The scene at the breakfast table where they age over the years is so good. You noticed they aren’t talking at all at the end, but there’a another detail: she’s reading his rival’s newspaper in front of him.
Also, they start sitting right next to each at a very small table and, over the years, the table grows longer and longer and they sit further and further apart. Great little bits of show-not tell production design.
That scene is literally LOADED in so many ways to depict the decay in their marriage and their hardening in their attitudes toward each other, from the casualness and formality of the clothes they are wearing, to the table settings. Notice how the table settings between them change from the warmth/softness of flowers to the gradual introduction of the cold/hardness of silver and glass and the eventual disappearance of the flowers. And of course the physical distancing of the bigger table at the end. Virtually every scene in this film is loaded in this way, with Welles depicting in a single image what a lesser director might convey with pages of expository dialogue. The film is literally a visual poem, with Welles composing and using images in the same way that a poet selects and uses words. Orson was a frickin' genius! When I taught 'Citizen Kane' in a film studies class at a local college and we got to the breakfast scene, I let it run and then asked the students for their thoughts. One mature student who was a married woman and much older than may of the others, instantly piped up with, "He's playing around. He's got himself another woman." She got a good grade from me! 😄
This was Orson Welles' first directed movie, when he was only 26 years old. He has said in interviews that all the groundbreaking film techniques that are attributed to this film were made because he simply didn't know what "couldn't" be done and he, as the optimistic amateur, just did them.
Fun fact, Citizen Kane is literally a ground breaking film: One of the shots that Welles wanted, required breaking the floor to fit the camera into. :D
Yup. He is definitely a maverick filmmaker for his time. Its fascinating to learn the behind the scenes in all of the movies he made. My favorite films of his is Touch of Evil and Chimes at Midnight.
You nailed it on "Rosebud". It represented the last time in his life that he was truly happy. $ 50,000 a year, at that time, was a huge amount of money. Also pain medicines were likely to contain not just cocaine but opium, which would tie in to Susan's apparent overdose.. The reputation of the film is based partly on the story and partly on the performances, but mostly on the cinematography. The use of light and shadow, perspective, and camera angles was groundbreaking. In some scenes, according to some accounts, Welles got an upward angle on the characters by cutting a hole in the floor so that the cameraman was standing below ground level, and he got downward angles by removing the ceiling. It's not just a black-and-white film - it's THE black-and-white film. Modern audiences may not realize that the character of Kane is loosely based on a real person, William Randolph Hearst. He was an enormously influential, and enormously wealthy, newspaper publisher in the late 19th and early 20th century. Xanadu is based on Hearst Castle, his private mansion. It's in California and is open to the public; I've been there and it's both very impressive and very strange. The character of Susan Alexander Kane is based on Marion Davies, an actress of the time and Hearst's longtime mistress. Unlike Susan, Davies was pretty successful as a performer; being both talented and popular. She also never left Hearst, remaining close to him until his death. Finally, if Kane's personality reminds you of certain modern public figures, you're not alone.
For toothache, people would often use oil of cloves, and I'm guessing that's what Susan was using. No narcotics in that. The overdose was probably sleeping pills. She didn't show any signs of having used opiates.
I don't think "Rosebud" simply represents lost happiness. I think it's more complex than that. It is happiness stolen away from him; it is his rejection by his mother; it is unobtainable love.
I'd say your interpretation is pretty spot on. That's why Kane is such a control freak---he had no control of the situation when he was taken away as a child. So, he overcompensates. He collects statues because they look like people, but he can control them. He spends his whole life looking for the mother's love that he lost, but is unable to find it.
Pretty amazing shot at the end of everything he collected, all puzzle pieces, before we see the worker grab the missing piece people had been looking for so things could make sense to them.
Charles never had his mother's love; just look at how cold and controlling the actress plays her. That's why he cried out for the sled - for his childhood - but not for her.
@@DataLal his father may have been physically abusive (but you have to remember that when this film was made, *many* people wouldn't have considered physically disciplining a child to be abuse), but his mother was emotionally neglectful; neglect is just a different type of abuse.
Also, this movie was almost exactly the life story of William Randolph Hearst. He built a huge mansion that is still there in San Simeon, CA. Google "Hearst Castle". He was the owner of a lot of Newspapers founding the Hearst Corporation. The movie was blackballed by those newspapers primarily it has been alleged because Hearst's pet name for his Wife's privates was Rosebud. He ran for President once and his Granddaughter, Patty Hearst, was kidnapped by domestic terrorists that recruited her and used her to rob banks. She was convicted and sentenced to 30 years commuted to 7. She was released by order of Jimmy Carter and later pardoned by Bill Clinton.
This might change your perception of some of the movie, but the entire movie was an attack on newspaper mogul William Randolph Hurst - the Rupert Murdoch of his time. It was so plainly about Hurst, that he did everything he could to stop the movie being made, and then released. He even attempted to buy every print of it when it was finally released. Pressure was put on theatres not to show it, critics were told to pan it. While the interpretation of "Rosebud" has long been debated, it is pretty widely accepted that Welles was deliberately antagonizing Hurst, since many people have stated that Rosebud was Hursts pet name for his mistresses genitals. Of all movies, there are probably more books, articles and documentaries about Citizen Kane than any other, not just because it was ground breaking (especially in its cinematography) but because in its day, the battle surrounding it was so huge. Bigger than Fox getting sued by Dominion, it was an all out war between Welles and Hurst that everyone was aware of and that divided Hollywood.
You 100% nailed the symbolism in Kane!!! Also, the scene where you note that his shadow overpowers her is one of MANY examples of why this is one of the best films ever made. People just didn't use techniques like that prior to this film. Kane uses a lot of camera angles where one person would appear higher or lower than the other to demonstrate their power dynamic. It also introduced the "wipe" transition. MOST importantly, it introduced "deep focus." From the web: "Its most significant contribution to cinematography came from the use of a technique known as deep focus. Deep focus refers to having everything in the frame, even the background, in focus at the same time, as opposed to having only the people and things in the foreground in focus. The deep focus technique requires the cinematographer to combine lighting, composition, and type of camera lens to produce the desired effect. With deep focus, a filmmaker can showcase overlapping actions, and mise-en-scène (the physical environment in which a film takes place) becomes more critical. Effectively manipulating the mise-en-scène for deep focus actively engages the whole space of the frame without leaving the viewer confused. Deep focus is most effective in scenes that depict Kane’s loss of control and his personal isolation because it gives the audience a clear view of the space Kane commands as well as the space over which he has no power. Gregg Toland, the cinematographer Welles chose for Citizen Kane, had used the technique in an earlier film he had worked on, The Long Voyage Home, but Citizen Kane marked the first time it was used so extensively or effectively. " All of these and many other techniques they introduced are still used in every film made today. Compare this to any film made before it and it just looks and feel "different" and more "modern." tl;dr: The entire film history of the human race can be divided into pre-Kane and post-Kane. That's how important Kane is.
Highly recommend that you go back and read up on the history of the making of this movie. Welles is a fascinating figure in classic Hollywood, and this movie has a CRAZY production backstory. As for your interpretation, I think you're pretty right on. Kane is a man who spent his whole life looking for love and acceptance and never found it. Just like you said, all of his fortune couldn't buy the one thing he was missing. Going back and rewatching it with this perspective makes the whole experience that much richer because you can trace the threads of this idea all the way through.
This film was also essentially based on the life of William Randolph Hearst. Lived a fascinating life...for better or worse. Controversial media magnate whose granddaughter Patty was kidnapped in the 1970s. If you ever get the chance to visit Hearst castle, it's quite the sight!
As many here in the replies have mentioned, the film was based on Hearst and he was very angry when it was made. He launched a ruthless campaign against it, and almost succeeded in having it destroyed. If you want to watch an excellent film about the story behind the making of it, I highly recommend “RKO 281”. It has a lot of well known actors, including Roy Scheider from “Jaws”.
You got it - "money don't buy happiness". That's the lesson of this film and it brings it out through a fantastic mystery story. Everybody needs to watch this film, because many, many people sadly haven't learned this lesson yet. If you aren't happy while you're poor, you won't be happy if you become rich. "Citizen Kane" is always ranked near the top on lists of best films ever. [btw- the backstory on this film is even weirder - most people consider that it was based on the life of the real life newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst (Patty's grandfather) who went ballistic over this film and its portrayal of him and his mistress Marion Davies. Hearst refused to let any of his many newspapers carry ads for the film and tried to blackmail RKO pictures into dropping the film. Many people feel it was fear of Heart that kept "Citizen Kane" from winning Best Picture at the 14th Academy awards. If you want to know more about Hearst, you should review a film called "Cat's Meow" about a mysterious death that Hearst was involved with]
And as enjoyable as "Cat's Meow" is... do keep in mind that it's not a "great" film, but it is very enjoyable. And, yes, you nailed it! Stolen youth, money can't buy happiness, etc...
