally, I got my DVD back from my friend today. I may give it a spin, if only to continue delaying my viewing of The Wire.

 

I might have mentioned this elsewhere, but this past weekend I noticed that in "The Cabin in the Woods," they use the ringing phone to signal the beginning of the third act. I would have never picked up on that without the tremendous contributions to this thread.

I've got another one of these I plan to start next week. Hint: It's a novel.

 

Near the end of the film, the butler mentions that he heard Kane say 'Rosebud' twice. The first time when Susan left; the second "and that other time."

The audience isn't sure (and shouldn't be) whether the butler is telling the truth.

 

Hearstians watched Citizen Kane at Songbird during film festival:

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2013/03/09/2423480/movie-movers-shakers-gather-at.html