I had a similar feeling 20 or so years ago -- I assumed it must be overrated, and I thought -- "Give me Casablanca! Give me Some Like it Hot! Give me 2001! Give me all of Hitchcock!" Then I gave in and watched Citizen Kane (on TV, alas.) And I was awed. I think for me above all it was the ... I don't have the vocabulary: staging? framing? cinematography? -- the way some shots simply amaze, and also have real meaning.
(Mind you, I'll keep Casablanca, Some Like it Hot, and 2001 as well!)
Another movie that I ignored for years, and which was a revelation when I saw it (just a couple of years ago) is The Apartment. Not as technically innovative as Citizen Kane, but as emotionally powerful. (And, yes, I think among many great directors, Billy Wilder may be my favorite.)
The Apartment probably has my vote for the best RomCom of all time. Things get really tough after that: The Philadelphia Story, The Lady Eve, Annie Hall (or maybe Manhattan) . . .
Amazing to think of all the stars that aligned for a young man to create such a work of genius. All the influences within Welles that he was probably not even conscious of, they just flowed together in this story that seized his imagination. Its one of the creative wonders of the twentieth century and because cinema is a great art form, one of the great works of art.
Saving a masterpiece for middle age might be the best argument going for having been a philistine. And that ending only lands because the film spends two hours letting everyone around him get it wrong. I'll stop there, for the novices. Amazing article. Thanks for posting it.
My venture into mature filmmaking, films that seemed like the world of the novel or the short story, began at the age of 18, when my then girlfriend took me to see Cabaret. Yes, Citizen Kane is fabulous.
I have seen Citizen Kane a number of times. Most viewings occurred on television screens. Nothing can compare to experiencing the film on a movie theater screen. My first theatrical viewing occurred in the early 1960s. I was to young to grasp all the nuance of the films aristry but I instinctively knew i had not only seen but experienced something exceptional. So any chance I have I watch and rewards Wells' masterwork.
What an experience! So glad you waited and saw it at the right time and place. Your exuberance is infectious. I recently saw "The Best Years of Our Lives" at the Paris Theatre in Manhattan and though I've seen it many times, I'd never seen on the big screen and it was a revelation!
I love your response of “Play it again“. I love it when art elicits such a visceral response. I like to say I write about books your friends can’t get you to shut up about, books you read aloud from to puzzled lovers, books where you literally can’t believe what you’re reading, in the best possible way.
How different a viewing experience I had, first watching it at 20 and thinking Kane had made the wrong choices, and watching it again over 30 years later and then thinking what limited choices he had. The end scene - where he tries to destroy things after his wife leaves him, and then his staff silently watches him walk by - was devastating the second time around.
Funny, coming as this did after Harry Kane’s arresting performance on the football pitch I thought Henry , what’s going on; have even you been infected by World Cup Fever? I was relieved to find you were in another tack !
Isn't it amazing? I went to see it yesterday too, and though I had seen it before, I was still picking up new things. And I was startled to see how much power the ending still has even after multiple viewings.
I saw CK in my early teens and the sheer sweep of the narrative was thrilling. It was viewing it as a mature adult that I was moved by the human frailties it exposed. One of my favourite films after The Third Man.
I remember being upset as a child that Charles Schulz ruined the ending in a Peanuts comic strip - even then, I felt that some of the emotional power of the ending had been robbed from me. That was before "spoiler alert" was a well-known phrase, alas.
I saw it again when I was 27 and realised how much of an influence it had on Martin Scorsese, loved it.
Also, there's a brilliant film "Mank" about a guy who worked with Orson Welles. It stars Gary Oldman, and makes me believe it's depiction of Hollywood at the time (the energy of the MGM brothers is something).
I had a similar feeling 20 or so years ago -- I assumed it must be overrated, and I thought -- "Give me Casablanca! Give me Some Like it Hot! Give me 2001! Give me all of Hitchcock!" Then I gave in and watched Citizen Kane (on TV, alas.) And I was awed. I think for me above all it was the ... I don't have the vocabulary: staging? framing? cinematography? -- the way some shots simply amaze, and also have real meaning.