Money alone doesn’t make one happy, but it sure as hell can help. Being happy in poverty is just something rich people tell poor people to keep them content with their shitty jobs and shitty pay.
@@kcirtapelyk6060 Oh NO disagreement here. My level of happiness has definitely increased as I've gotten thing like proper health insurance and not worrying about rent and meals. FO SHO! But I think the thing this film is trying to say (and what we're pointing out) is that money can't buy what you've lost in your heart.
One of the best films of all times indeed. Just one thing to add that I always found fascinating: the story is about the life of Charles F Kane, and yet no one truly got to know him. The story is uniquely told through the eyes of the people who met him and what they thought of him, but never through his own eyes. At the end, none of the characters really understand the meaning of the word "Rosebud", but we, the audience, understand it. The story is a reflection on how it is imposible to truly know someone else.
The cockatoo screeching is sometimes considered the first jump scare in film. Welles has admitted he did it because he was afraid audiences would think the film was boring and start falling asleep, so he wanted to wake them up again before the ending.
Glad that even he could admit the film was a snoozefest. Not saying it’s a bad film, of course, far from it, but admittedly there are many films out there with more entertainment value.
@@12classics39 I don't know what you're talking about, the only solitary part that bored me was the news segment about Kane's life at the beginning of the film, the rest was quite well paced and held my attention the entire way through, films from the 1940s had a different pace, that doesn't mean they're less entertaining.
This movie is important because it firmly established so much of how stories are told in film. Nonlinear structure, blocking, symbolism, complex cinematography, and so on. Those aspects all existed prior, but Welles knew how to synthesize it all into a great film. That's why it's taught in schools. That's why it's a masterpiece.
Welles was also lucky to have Herman J. Mankiewicz to cowrite the great screenplay with him to do the very rare jigsaw puzzle flash backs from various, unreliable narrators in a dramatic mystery style. Also great luck was working with brilliant cinematographer Gregg Toland, who was a master of deep focus shooting (background stays in focus with the foreground), dramatic lighting to emphasis shadows and brightness, in camera composite shots (exposing part of the film for foreground and the other part for the background to give more depth when needed. He had developed some of these techniques before Kane, but he sought out Welles when he came to Hollywood because he wanted to work with a totally open minded director with little film experience who would ask for shots that no trained director would even consider. Plus you have the cast where 10 of them came from his famed radio/Broadway drama Mercury Theatre ensemble (his mother, Jedediah, Mr. Bernstein just to name a few.) who had never acted in a movie before. Finally, this was the only film that Welles had final cut privilege on it. His second film, "The Magnificent Ambersons" was also supposed to be that way, but RKO wrested it away and edited his movie when Welles was in South America filming a documentary for the US State Dept. This final cut power being granted to a novice director was very controversial and many of the Hollywood veterans resented him and discounted his films. I love this movie and it remains my favorite to this day.
Important, yes. Entertaining, no. In fact it's monumentally boring. Other filmmakers before and since have made clever films that are entertaining. But Welles desire to control everything was indulged by the studio and it landed them with a brilliantly shot, snooze-fest that failed at the box office.
12:49- Note that Emily is reading Charlie's rival newspaper, the NEW YORK CHRONICLE, while he's reading the INQUIRER........and there's a *LONG* breakfast table between them.
The lady playing Kane's mother is the late, great Agnes Moorehead, who is best known as Samantha's mother, Endora, on 8 seasons of the TV series BEWITCHED, from the late 60s and early 70s. One of the best character actors in the business!! She was also fantastic in The Twilight Zone episode THE INVADERS, where she gave a spectacular performance without saying a single word!! There was no dialogue in the episode except at the very end. She started out working with Orson Welles in radio, as a member of The Mercury Theater. Wonderful actor!!! 👏👏👏🤟🫶🥰
Amazing masterpiece a true classic Citizen Kane written by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles directed and starring by Orson Welles with Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Warrick, Ray Collins and Everett Sloane. Thank you so much Ashleigh great reaction excellent👍👍👍👍👍👍
George Foster Kane was a fictional version of William Randolph Hearst who was a newspaper tycoon in real life. Xanadu is based on Hearst Castle in San Simeon , Ca,. “Rosebud “ was said to be Hearst’s nickname for his mistresses clitoris.
26:30 You identified and articulated the significance of "Rosebud" as well as any film scholar or historian! Brava! Lots of them miss it, even. My father was an English professor who also taught college courses on Cinema. For his introductory film course, he had acquired 16mm prints of many classic films, and CITIZEN KANE was one of his favorites, so I really grew up on this movie!
You absolutely got it Ashleigh. That's what it represents. Good job. FWIW: Historically, this is considered "the greatest movie of all time." More recently, The Godfather has come to compete with it for that title. But I'm so glad you got to experience this absolute classic.
Most lists I see leave it between this or Rear Window as the "greatest movie of all time," which makes it interesting that she's watching the other next week.
Going by Sight and Sound, it has been "Vertigo" and then "Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles" that have now been rated number 1 the last 20 years (before "Citizen Kane" started dominating the rankings for S&S, it was "The Bicycle Thieves" that was number 1 for a couple decades").
There are two Welles films that you must see. This and "The Third Man." If you think this was a great mystery, "The Third Man" arguably is the best mystery of Hollywood's Golden Era. (No, he didn't direct it, but he was a co-writer, and you can see his stamp on it nevertheless. Also has stunning cinematography. The zither-heavy soundtrack is like a character all its own).
Every Orson Welles film is a must see, the best being "Chimes at Midnight", "The Trial", "F For Fake", "The Lady From Shanghai", and "The Other Side of the Wind"
One of the best interpretations of Citizen Kane I've heard, honestly. This film has a LOT of behind-the-scenes drama, and that can stand in the way for an honest, first-time watch. Thanks for the reaction.
You continually surprise me, Ashleigh! 😊 You "got" CITIZEN KANE first time through, just like you "got" 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY first time through. And without the "Serious Film Study" and "Serious Science Fiction Study" backgrounds that those two movies are always portrayed as requiring. Plus, you pick up on filming nuances in so many surprising ways. No wonder you're one of my favorite reactors. 😊
Orson Welles was a big player in radio dramas. He played the crime fighter , The Shadow on radio (episodes of which you can find on UA-cam) and was famous for his rendition of War of the Worlds.
Insane ability for the time. As a filmmaker of over 20 years, My jaw still drops at some scenes. It is a shame a lot of younger people will watch this film and have zero idea of what a masterpiece it is. They will just call it boring.
It's undoubtedly a well made film that I personally didn't find compelling, interesting, or particularly entertaining, and I have no interest in ever watching it again because it bored me. It's possible to see the technical merit in film and still find it boring, those things are not mutually exclusive. Also this 'kids these days just don't get it' attitude does irk me a bit, I must admit - just because you consider something a masterpiece doesn't mean someone else is wrong or just doesn't understand the depth and complexity of the work because they don't regard it as highly.
@@chase7767 Far less the further back you go. It this "OK Boomer" era, humans sure get upset when being younger is mentioned. It is ok to go after old people but heaven forbid you say younger generations find more things boring. Sticks and stones.
@@RandomPickles art is inherently subjective - it's all opinion - or are you saying that this film is a masterpiece although you personally don't think it is one?
Way to go girl. You connected all dots. It also should be noted that money doesn’t buy happiness. Happiness, true and honest can come from the simplest and yet the most memorable parts of our lives.
Damn right Ashleigh! The phrase Charles said: “You know, Mr. Thatcher, if I hadn't been very rich, I might have been a really great man.” complete the meaning of Rosebud, his happiness was sold, I guess that’s why he was such a bad man to women. The most important woman in his life failed him. Masterpiece.
The important thing about this movie is the cinematography as it pushed the boundaries of what was possible on film and helped create a new visual language.
