Citizen Kane

Friends of mine always ask what movies they should see or ask me to make them a list of movies they absolutely should see and every time I say I'll give a list, but it's tough trying to tailor a new list for everyone. So these posts will work as a list and more reviews!

A great place to begin is atop the American Film Institute's Top 100 movies of all time. "Citizen Kane" is a cinematic masterpiece...for its time. Orson Welles did a lot of incredible things with the technology available to him. Many techniques were pioneered by Welles and used in this movie. That is why it's atop this list.

A publishing tycoon, Charles Foster Kane, is dead and news reporters struggle and scramble to understand his final word: "Rosebud." This story is loosely based on the life of William Randolph Hearst. The acting throughout is outstanding! Of course when you are the lead actor and the director you know exactly what you want the movie to look like and how characters should respond to certain situations.

If you are at all interested in cinema history this is a must-see. Orson Welles uses camera angles and simple things like depth in staging to bring us into the world of Charles Kane. Even for people who are not cinephiles, this movie is entertaining and fun to watch. But everyone can learn something from seeing it. Television shows oftentimes reference this movie and reward viewers who know movies with film-related humor.

An important historical film, "Citizen Kane" is outstanding. Not because of its story, which is actually pretty slow, or its acting, but because of the technological advances made on this movie. Techniques that are still used today and will be used for years and years to come.

7.5/10