(Mind you, I'll keep Casablanca, Some Like it Hot, and 2001 as well!)
Another movie that I ignored for years, and which was a revelation when I saw it (just a couple of years ago) is The Apartment. Not as technically innovative as Citizen Kane, but as emotionally powerful. (And, yes, I think among many great directors, Billy Wilder may be my favorite.)
I love The Apartment so much
The Apartment probably has my vote for the best RomCom of all time. Things get really tough after that: The Philadelphia Story, The Lady Eve, Annie Hall (or maybe Manhattan) . . .
Amazing to think of all the stars that aligned for a young man to create such a work of genius. All the influences within Welles that he was probably not even conscious of, they just flowed together in this story that seized his imagination. Its one of the creative wonders of the twentieth century and because cinema is a great art form, one of the great works of art.
Who hears him say “rosebud”?
The butler must have been somewhere out of frame.
Watch it again.
I did, yesterday!
And imagining a butler is the best you can do?
What's your theory?
No theory. No one in the film hears him say it.
might not be the same second time around!
Having seen it at least six or seven times now, I wholly agree with that. There's always something new to discover!
No one is in the room. No one except the audience of the film hears him say “rosebud”.
Saving a masterpiece for middle age might be the best argument going for having been a philistine. And that ending only lands because the film spends two hours letting everyone around him get it wrong. I'll stop there, for the novices. Amazing article. Thanks for posting it.
My venture into mature filmmaking, films that seemed like the world of the novel or the short story, began at the age of 18, when my then girlfriend took me to see Cabaret. Yes, Citizen Kane is fabulous.
Wait until you learn about the editing!
I have seen Citizen Kane a number of times. Most viewings occurred on television screens. Nothing can compare to experiencing the film on a movie theater screen. My first theatrical viewing occurred in the early 1960s. I was to young to grasp all the nuance of the films aristry but I instinctively knew i had not only seen but experienced something exceptional. So any chance I have I watch and rewards Wells' masterwork.
What an experience! So glad you waited and saw it at the right time and place. Your exuberance is infectious. I recently saw "The Best Years of Our Lives" at the Paris Theatre in Manhattan and though I've seen it many times, I'd never seen on the big screen and it was a revelation!
I love your response of “Play it again“. I love it when art elicits such a visceral response. I like to say I write about books your friends can’t get you to shut up about, books you read aloud from to puzzled lovers, books where you literally can’t believe what you’re reading, in the best possible way.
How different a viewing experience I had, first watching it at 20 and thinking Kane had made the wrong choices, and watching it again over 30 years later and then thinking what limited choices he had. The end scene - where he tries to destroy things after his wife leaves him, and then his staff silently watches him walk by - was devastating the second time around.
Funny, coming as this did after Harry Kane’s arresting performance on the football pitch I thought Henry , what’s going on; have even you been infected by World Cup Fever? I was relieved to find you were in another tack !
I was infected by it last night yes!
Isn't it amazing? I went to see it yesterday too, and though I had seen it before, I was still picking up new things. And I was startled to see how much power the ending still has even after multiple viewings.
I saw CK in my early teens and the sheer sweep of the narrative was thrilling. It was viewing it as a mature adult that I was moved by the human frailties it exposed. One of my favourite films after The Third Man.
All I want to say is, I am so happy for you, Henry!
I remember being upset as a child that Charles Schulz ruined the ending in a Peanuts comic strip - even then, I felt that some of the emotional power of the ending had been robbed from me. That was before "spoiler alert" was a well-known phrase, alas.
A brilliant review.
I saw it when I was 15 and found it very boring.
I saw it again when I was 27 and realised how much of an influence it had on Martin Scorsese, loved it.
Also, there's a brilliant film "Mank" about a guy who worked with Orson Welles. It stars Gary Oldman, and makes me believe it's depiction of Hollywood at the time (the energy of the MGM brothers is something).