Congratulations, you got it! So, yes, it was based on Hearst, but also on Samuel Insull, the Chicago utility magnate who built The Chicago Opera House for his wife. Welles later felt bad about his portrayal of Kane's mistress, since Hearst's actual mistress, Marion Davies, was really a gifted actress and comedienne who stayed by Hearst until his death. The film was actually shot on a pretty low budget, but because of Welles' experience in the theater they were able to use theatrical methods to cheat the scenery. In locations like Kane's giant castle they just used one or two huge set pieces, like the fireplace and staircase, and draped the rest in black fabric to suggest a giant space where nothing existed. The groundbreaking cinematography mentioned by others was a combination of Welles' theatrical experience and ignorance of movie limitations, and the brilliant cinematographer Greg Toland. Welles wanted to do things that no one had done in film, and Toland said, "sure, let's figure out how we can do it". Toland was so responsible for the look of the film that Welles took the unprecedented step of giving him equal credit to his own on the titles. The film rewards repeated viewing. There are many, many details and features that are often missed on a first viewing. If you even watch just for the cinematography, you may find yourself asking "wait, where are the lights? And the microphones? How is everything lit except people's faces? We never even see the face of the reporter trying to solve the "Rosebud" mystery (because it's really the viewer). An amazing film - glad you had a chance to break ground and watch it. What's wrong with the other reaction channels!
You got it pretty spot on. Citizen Kane has a lot of layers though and rewards re-watching. It is without a doubt one of the most important movies in cinema history and still one of the best. Also i love the line you used, couldn't have said it better myself in a single quotable block of words. "He just wanted to be enough, and nothing ever was. And on THAT SNOWY DAY, that sled outside (with his mom), that was enough."
Hello Ashleigh. I'm a b & w classic film buff, also. There are tons of them. Many critics, as well as fans, consider this film one of the top ten classic pictures from the Old Hollywood Studio Era. This was a big deal in those days. Thanks for featuring this in your reaction. Liking your style a lot. Shoutout from this old, longhaired, country boy in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. See you on the next. Peace. Later.
Orson Welles was the hottest thing in American theater and radio with his Mercury Theater and all his productions. He'd never done a film before and educated himself in film making. He teamed with a legendary cinematographer and revolutionized the way films were made. There are so many techniques that are standard now that were introduced by this film. The studio gave him a completely free hand and they regretted it. Orson Welles was never again given the freedom that he had with this film. Hollywood abandoned him after this movie.
It might be worth mentioning how, at Halloween of 1938, Welles and his Mercury Theater radio production team scared the crap out of entire country with an updated retelling of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds."
Now you should watch the movie RKO 281. This movie claims to depict Orson Welles' back story of the filming of "Citizen Kane", and in which Rosebud is William Randolph Hearsts' name for his wife's genitals.
@@nightfall902 no kidding, but the fact remains he had to go outside the Hollywood studio system to get the funding for those. There were so many constraints put on him that he left many films unfinished. His big Hollywood followup The Magnificent Ambersons was eviscerated in the editing room. Hollywood wanted nothing to do with Welles.
Greg Toland was a master of photography in this film and innovated many techniques used in shadowing and lighting. I took a cinema class back in 2005 where I watched Citizen Kane for the first time and it has become by far my favorite movie.
Ashleigh: "Jedediah. What kind of name is that? No one that has access to electricity I'll tell you that." Freaking EPIC!!! I remember a time when we found our friends by what yard their bicycles were in.
As others suggest, I think it’s crucial to recognize that this movie is packed with new filmmaking techniques that don’t seem too remarkable to us now 80 years later, but were hugely innovative at the time. It’s a little like, say, Beethoven: You can still enjoy the music, but it’s hard to recapture the context in which the music was shocking and radical and different from anything that anyone else was doing, to the point that musicians seeing the scores for the first time thought he had to be joking or crazy.
I liked Joseph Cotton in the holiday movie "I'll Be Seeing You" (1944). While released as a Christmas movie, it deals with some difficult social stigmata of its era. The end scene may make you cry.
Orson Welles made this as a huge middle finger to the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who Kane is based on. The story of what "Rosebud" really was is hilarious, and Hearst went on a rampage against Welles over it.
There a few movies that tell stories about the making and battle over this movie. There is a great documentary on it that came with the DVD copy I had. Also the movie The Cats Meow is a interesting side note to the history of this film.
I am really glad you saw this one, this is the classic of classics. I was also really glad you liked it. I personally found it kind of dry, but it was still fascinating. I remember my professor showed the breakfast scene in a theater to film class to illustrate what the different shots and angles meant. And yes you absolutely hit the nail on the head, I was so happy you reached that conclusion pretty quick. I think that last shot of the sled in the fire was the most heartbreaking scene in the whole film personally.
I am impressed that you are reacting to Citizen Kane! There are many, many more great films from the past and I salute the supporter who recommended this great film!
As others mention, the sled represents was the last time he was happy. It also fills in the last piece of the puzzle the reporter talks about: Charles "collected" people and demanded love because he felt abandoned by his mother. He also would sabotage all those relationships because he was convinced they were going to leave him (and they would, he sabotaged all his relationships). He was a rich man with a huge hole in his heart.
Orson Welles was best known for broadcasting his infamous rendition of "H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds" on Halloween in1938, which literally caused a mass hysteria across parts of the nation. Worth to listen to.
I bet that Orson Wells would be pleased that you’ve watched his movie all these years later! Cheers to you for always expanding your mind & your horizons, Ashleigh! 😊
Actually I do like your take. I always thought "Rosebud " was his mom's word of endearment for him. No one knew except him and his mom. No matter how old we get, we always want to be in our mother's embrace. P.S. the film making is incredible for its time. Light and shadow, far and near, facial expressions with tone of voice. Just amazing.
@@eddierodriguez8354 you're right, I've found love through my real parent, Jesus Christ, I've found love through my best friends, my grandma, my boyfriend, I don't need someone who doesn't need me.
Ashleigh, I believe your interpretation is close to whare Orson Wells takes the story. I also think, that snowy day was the last time he felt truly happy - I do like the phrase "enough" too. Citizen Kane has long been identified as the greatest film made in the United States and it seems to be based on the liffe of William Randolf Hearst.
10:10 The first time I saw this movie, I instantly recognized that this song was parodied by The Simpsons in a season 4 episode called “Marge Gets a Job.”
Great job with your interpretation. They play this at modern theaters on some special occasions. If you get the chance to see it in that setting, I recommend it highly.
Ashleigh, next time you're in California, you can check out Hearst Castle which is what Kane's Castle is based on. It's a huge incredible building on top of a hill, and there are in fact still zebras and baboons and stuff still running around on the property. They also have a condor rehabilitation center there, now, I think. So sometimes you'll see birds with a ten foot wingspan circling around. A lot of movies have been filmed there, so you might recognize some of the rooms and the swimming pool. This movie is unfair to Hearst's mistress, Marion Davies. She was very intelligent and very talented in her own right. Not as an opera singer, but as a silent film comedian. In a 1928 movie called The Patsy she does some truly hilarious and uncanny impressions of mega movie stars of the time. She was so good at these sorts of silent celebrity impressions that she would do them at her and Hearst's parties to amuse the guests - who sometimes were those celebrities! She made 30 silent films and 16 talkies. I've only seen her in a couple of movies, but I was very impressed with her and her wry sense of humor. She was not at all what this movie led me to expect.
I agree, she had talent and I'm glad they made a point about addressing that in the film "Mank". Although I believe Davies was unfairly slighted in the [real-life] press at the time, so in that respect the film was accurate.
Welles was very apologetic to Davies about it and even wrote the introduction to her autobiography. That part of the movie was loosely based on a different man, Samuel Insell, but you can't be 85% a satire of one and 15% of another and expect people at the time to get it. It just looked like they were savaging Hearst's mistress.
This is still one of the best movies of all time. The cinematography was ground breaking in it's time. "Deep focus" everything in the background and foreground were in focus. Camera angles and the storytelling. Rose Bud was the one thing he kept that reminded hem of a better time when he felt true love from his mother and things where much simpler. He was trying bto buy love and things to fill his emptiness
Great movie choice and reaction! The movie is based on the life of the newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst. He felt himself not shown fairly and properly which sparked a bit of a private war between Hearst and Welles (f.e. Hearst pressuring cinemas not to show the movie and his newspapers not reporting about it). Hearst had a maitresse/girlfriend the actresse Marion Davies. Herman Mankiewicz, who wrote "Citizen Kane" and who knew Hearst well, said that "Rosebud" was actually Hearst´s name for Davies´s lady parts. Impossible that something like that would pass censorship, so he came up with the excellent idea of the sledge. Wells said about the name: "Everything concerning Rosebud belongs to him" (meaning Mankiewicz). In the end "Rosebud" might just be a McGuffin to bind the spectators to the story. McGuffin is an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself.
Orson Welles wrote; directed and starred in the movie. He based Kane on William Randolph Hearst, who was a huge media mogul at the time. He called the sled “Rosebud” because there was a rumor that that was Hearst’s nickname for his mistress’s uh… special lady parts.
