Jan. 23, 2003 - 3:16 pm
many have called it the greatest movie of all time. nominated for 9 Oscars including Best Picture of 1941 and currently number 6 on the IMDb top 250 films list. it was also listed as the number 1 film of all time on the AFI list that came out a few years ago. pretty much any time you ask a large group of critics what is the greatest movie ever made, they always agree on Citizen Kane. so yeah, it's a pretty important film. everyone watches it if they study filmmaking. i had been wanting to own a copy of this for a while and i finally got it for Christmas. Colin and i watched it because he's having to do a play next month that involves him mentioning some key films from movie history. this was one of them that he still hadn't seen.
Citizen Kane is about an American entrepreneur and aspiring politician who lived at the beginning of the 20th century. it's about how difficult it can be to completely understand the lives of individuals, especially complicated and strong-willed individuals like Charles Foster Kane. the film is basically built to break every classical Hollywood convention of the time. it's told in a very complex flashback style, has obtrusive lighting and camera techniques. the main character also dies at the beginning of the film. all sorts of complications. this movie does so much flipping back and forth through time that it would make a 1940s moviegoer's head spin.
it's really amazing how much one film can influence a culture of filmmakers if they all believe it to be important. it has been my experience that if you're a film student being taught in America, you get really bombarded with Citizen Kane. it's inescapable. yeah, it's an awesome film and you can't deny the huge amount of thought and creativity put into it. and then when you consider the context of when this film was released, it makes it all the more amazing.
i think it's inherent that you have to question something though when it is consistently picked out by critics as "the best." i mean it's all asthetics right? most people wouldn't say that Citizen Kane is their favorite film, but it's still the best? i guess it's hard for me to think that it's "a fact" that this piece of work is the best.
i'm just thinking out loud i guess. don't get me wrong. this movie's outstanding and i did give it a 10/10 remember.