Often spoken of as the best film ever made, Citizen Kane seemed to be an important film to put on the list.
Specs:
About 2 hours, black and white, available on dvd
Our family's average rating on a scale of 1-10:
7.25
More about the movie and our reaction to it:
Well here we are, at what is probably the most acclaimed classic of all time. Orson Welles' masterpiece, molded upon the life of William Randolph Hearst, and thereby incurring Hearst's ire and campaign of mass negative publicity until the film struggled to simply get seen. This amazing backstory, in heady shades of detail that I won't even try to get into, is so fascinating it almost rivals the film for dramatic appeal.
Almost. There was no doubt while we watched this film that we were watching something simply, palpably and profoundly well made. We are not experts and we don't have the background and terminology to explain what makes it so good. But even to laypeople like us, you can just tell when you're watching greatness. Citizen Kane was clearly made by someone who had a profound vision for the story he was telling.
If I knew what I was talking about, I'd speak of the editing choices, the way the shots were framed, the use of shadow and symbolic light, the cutting back and forth through different timeframes, the specific use of sound effects - echoes, bird squawks, yelling, whispering; the miraculous ability of the makeup team to convincingly age our lead man, the way the plot unfolds though interviews, the complex characterization of Charles Foster Kane, his various relationships, and his depressing, tortuous descent. But luckily there is really no need for me to do this. It is clearly complex and artfully made. . . the question is: should you and your family watch it?
As a family film choice, kids under about 13 are unlikely to respond to the movie. Kids above that age might -- but even then, it is probably not a safe bet. With such intelligent, grown-up themes and a plot that is intricate and made harder to follow by the constant moving back and forth through time, this would not be the easiest film choice for families. But, that said, my family did get a lot out of the film. We all admired the work, though its hard to say that the kids enjoyed it. They were, however, moved and saddened by the fascinating ending and were certainly able to take away from the film the sense that what caused this very powerful rich man the most regret and longing were thoughts of his empty childhood. That message is such a good one for young people to see.
Iconic shot:
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