Also, most people don't catch this, but on the night that Kane crosses paths with Susan. he was originally on his way to sort through one of his warehouses, because it contained things collected from his childhood home. He was probably hoping that the sled would be there, and I don't know, probably take it home and put it somewhere prominent as a momento of happier times. But at that point he wasn't even sure if his mother had kept it, he had to go look, and on the way there, he gets splashed by a horse drawn coach on a wet street and he meets Susan, and after he goes back to her place, he forgets all about the sled. Soon after that, his whole life starts to fall apart, he gets blackmailed, his political ambitions are trashed, and his wife leaves him. At this point he tries to prove that he can build a whole new life, even bigger than before. He sinks all of his resources into proving that the "singer" he was caught with actually had talent, but unfortunately Susan really didn't have any. He keeps building, he keeps promoting her, but all it's doing is making her miserable. Finally, Susan leaves, and he has nothing, he stats trashing the place, throwing things around, wondering how the hell all of this happened. Then he picks up the snow globe and it all comes back to him. "Rosebud, I was on my way to look for the fucking sled."
He didn't forget about the sled, he sees the snowglobe in Susan's apartment that same night, which reminds him of his mother, as does Susan's simple, unsophisticated, upbeat personality.
@@dishwaterhands By "forgetting about the sled", what I mean is that he never goes to his warehouse to see if it is in fact, there. We see it years later being incinerated with the rest of the trash. The implication is that he never found it.
One of my favorite Orson Welles roles is as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow, from the first year of the radio series where “The Shadow” was an actual character, and not an anthology story host. Agnes Moorehead (Mary Kane in this movie, but known to classic TV fans as Endora from “Bewitched”) played his sidekick/love interest, Margot Lane. The story goes that Welles was doing so much other work at the time that he couldn’t rehearse with the rest of the cast, so he would just show up at the studio and read the script *cold* , without reading it ahead of time. Supposedly, he once asked the other players during a commercial break, “Hey, this is a great story! How does it end?” You can find one of his Shadow radio plays here: ua-cam.com/video/PSnuTGYzf7Y/v-deo.html
If you watched the first 6 or 7 seasons of the Simpsons, you see a LOT of "Citizen Kane" references. The writing team of the early seasons were HUGE fans of this movie and you see references everywhere :) Especially in the Episode where Mr. Burns wants his teddybear Bobo back. Even the backstory of how Mr. Burns became who he was is a fully fledged Citizen Kane parody. *edit* And Ashleigh.... you ABSOLUTELY GOT IT!!! :) You got the whole point of Rosebud and hit the nail.
That's always the biggest parody of this movie. They've done many references (many), but the episode with Bobo is literally the opening scene. I hadn't seen 'Citizen Kane' when that episode was out, but I've re-watched the first ~10 seasons so much that you begin to notice the references more and more and it's so damn clever.
@@brandonthesteele I think that was the season 2 episode "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" where he ran for Govenor :) Lots of Citizen Kane references in that episode too. This is when he lost and tries to wreck the house of the Simpsons and commands Homer do destroy something.
@@jgarofalo8813 Yeah hahaha xD And as a kid i never understood that reference with his brother since i never knew George Burns but then again i'm also not american so i never saw anything with George, except a few years some clips from his appearances in talkshows. And the dude was hilarious.
You got it spot-on, Big Brain Ashleigh. And one of my favorite movie quotes, that I applied to my own working life (when I was encouraged to work more to make more money) is "There's no trick to making a lot of money. If all you care about is making money." Yeah, because there are things more important than making money.
@@gaynor1721 Of course not, but there's a difference between working so you can live and living to work. I almost fell into that trap, but by balancing out being a good employee with living within my means, I didn't have to be a slave to Mammon or to my employer.
Rosebud was his single memory of happiness that never became toxic or corrupted. I knew _you_ would get it. Moments like this are why I encouraged you to start this.
The fourth wall breaks are likely because most early films were based on stage productions. Couple bits of trivia. *At 17:10 the actor actually flubbed his line but was able he was able to save it with the "I am drunk" line. *The actress who played Kane's second wife was unfortunately blacklisted during the red scare.
Another movie with this kind of mystery plot is Immortal Beloved from 1994. It tells the life story of Beethoven (played by Gary Oldman) through the lens of his assistant trying to find out who his possessions should go to after his death, and instead of a will, all they have is a letter addressed to his "immortal beloved." So his assistant has to go around and find everyone he ever loved (a bunch of ladies, including Isabella Rossellini 😍) and interview them about various periods of his life. It's a movie that has made me cry 100% of the times I've watched it, plus of course it has an amazing soundtrack.
The final warehouse scene in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' was a homage to the Kane's warehouse filled with boxes at the end of 'Citizen Kane'. Even the music was the same.
You done good Ashleigh. Look how enthusiastic you are about a movie that tells a story without computer generated special effects. A whole new world is opening up to you.
Legit, good pick up! You go through this guy’s whole life going, “Ok, guess we’re still moving along.” But when you get to the end and you realize what’s going on the whole movie is super sad. Go back and watch it knowing how much he only longed for happiness and it’s a who different movie.
You should check out Mank, story of Herman j Mankiewicz who co wrote the screen play for Citizen Kane with Orson Wells about his struggles to finish the screen play in time. Great movie, Mank is from 2020 but was done in black and white staring Gary Oldman
Yep, you nailed it. I think his life flashed before his eyes and it was that moment, that snowy day with his sled, that he fixed upon. There is an old saying that when someone loses the bright light in the center of their life, they will try and fill that darkness with a thousand tiny candles. He spent his life accumulating wealth, power, beautiful works of art, and even people, and it was all to try to fill the void that had been left inside him when he was taken from his family.
Orson Wells was a child prodigy. Early in his schooling he showed a great understanding of theatrics, drama and art. In fact, he was a major force on Broadway and Theater. His directing and acting talent transferred over to radio and eventually theater.
It's amazing no one else has attempted a reaction to this classic, still in the top ten of many a veteran critic's rankings. Trust our Ashley to do it justice. Your take on the 'Rosebud' ending is very sound, though I would add the freedom of a lost childhood in general. 'Hearst Castle', or San Simeon, is still a popular tourist attraction to this day, set on a hillside above San Luis Obispo, Calif. Given the power of that media baron, it is a remarkable achievement that it was made at all, let alone 1941. The screenplay, the sets, the camera angles, the lighting and above all Welles's sheer virtuosity as director and main character speak for themselves.
Hearst Castle is one of the most fascinating places. They offer four different tours because you can’t see the whole thing in a day. Built high on a steep mountain a couple hours north of Los Angeles, he had a railroad built just to bring in building materials from all over the world. The attention to detail is mind blowing. It was the private playground of the rich and famous in Hollywood at the time. The pictures they have of old stars casually hanging out at the pool, the tennis courts, and the gardens are fun to see.
the rumor - just a rumor - was that "rosebud" was wm. randolph hearst's pet name for marion davies's you-know-what. something mankiewicz might have knowledge of, being at one point a part of hearst's inner circle. making hearst even more furious that mankiewicz and welles managed to sneak into the film, especially as a symbol for kane's lifelong unhappiness.
Big brain Ashleigh in the house! Also, if you've watched "Bewitched" before, Mary Kane was played by Agnes Moorehead, who played Endora in "Bewitched", in case she looked familiar.
This was the first movie with ceilings because it was the first movie to put the camera low facing up to show the character as powerful. It was the first movie with reflections in mirrors or windows, and it was the first movie that kept far ground and near in the same frame both in focus. It had a lot more firsts.
@@ThreadBomb Ok, one of the first. Most movies didn't show ceilings because that's where the lighting and boom mics for sound were. Welles used a cloth to hide the Mics and the lighting was set up differently.
It's so good to watch someone who knows nothing about this film. Back in 1987 I visited the US for the first time and stayed with a friend's family. One day they decided to slip a VHS in and it was 'Citizen Kane'. At the end of the movie I suddenly gasped 'It was the sled!' They all looked at me like I was mad, 'You didn't know?'. I am so glad I went in knowing nothing to. I think too many people are told repeatedly, 'best movie of all time' etc, so when they do see it, knowing half the great shots and plot twists, they say its 'overrated'. As someone who saw it for the first time blind I can confidently say it's not!
@ 7:52 "Kings Throne" (boss sits in bigger chair - for example, a scene from Its a Wonderful Life when Jimmy Stewart sits in a smaller chair confronting Lionel Barrymore) @25:08 I wonder if "The Lost Ark" is there. By the way, you're correct about Rosebud!
Well done. Lots of people don’t get the Rosebud meaning. Kane was based on publisher William Randolph Hearst. “Rosebud” was supposedly what Hearst called his mistress’s vijayjay. Hearst did everything in his power to prevent the release of the movie.
