Citizen Kane

This is considered by many to be the best American movie ever made. I do not share this opinion. Not by a long shot. However, I certainly appreciate this movie for its technical, production, and acting achievements. While I personally do not find this movie very compelling, it is a wonder that Orson Welles made what many consider the best American Movie ever on his first try. Obviously Orson Welles had fame before he came to Hollywood. He had pulled the War of the Worlds radio stunt and was a professional stage actor before being recruited by RKO Pictures to make this movie. These were the days of big studio films and actors, directors, and cinema workers were extremely attached to studios. Many people in Hollywood resented Welles for being given so much freedom to create this movie by RKO Pictures. Anyway, despite all this, Orson Welles wrote (mostly), directed, and starred in this masterpiece of American Cinema. The story is a roman a clef that is loosely based on the life and times of American newspaperman William Randolph Hearst. It has an interesting narrative style in which the viewer is presented the different periods of Kane's life through various points of view of the people who were closest to him throughout his life. This story telling style was extremely effective and well suited for the type of person that Kane was. Orson Welles delivers a great performance. The production design was epic, to say the least. Cinematography was perfect. The only thing I thought this movie was lacking was a compelling story. Don't get me wrong, it is an admirable script, well composed and perfectly presented; I just did not find the story too engaging or enticing. If you have never seen this movie, you should watch it. It is certainly a masterpiece of American cinema.