Citizen kane itself is a work of exhibitionism by orson welles, a clever magician. Considered by many critics, filmmakers, and fans to be the greatest film ever made, citizen. Its very hard to single out one film when you love kubrick and truffaut and bergman and woody allen, altman and so many others. The first day of production i, the instructor went around the room and asked each student what their favorite film of all time was and what they. It is a great, important work, but too weak as a story to be the greatest movie of all time. Plus, there are many films that are great, you cant settle to pick just one. Can somebody please seriously in detail explain why. Citizen kane after watching the movie citizen kane i realized why this movie was named one of the best films ever. Arguably the greatest film ever made, citizen kane almost never saw the light of day.
When that didnt work his newspapers embarked on a campaign of defamation against wells, thus proving that the films criticism of the power and corruption of the press were precisely on target. Why is citizen kane considered the best movie ever. Citizen kane is the one of the greatest film for film makers and fans of auteur film making because it broke the static mold from the first 30 years of film making which essentially just pointed the camera straight at the scenes kind of like a 3. I took 2 film courses in college and it was explained to me that cinematographers consider citizen kane to be the only perfectly made film ever made because it apparently is completely flawless as far as editing goes. Ive seen the flick many times at different times in my life and cannot understand its appeal. Orson welles was 25 when he made citizen kane, regarded by many as the greatest american movie ever. I also have a very soft spot for robert altmans nashville, but i dont think its the greatest movie ever made.
The visual style of citizen kane looks stunningly fresh and inventive even today, and the unconventional narrative structure of the oscarwinning screenplay still. Can somebody please seriously in detail explain why citizen kane is considered by many critics and moviegoers as the best film ever made. Why citizen kane is the greatest movie ever made youtube. Simple viewing guide with questions that go along with the sequence of the movie. Citizen kane is a great drama and i would recommend it to anyone who likes. In this documentary from directors michael epstein and thomas lennon, the story behind the legendary film is told, highlighting the attempts by newspaper magnate william randolph hearst to kill the thinlyveiled biographical film by firsttime filmmaker, 25yearold orson welles. Martin scorsese on citizen kane american film institute.
Citizen kane voted greatestever american film in bbc poll. The ultimate ranked list of the 101 best films of all time. While watching a newsreel summarizing the years during which kane built a dying newspaper into a major empire, married and divorced twice, ran unsuccessfully for governor and saw the collapse of his. To me, accuracy when making a top 10top 100 all time list is extremely important. Having praised the sequel to king vidors celebrated 1928 silent movie our daily bread, that was also directed by vidor as one of his alltime favourite films. Voting systems differ, and some surveys suffer from biases such as selfselection or skewed demographics, while others may be susceptible to forms of interference such as vote stacking. Why citizen kane is the greatest movie ever made macs media. It has topped bbc cultures list of the greatest american films and many other polls before. Though the title of greatest movie ever is impossible to possess, citizen kanes praises have become so commonplace that, unfortunately, some tend to take its cinematic command for granted even though the film proved orson welles and famed cinematographer gregg toland to be real pioneers of the craft. Top 100 greatest movies of all time the ultimate list imdb. Kane still remains the best 2hour lesson in filmmaking money can buy, welles employing nearly every kind of visual technique into the film, from fadeouts to noirlighting to time lapse to deep focus. When someone asks you what is the greatest film ever made.
Most film students and gurus will say otherwise, but the movie i. The questions have been designed to focus on plot, figurative devices used in the movie, as well as some reflection on the cinematic value of this film. If citizen kane is the greatest movie ever made, what is. Vertigo tops citizen kane in poll of greatest films of all time. Kane citizen kane 1941 was orson welles film debut, and in it he created an enduring masterpiece that is considered by many to be the greatest movie ever made. Why citizen kane is the best movie ever made essay bartleby.
It has nothing to do with personal like or understanding of it. Orson welles struggle to make his last film press play. What makes citizen kane the greatest movie ever made. Kane is a picture that announces its own greatness, he tells me. Kane was one of the most controversial films ever made. The original doubledisc dvd included a documentary, presented by barry norman, whereby he detailed the. Ten greatest films of all time roger ebert roger ebert.
Not just in its own flesh, as reissue, telecast or dvd, but in the monstrous spell it. Citizen kane is an american dramatic movie made in 1941, and is regarded by many critics as the greatest hollywood film ever made. Internet critics name citizen kane the greatest movie of all time back to indiewire. The granddaddy of all slasher films as well as the most profound horror movie ever made, hitchcocks famous thriller takes.
It was directed and produced by orson welles who also cowrote it, and he also starred in it, making his movie debut at the remarkably young age of 25. Citizen kane is one of those movies that greatly diverged from what a hollywood movie was in its time. Citizen kane is the greatest movie youve probably never seen. Thats what makes citizen kane the greatest movie of all time. Internet critics name citizen kane the greatest movie of. Citizen kane, which is thought to be the greatest movie. Vertigo has replaced it according to sight and sounds voters, but many people will still refer. Its also one of those films that people might be familiar with, but may not have seen. But he struggled during the last 15 years of his life, working on one movie whenever he could scrounge up the money.
For decades, 1941s citizen kane has been hailed as one of the greatest and most influential movies of all time. A nearly complete history of the greatest movie ever. Three score years and 10 after its new york premiere in may 1941, it is still everywhere. Citizen kane citizen kane, a movie that was nominated for nine academy awards and won the academy award for best writing is considered to be one of the greatest movies ever made. It is, also, a dinosaur that has very little if any relevance to todays world.
The official facebook page for citizen kane the classic story of power and the press. Yellow journalism was in an era from the 1880 to the 1900 and it featured flashy journalism of that time, which made editors write about invented stories. This movie has a great plot, amazing acting and very dramatic scenes. So a third generation of filmmakers will draw inspiration from citizen kane. Orson welles debut film, based on the life of newspaper publisher william. Citizen kane is a 1941 american drama film by orson welles, its producer, coscreenwriter, director and star. A critics poll conducted by the bbc has named citizen kane as the greatest american film ever made the bbc culture website said it had asked 62 critics from publications across the world.
My lists are not based on my own personal favorites. Citizen kane i have just seen it again, a shot at a time, analyzing it framebyframe out at the university of colorado at boulder. Orson welles wouldve celebrated his 104th birthday on may 6, 2019. He shot hundreds of reels of footage, but he never finished. And some future generation of fillmakers will take inspiration from snyder, abrams, and singer when they are making their movies. When it comes to discussions about the greatest film ever made, one movie is always part of the c. Vertigo tops citizen kane in poll of greatest films of.
After making what many people cite as the greatest film ever made, citizen kane 1941, the multitalented actor, writer. It s more about the technique of the filming rather than the content. Hearst, offended by his portrayal, offered rko a small fortune to destroy the film. We took 10 hours and really looked at this film, which is routinely named the best film of all time, almost by default, in list after list. Citizen kane is maybe for a lot of people myselve not included not a real entertaining movie, but there is no doubt about it that aws one of the most important movies ever made. What movies were admired enough by welles for him to use them as inspiration for the greatest film ever made. When i was at film school, it was almost sacrilegious not to consider citizen kane the greatest flick ever. In our biggest ever film critics poll, the list of best movies ever made has a new top film, ending the 50year reign of citizen kane. This is a list of films considered the best ever in national and international surveys of critics and the public some surveys focus on all films, while others focus on a particular genre or country. Which went to big headlines on subjects that werent true. Why citizen kane is the most important american film ever made. Citizen kane still the best american movie ever, according to bbc critics poll. Nominated for academy awards in nine categories, it won an academy award for best writing original screenplay by herman j.