Even after having watched it a few times oher the years the cinematography still wows me. It's influenced so many films over the decades that may be hard to imagine what it would have been like to watch it back when it was first released.
Who else came here just to see her reaction to "Rosebud" at the end? LOL, and hear her say "Let's constipate on it" haha! Great reaction all thru as usual!
Ashleigh understood the assignment & gave the right answer on the summary portion! A+ Ashleigh!
Do patreon subscribers give assignments?
Yup. She nailed it hundred percent.
Agree!
She constipated it hugely
Problem is, no one was in the room when he died so who heard him say rosebud?
The scene at the breakfast table where they age over the years is so good. You noticed they aren’t talking at all at the end, but there’a another detail: she’s reading his rival’s newspaper in front of him.
Also, they start sitting right next to each at a very small table and, over the years, the table grows longer and longer and they sit further and further apart. Great little bits of show-not tell production design.
That scene is literally LOADED in so many ways to depict the decay in their marriage and their hardening in their attitudes toward each other, from the casualness and formality of the clothes they are wearing, to the table settings. Notice how the table settings between them change from the warmth/softness of flowers to the gradual introduction of the cold/hardness of silver and glass and the eventual disappearance of the flowers. And of course the physical distancing of the bigger table at the end.
Virtually every scene in this film is loaded in this way, with Welles depicting in a single image what a lesser director might convey with pages of expository dialogue. The film is literally a visual poem, with Welles composing and using images in the same way that a poet selects and uses words. Orson was a frickin' genius!
When I taught 'Citizen Kane' in a film studies class at a local college and we got to the breakfast scene, I let it run and then asked the students for their thoughts. One mature student who was a married woman and much older than may of the others, instantly piped up with, "He's playing around. He's got himself another woman."
She got a good grade from me! 😄
This was Orson Welles' first directed movie, when he was only 26 years old. He has said in interviews that all the groundbreaking film techniques that are attributed to this film were made because he simply didn't know what "couldn't" be done and he, as the optimistic amateur, just did them.
That’s how a lot of shit gets done…Optimistic naïveté🤣
Fun fact, Citizen Kane is literally a ground breaking film: One of the shots that Welles wanted, required breaking the floor to fit the camera into. :D
Yup. He is definitely a maverick filmmaker for his time. Its fascinating to learn the behind the scenes in all of the movies he made. My favorite films of his is Touch of Evil and Chimes at Midnight.
Such as?
Comparing your marriage to 100 years ago 😂
You nailed it on "Rosebud". It represented the last time in his life that he was truly happy.
$ 50,000 a year, at that time, was a huge amount of money. Also pain medicines were likely to contain not just cocaine but opium, which would tie in to Susan's apparent overdose..
The reputation of the film is based partly on the story and partly on the performances, but mostly on the cinematography. The use of light and shadow, perspective, and camera angles was groundbreaking. In some scenes, according to some accounts, Welles got an upward angle on the characters by cutting a hole in the floor so that the cameraman was standing below ground level, and he got downward angles by removing the ceiling. It's not just a black-and-white film - it's THE black-and-white film.
Modern audiences may not realize that the character of Kane is loosely based on a real person, William Randolph Hearst. He was an enormously influential, and enormously wealthy, newspaper publisher in the late 19th and early 20th century. Xanadu is based on Hearst Castle, his private mansion. It's in California and is open to the public; I've been there and it's both very impressive and very strange.
The character of Susan Alexander Kane is based on Marion Davies, an actress of the time and Hearst's longtime mistress. Unlike Susan, Davies was pretty successful as a performer; being both talented and popular. She also never left Hearst, remaining close to him until his death.
Finally, if Kane's personality reminds you of certain modern public figures, you're not alone.
Wait til Ashleigh finds out for what “rosebud” is a metaphor…😮 ☺️
@@theplanetruth ...And since it was Welles, it was probably deliberate.
You forgot to mention that Rosebud was what Hearst called his girlfriend's coochie. Kind of an inside joke, lol. Hearst was pissed.
For toothache, people would often use oil of cloves, and I'm guessing that's what Susan was using. No narcotics in that. The overdose was probably sleeping pills. She didn't show any signs of having used opiates.
I don't think "Rosebud" simply represents lost happiness. I think it's more complex than that. It is happiness stolen away from him; it is his rejection by his mother; it is unobtainable love.
I'd say your interpretation is pretty spot on. That's why Kane is such a control freak---he had no control of the situation when he was taken away as a child. So, he overcompensates. He collects statues because they look like people, but he can control them. He spends his whole life looking for the mother's love that he lost, but is unable to find it.
Pretty amazing shot at the end of everything he collected, all puzzle pieces, before we see the worker grab the missing piece people had been looking for so things could make sense to them.
Charles never had his mother's love; just look at how cold and controlling the actress plays her. That's why he cried out for the sled - for his childhood - but not for her.
@@tommcewan7936 His mother did love him enough to send him away from his father's abuse.
@@tommcewan7936 The mother is so cold, because she hides her love for Charles. She takes up an appearance of coldness, but inside she´s dying.
@@DataLal his father may have been physically abusive (but you have to remember that when this film was made, *many* people wouldn't have considered physically disciplining a child to be abuse), but his mother was emotionally neglectful; neglect is just a different type of abuse.
Also, this movie was almost exactly the life story of William Randolph Hearst. He built a huge mansion that is still there in San Simeon, CA. Google "Hearst Castle". He was the owner of a lot of Newspapers founding the Hearst Corporation. The movie was blackballed by those newspapers primarily it has been alleged because Hearst's pet name for his Wife's privates was Rosebud. He ran for President once and his Granddaughter, Patty Hearst, was kidnapped by domestic terrorists that recruited her and used her to rob banks. She was convicted and sentenced to 30 years commuted to 7. She was released by order of Jimmy Carter and later pardoned by Bill Clinton.
San Simeon is open to tourists, and it’s worth visiting…it’s pretty enormous, like Kane’s Xanadu.
"Rosebud" was rumored to be the nickname Hearst gave to Marion Davies's nether parts. Peace out.
@@stevefoulston And it was literally the last thing on Kane's lips! Gotta love Orson! 😅
And if you watch the show Deadwood you'll see a semi-accurate portrayal of his father, George Hearst. The founder of the Hearst family dynasty.
The character was actually based on several people, Hearst and Pulitzer being two of them.
This might change your perception of some of the movie, but the entire movie was an attack on newspaper mogul William Randolph Hurst - the Rupert Murdoch of his time. It was so plainly about Hurst, that he did everything he could to stop the movie being made, and then released. He even attempted to buy every print of it when it was finally released. Pressure was put on theatres not to show it, critics were told to pan it.
While the interpretation of "Rosebud" has long been debated, it is pretty widely accepted that Welles was deliberately antagonizing Hurst, since many people have stated that Rosebud was Hursts pet name for his mistresses genitals.
Of all movies, there are probably more books, articles and documentaries about Citizen Kane than any other, not just because it was ground breaking (especially in its cinematography) but because in its day, the battle surrounding it was so huge. Bigger than Fox getting sued by Dominion, it was an all out war between Welles and Hurst that everyone was aware of and that divided Hollywood.
Great classic, ive got it on DVD! Thank God Hollywood will never remotely remake this!
You 100% nailed the symbolism in Kane!!!
Also, the scene where you note that his shadow overpowers her is one of MANY examples of why this is one of the best films ever made. People just didn't use techniques like that prior to this film. Kane uses a lot of camera angles where one person would appear higher or lower than the other to demonstrate their power dynamic. It also introduced the "wipe" transition.
MOST importantly, it introduced "deep focus." From the web: "Its most significant contribution to cinematography came from the use of a technique known as deep focus. Deep focus refers to having everything in the frame, even the background, in focus at the same time, as opposed to having only the people and things in the foreground in focus. The deep focus technique requires the cinematographer to combine lighting, composition, and type of camera lens to produce the desired effect. With deep focus, a filmmaker can showcase overlapping actions, and mise-en-scène (the physical environment in which a film takes place) becomes more critical. Effectively manipulating the mise-en-scène for deep focus actively engages the whole space of the frame without leaving the viewer confused. Deep focus is most effective in scenes that depict Kane’s loss of control and his personal isolation because it gives the audience a clear view of the space Kane commands as well as the space over which he has no power. Gregg Toland, the cinematographer Welles chose for Citizen Kane, had used the technique in an earlier film he had worked on, The Long Voyage Home, but Citizen Kane marked the first time it was used so extensively or effectively. "
All of these and many other techniques they introduced are still used in every film made today. Compare this to any film made before it and it just looks and feel "different" and more "modern."
tl;dr: The entire film history of the human race can be divided into pre-Kane and post-Kane. That's how important Kane is.
Highly recommend that you go back and read up on the history of the making of this movie. Welles is a fascinating figure in classic Hollywood, and this movie has a CRAZY production backstory.
As for your interpretation, I think you're pretty right on. Kane is a man who spent his whole life looking for love and acceptance and never found it. Just like you said, all of his fortune couldn't buy the one thing he was missing. Going back and rewatching it with this perspective makes the whole experience that much richer because you can trace the threads of this idea all the way through.
This film was also essentially based on the life of William Randolph Hearst. Lived a fascinating life...for better or worse. Controversial media magnate whose granddaughter Patty was kidnapped in the 1970s. If you ever get the chance to visit Hearst castle, it's quite the sight!
@@moeball740 Oh yeah. It's like visiting Mount Olympus!
highly recommend the movie "Mank" for the behind the scenes of the movie and the real life inspiration of Hearst
As many here in the replies have mentioned, the film was based on Hearst and he was very angry when it was made. He launched a ruthless campaign against it, and almost succeeded in having it destroyed. If you want to watch an excellent film about the story behind the making of it, I highly recommend “RKO 281”. It has a lot of well known actors, including Roy Scheider from “Jaws”.
You got it - "money don't buy happiness". That's the lesson of this film and it brings it out through a fantastic mystery story. Everybody needs to watch this film, because many, many people sadly haven't learned this lesson yet. If you aren't happy while you're poor, you won't be happy if you become rich. "Citizen Kane" is always ranked near the top on lists of best films ever. [btw- the backstory on this film is even weirder - most people consider that it was based on the life of the real life newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst (Patty's grandfather) who went ballistic over this film and its portrayal of him and his mistress Marion Davies. Hearst refused to let any of his many newspapers carry ads for the film and tried to blackmail RKO pictures into dropping the film. Many people feel it was fear of Heart that kept "Citizen Kane" from winning Best Picture at the 14th Academy awards. If you want to know more about Hearst, you should review a film called "Cat's Meow" about a mysterious death that Hearst was involved with]
And as enjoyable as "Cat's Meow" is... do keep in mind that it's not a "great" film, but it is very enjoyable. And, yes, you nailed it! Stolen youth, money can't buy happiness, etc...
He was remembering the last time he was happy. In the snow, before his mother sold him off.
Money alone doesn’t make one happy, but it sure as hell can help. Being happy in poverty is just something rich people tell poor people to keep them content with their shitty jobs and shitty pay.
@@kcirtapelyk6060 Oh NO disagreement here. My level of happiness has definitely increased as I've gotten thing like proper health insurance and not worrying about rent and meals. FO SHO!
But I think the thing this film is trying to say (and what we're pointing out) is that money can't buy what you've lost in your heart.
The irony of him running a story about a fraud election, when he lost the election is not lost on me.
One of the best films of all times indeed. Just one thing to add that I always found fascinating: the story is about the life of Charles F Kane, and yet no one truly got to know him. The story is uniquely told through the eyes of the people who met him and what they thought of him, but never through his own eyes. At the end, none of the characters really understand the meaning of the word "Rosebud", but we, the audience, understand it. The story is a reflection on how it is imposible to truly know someone else.
The cockatoo screeching is sometimes considered the first jump scare in film. Welles has admitted he did it because he was afraid audiences would think the film was boring and start falling asleep, so he wanted to wake them up again before the ending.
Glad that even he could admit the film was a snoozefest. Not saying it’s a bad film, of course, far from it, but admittedly there are many films out there with more entertainment value.
that's hilarious😂
@@12classics39 I don't know what you're talking about, the only solitary part that bored me was the news segment about Kane's life at the beginning of the film, the rest was quite well paced and held my attention the entire way through, films from the 1940s had a different pace, that doesn't mean they're less entertaining.
Joseph Cotten (Leland) is one of my favorite actors. He’s TERRIFIC in the Hitchcock film, Shadow of a Doubt, which is an underrated Hitch classic.
I so want Ashley to do Shadow of a Doubt!
This movie is important because it firmly established so much of how stories are told in film. Nonlinear structure, blocking, symbolism, complex cinematography, and so on. Those aspects all existed prior, but Welles knew how to synthesize it all into a great film. That's why it's taught in schools. That's why it's a masterpiece.
Welles was also lucky to have Herman J. Mankiewicz to cowrite the great screenplay with him to do the very rare jigsaw puzzle flash backs from various, unreliable narrators in a dramatic mystery style. Also great luck was working with brilliant cinematographer Gregg Toland, who was a master of deep focus shooting (background stays in focus with the foreground), dramatic lighting to emphasis shadows and brightness, in camera composite shots (exposing part of the film for foreground and the other part for the background to give more depth when needed. He had developed some of these techniques before Kane, but he sought out Welles when he came to Hollywood because he wanted to work with a totally open minded director with little film experience who would ask for shots that no trained director would even consider. Plus you have the cast where 10 of them came from his famed radio/Broadway drama Mercury Theatre ensemble (his mother, Jedediah, Mr. Bernstein just to name a few.) who had never acted in a movie before. Finally, this was the only film that Welles had final cut privilege on it. His second film, "The Magnificent Ambersons" was also supposed to be that way, but RKO wrested it away and edited his movie when Welles was in South America filming a documentary for the US State Dept. This final cut power being granted to a novice director was very controversial and many of the Hollywood veterans resented him and discounted his films. I love this movie and it remains my favorite to this day.
@@ronbo11 Mank's contributions have been exaggerated, mostly by Manks and Pauline Kael.
Important, yes. Entertaining, no. In fact it's monumentally boring. Other filmmakers before and since have made clever films that are entertaining. But Welles desire to control everything was indulged by the studio and it landed them with a brilliantly shot, snooze-fest that failed at the box office.
12:49- Note that Emily is reading Charlie's rival newspaper, the NEW YORK CHRONICLE, while he's reading the INQUIRER........and there's a *LONG* breakfast table between them.
The lady playing Kane's mother is the late, great Agnes Moorehead, who is best known as Samantha's mother, Endora, on 8 seasons of the TV series BEWITCHED, from the late 60s and early 70s. One of the best character actors in the business!! She was also fantastic in The Twilight Zone episode THE INVADERS, where she gave a spectacular performance without saying a single word!! There was no dialogue in the episode except at the very end. She started out working with Orson Welles in radio, as a member of The Mercury Theater. Wonderful actor!!! 👏👏👏🤟🫶🥰
Amazing masterpiece a true classic Citizen Kane written by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles directed and starring by Orson Welles with Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Warrick, Ray Collins and Everett Sloane. Thank you so much Ashleigh great reaction excellent👍👍👍👍👍👍
You said one thing worth hearing: I'd rather somebody be mad at me than disappointed in me.
George Foster Kane was a fictional version of William Randolph Hearst who was a newspaper tycoon in real life.
Xanadu is based on Hearst Castle in San Simeon , Ca,. “Rosebud “ was said to be Hearst’s nickname for his mistresses clitoris.
26:30 You identified and articulated the significance of "Rosebud" as well as any film scholar or historian! Brava! Lots of them miss it, even. My father was an English professor who also taught college courses on Cinema. For his introductory film course, he had acquired 16mm prints of many classic films, and CITIZEN KANE was one of his favorites, so I really grew up on this movie!
You absolutely got it Ashleigh. That's what it represents. Good job. FWIW: Historically, this is considered "the greatest movie of all time." More recently, The Godfather has come to compete with it for that title. But I'm so glad you got to experience this absolute classic.
Most lists I see leave it between this or Rear Window as the "greatest movie of all time," which makes it interesting that she's watching the other next week.
Going by Sight and Sound, it has been "Vertigo" and then "Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles" that have now been rated number 1 the last 20 years (before "Citizen Kane" started dominating the rankings for S&S, it was "The Bicycle Thieves" that was number 1 for a couple decades").
I know Vertigo made the list a few times. I never heard of Rear Window making the list; it seems too basic a thriller for that.
@@ThreadBomb I think maybe devenscience was mixing up Rear Window and Vertigo. Both concern types of obsession.
@@ThreadBomb yeah, I think I was confusing it for Vertigo.
There are two Welles films that you must see. This and "The Third Man." If you think this was a great mystery, "The Third Man" arguably is the best mystery of Hollywood's Golden Era. (No, he didn't direct it, but he was a co-writer, and you can see his stamp on it nevertheless. Also has stunning cinematography. The zither-heavy soundtrack is like a character all its own).
Still like the "directors" cut of Touch Of Evil. One of the greatest one shot opening scenes ever.
Every Orson Welles film is a must see, the best being "Chimes at Midnight", "The Trial", "F For Fake", "The Lady From Shanghai", and "The Other Side of the Wind"
The Third Man is a Carol Reed film. Orson Welles is just the supporting Actor.
Re-read what I wrote. I noted that he was only a co-writer, but that his influences are visible. Reading comprehension: It's a thing.
You pretty much nailed it. Charles Foster Kane yearned for his youth, childhood, etc.
One of the best interpretations of Citizen Kane I've heard, honestly. This film has a LOT of behind-the-scenes drama, and that can stand in the way for an honest, first-time watch. Thanks for the reaction.
You continually surprise me, Ashleigh! 😊 You "got" CITIZEN KANE first time through, just like you "got" 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY first time through. And without the "Serious Film Study" and "Serious Science Fiction Study" backgrounds that those two movies are always portrayed as requiring. Plus, you pick up on filming nuances in so many surprising ways. No wonder you're one of my favorite reactors. 😊
Orson Welles was a big player in radio dramas. He played the crime fighter , The Shadow on radio (episodes of which you can find on UA-cam) and was famous for his rendition of War of the Worlds.
And of course the infamous “War of the Worlds” broadcast in 1938.
The panic that caused let you taws being changed
Rosebud represented the last time he was truly happy. You just gave the best movie ever made 4 out of 5 stars..
Insane ability for the time. As a filmmaker of over 20 years, My jaw still drops at some scenes. It is a shame a lot of younger people will watch this film and have zero idea of what a masterpiece it is. They will just call it boring.
Old people are also capable of watching this film with zero idea of what a masterpiece it is and calling it boring.
It's undoubtedly a well made film that I personally didn't find compelling, interesting, or particularly entertaining, and I have no interest in ever watching it again because it bored me. It's possible to see the technical merit in film and still find it boring, those things are not mutually exclusive. Also this 'kids these days just don't get it' attitude does irk me a bit, I must admit - just because you consider something a masterpiece doesn't mean someone else is wrong or just doesn't understand the depth and complexity of the work because they don't regard it as highly.
@@notyourdad This has nothing to do with what I consider. It being a masterpiece is not an opinion. And you can feel how ever you want.
@@chase7767 Far less the further back you go. It this "OK Boomer" era, humans sure get upset when being younger is mentioned. It is ok to go after old people but heaven forbid you say younger generations find more things boring. Sticks and stones.
@@RandomPickles art is inherently subjective - it's all opinion - or are you saying that this film is a masterpiece although you personally don't think it is one?
Way to go girl. You connected all dots. It also should be noted that money doesn’t buy happiness. Happiness, true and honest can come from the simplest and yet the most memorable parts of our lives.
Damn right Ashleigh! The phrase Charles said: “You know, Mr. Thatcher, if I hadn't been very rich, I might have been a really great man.” complete the meaning of Rosebud, his happiness was sold, I guess that’s why he was such a bad man to women. The most important woman in his life failed him. Masterpiece.
The important thing about this movie is the cinematography as it pushed the boundaries of what was possible on film and helped create a new visual language.
Citizen Kane is not revered for its story, but for its STORYTELLING.
Its story is pretty great as well. I mean, the core theme sends a chill down my spine every time.
I think it's noted for the cinematography primarily.
Big Brain Ashley strikes again!! So happy you enjoyed this movie, thought it would bore you to death😂 ❤
@@joebloggs396 that's part of storytelling
Congratulations, you got it! So, yes, it was based on Hearst, but also on Samuel Insull, the Chicago utility magnate who built The Chicago Opera House for his wife. Welles later felt bad about his portrayal of Kane's mistress, since Hearst's actual mistress, Marion Davies, was really a gifted actress and comedienne who stayed by Hearst until his death. The film was actually shot on a pretty low budget, but because of Welles' experience in the theater they were able to use theatrical methods to cheat the scenery. In locations like Kane's giant castle they just used one or two huge set pieces, like the fireplace and staircase, and draped the rest in black fabric to suggest a giant space where nothing existed. The groundbreaking cinematography mentioned by others was a combination of Welles' theatrical experience and ignorance of movie limitations, and the brilliant cinematographer Greg Toland. Welles wanted to do things that no one had done in film, and Toland said, "sure, let's figure out how we can do it". Toland was so responsible for the look of the film that Welles took the unprecedented step of giving him equal credit to his own on the titles. The film rewards repeated viewing. There are many, many details and features that are often missed on a first viewing. If you even watch just for the cinematography, you may find yourself asking "wait, where are the lights? And the microphones? How is everything lit except people's faces? We never even see the face of the reporter trying to solve the "Rosebud" mystery (because it's really the viewer). An amazing film - glad you had a chance to break ground and watch it. What's wrong with the other reaction channels!
You got it pretty spot on. Citizen Kane has a lot of layers though and rewards re-watching. It is without a doubt one of the most important movies in cinema history and still one of the best.
Also i love the line you used, couldn't have said it better myself in a single quotable block of words. "He just wanted to be enough, and nothing ever was. And on THAT SNOWY DAY, that sled outside (with his mom), that was enough."
Hello Ashleigh. I'm a b & w classic film buff, also. There are tons of them. Many critics, as well as fans, consider this film one of the top ten classic pictures from the Old Hollywood Studio Era. This was a big deal in those days. Thanks for featuring this in your reaction. Liking your style a lot. Shoutout from this old, longhaired, country boy in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. See you on the next. Peace. Later.
Orson Welles was the hottest thing in American theater and radio with his Mercury Theater and all his productions. He'd never done a film before and educated himself in film making. He teamed with a legendary cinematographer and revolutionized the way films were made. There are so many techniques that are standard now that were introduced by this film. The studio gave him a completely free hand and they regretted it. Orson Welles was never again given the freedom that he had with this film. Hollywood abandoned him after this movie.
It might be worth mentioning how, at Halloween of 1938, Welles and his Mercury Theater radio production team scared the crap out of entire country with an updated retelling of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds."
And his final role was Unicron in Transformers: the Movie. What a role to go out on.
Now you should watch the movie RKO 281. This movie claims to depict Orson Welles' back story of the filming of "Citizen Kane", and in which Rosebud is William Randolph Hearsts' name for his wife's genitals.
He actually directed 23 feature films and assorted other projects. Pretty easy to look up the list.
@@nightfall902 no kidding, but the fact remains he had to go outside the Hollywood studio system to get the funding for those. There were so many constraints put on him that he left many films unfinished. His big Hollywood followup The Magnificent Ambersons was eviscerated in the editing room. Hollywood wanted nothing to do with Welles.
Greg Toland was a master of photography in this film and innovated many techniques used in shadowing and lighting. I took a cinema class back in 2005 where I watched Citizen Kane for the first time and it has become by far my favorite movie.
Rosebud is actually the ultimate sign of his youth/innocence, and THAT was the one thing he cherished out of everything he ever had.
Rosebud was the nickname of Hearst’s wife’s vagina…
I’ve definitely found myself waxing nostalgic about a good day’s sledding & that burning sting when your numb hands finally start to warm up…
It is also rumored that "Rosebud" was the Hearst's pet nickname for his mistress Marion Davies' anatomy....
Ashleigh: "Jedediah. What kind of name is that? No one that has access to electricity I'll tell you that."
Freaking EPIC!!!
I remember a time when we found our friends by what yard their bicycles were in.
As others suggest, I think it’s crucial to recognize that this movie is packed with new filmmaking techniques that don’t seem too remarkable to us now 80 years later, but were hugely innovative at the time. It’s a little like, say, Beethoven: You can still enjoy the music, but it’s hard to recapture the context in which the music was shocking and radical and different from anything that anyone else was doing, to the point that musicians seeing the scores for the first time thought he had to be joking or crazy.
I liked Joseph Cotton in the holiday movie "I'll Be Seeing You" (1944). While released as a Christmas movie, it deals with some difficult social stigmata of its era. The end scene may make you cry.
Orson Welles made this as a huge middle finger to the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who Kane is based on. The story of what "Rosebud" really was is hilarious, and Hearst went on a rampage against Welles over it.
Reference the mountain from which the river Styx flowed.
There a few movies that tell stories about the making and battle over this movie. There is a great documentary on it that came with the DVD copy I had. Also the movie The Cats Meow is a interesting side note to the history of this film.
@@67kingbee RKO 281 is a great HBO movie based on the making of Citizen Kane from 1999.
You nailed it, Ashleigh! You understood perfectly what “Rosebud” actually meant.
I am really glad you saw this one, this is the classic of classics. I was also really glad you liked it. I personally found it kind of dry, but it was still fascinating. I remember my professor showed the breakfast scene in a theater to film class to illustrate what the different shots and angles meant. And yes you absolutely hit the nail on the head, I was so happy you reached that conclusion pretty quick. I think that last shot of the sled in the fire was the most heartbreaking scene in the whole film personally.
@5:34 that's Agnes Moorehead who was Endora on the tv show "Bewitched".
Watching Ashleigh's eyes light up as all the pieces of the puzzle finally fall together, perfect!!🎉🎉🎉👍
Just love it how proud she is after nailing the "book report" at 26:58 :))))
I am impressed that you are reacting to Citizen Kane! There are many, many more great films from the past and I salute the supporter who recommended this great film!
Supposedly “rosebud” was William Randolph Hearst’s (who Kane is based on) nickname for a certain part of his mistress’s anatomy.
As others mention, the sled represents was the last time he was happy. It also fills in the last piece of the puzzle the reporter talks about: Charles "collected" people and demanded love because he felt abandoned by his mother. He also would sabotage all those relationships because he was convinced they were going to leave him (and they would, he sabotaged all his relationships). He was a rich man with a huge hole in his heart.
"Rosebud" refers to a certain part of the anatomy of the actress Marion Davies, the mistress of William Randolph Hearst.
Orson Welles was best known for broadcasting his infamous rendition of "H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds" on Halloween in1938, which literally caused a mass hysteria across parts of the nation. Worth to listen to.
I bet that Orson Wells would be pleased that you’ve watched his movie all these years later! Cheers to you for always expanding your mind & your horizons, Ashleigh! 😊
Actually I do like your take. I always thought "Rosebud " was his mom's word of endearment for him. No one knew except him and his mom. No matter how old we get, we always want to be in our mother's embrace. P.S. the film making is incredible for its time. Light and shadow, far and near, facial expressions with tone of voice. Just amazing.
Did you not read the name of the sled?
@@ThreadBomb yes and 60 years ago I and a bunch of my friends put our names on our sleds
I wish my mother loved me... 💔
@AbrasiousProductions love comes in many forms.
@@eddierodriguez8354 you're right, I've found love through my real parent, Jesus Christ, I've found love through my best friends, my grandma, my boyfriend, I don't need someone who doesn't need me.
"There's really a fine line between hoarders and American Pickers." Classic Ashleigh!
Ashleigh, I believe your interpretation is close to whare Orson Wells takes the story. I also think, that snowy day was the last time he felt truly happy - I do like the phrase "enough" too. Citizen Kane has long been identified as the greatest film made in the United States and it seems to be based on the liffe of William Randolf Hearst.
10:10 The first time I saw this movie, I instantly recognized that this song was parodied by The Simpsons in a season 4 episode called “Marge Gets a Job.”
Great job with your interpretation. They play this at modern theaters on some special occasions. If you get the chance to see it in that setting, I recommend it highly.
12:25 Did you know that the first Mrs. Kane, Ruth Warrick spent 35 years playing Phoebe on ALL MY CHILDREN, from 1970 to 2005?
Ashleigh, next time you're in California, you can check out Hearst Castle which is what Kane's Castle is based on. It's a huge incredible building on top of a hill, and there are in fact still zebras and baboons and stuff still running around on the property. They also have a condor rehabilitation center there, now, I think. So sometimes you'll see birds with a ten foot wingspan circling around. A lot of movies have been filmed there, so you might recognize some of the rooms and the swimming pool.
This movie is unfair to Hearst's mistress, Marion Davies. She was very intelligent and very talented in her own right. Not as an opera singer, but as a silent film comedian. In a 1928 movie called The Patsy she does some truly hilarious and uncanny impressions of mega movie stars of the time. She was so good at these sorts of silent celebrity impressions that she would do them at her and Hearst's parties to amuse the guests - who sometimes were those celebrities!
She made 30 silent films and 16 talkies. I've only seen her in a couple of movies, but I was very impressed with her and her wry sense of humor. She was not at all what this movie led me to expect.
I agree, she had talent and I'm glad they made a point about addressing that in the film "Mank". Although I believe Davies was unfairly slighted in the [real-life] press at the time, so in that respect the film was accurate.
Hearst Castle is a stunning tour.
Welles was very apologetic to Davies about it and even wrote the introduction to her autobiography. That part of the movie was loosely based on a different man, Samuel Insell, but you can't be 85% a satire of one and 15% of another and expect people at the time to get it. It just looked like they were savaging Hearst's mistress.
Ashleigh... you continue to impress me!!! You are the BEST! First, your amazing understanding of 2001... now this!!! Well done, my friend!!!!
This is still one of the best movies of all time. The cinematography was ground breaking in it's time. "Deep focus" everything in the background and foreground were in focus. Camera angles and the storytelling.
Rose Bud was the one thing he kept that reminded hem of a better time when he felt true love from his mother and things where much simpler. He was trying bto buy love and things to fill his emptiness
Congratulations! You have won at Citizen Kane! You have earned your Film History degree!
Great movie choice and reaction! The movie is based on the life of the newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst. He felt himself not shown fairly and properly which sparked a bit of a private war between Hearst and Welles (f.e. Hearst pressuring cinemas not to show the movie and his newspapers not reporting about it). Hearst had a maitresse/girlfriend the actresse Marion Davies. Herman Mankiewicz, who wrote "Citizen Kane" and who knew Hearst well, said that "Rosebud" was actually Hearst´s name for Davies´s lady parts. Impossible that something like that would pass censorship, so he came up with the excellent idea of the sledge. Wells said about the name: "Everything concerning Rosebud belongs to him" (meaning Mankiewicz). In the end "Rosebud" might just be a McGuffin to bind the spectators to the story. McGuffin is an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself.
I had heard that "rosebud" actually referred to a different part that Hearst enjoyed.
Orson Welles wrote; directed and starred in the movie. He based Kane on William Randolph Hearst, who was a huge media mogul at the time. He called the sled “Rosebud” because there was a rumor that that was Hearst’s nickname for his mistress’s uh… special lady parts.
Also, most people don't catch this, but on the night that Kane crosses paths with Susan. he was originally on his way to sort through one of his warehouses, because it contained things collected from his childhood home. He was probably hoping that the sled would be there, and I don't know, probably take it home and put it somewhere prominent as a momento of happier times.
But at that point he wasn't even sure if his mother had kept it, he had to go look, and on the way there, he gets splashed by a horse drawn coach on a wet street and he meets Susan, and after he goes back to her place, he forgets all about the sled.
Soon after that, his whole life starts to fall apart, he gets blackmailed, his political ambitions are trashed, and his wife leaves him. At this point he tries to prove that he can build a whole new life, even bigger than before. He sinks all of his resources into proving that the "singer" he was caught with actually had talent, but unfortunately Susan really didn't have any. He keeps building, he keeps promoting her, but all it's doing is making her miserable. Finally, Susan leaves, and he has nothing, he stats trashing the place, throwing things around, wondering how the hell all of this happened. Then he picks up the snow globe and it all comes back to him. "Rosebud, I was on my way to look for the fucking sled."
Great point I was going to make it if noone else did
He didn't forget about the sled, he sees the snowglobe in Susan's apartment that same night, which reminds him of his mother, as does Susan's simple, unsophisticated, upbeat personality.
@@dishwaterhands By "forgetting about the sled", what I mean is that he never goes to his warehouse to see if it is in fact, there. We see it years later being incinerated with the rest of the trash. The implication is that he never found it.
"It's his sled. It was his sled from when he was a kid. There, I just saved you two long, boobless hours." --- Peter Griffin
One of my favorite Orson Welles roles is as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow, from the first year of the radio series where “The Shadow” was an actual character, and not an anthology story host. Agnes Moorehead (Mary Kane in this movie, but known to classic TV fans as Endora from “Bewitched”) played his sidekick/love interest, Margot Lane.
The story goes that Welles was doing so much other work at the time that he couldn’t rehearse with the rest of the cast, so he would just show up at the studio and read the script *cold* , without reading it ahead of time. Supposedly, he once asked the other players during a commercial break, “Hey, this is a great story! How does it end?”
You can find one of his Shadow radio plays here: ua-cam.com/video/PSnuTGYzf7Y/v-deo.html
There was a pretty awful "The Shadow" movie some years back staring Alec Baldwin. Always hoped someone would try again.
We're proud a' ya kiddo.
Made me a little teary-eyed to see how far you've come.
If you watched the first 6 or 7 seasons of the Simpsons, you see a LOT of "Citizen Kane" references. The writing team of the early seasons were HUGE fans of this movie and you see references everywhere :) Especially in the Episode where Mr. Burns wants his teddybear Bobo back. Even the backstory of how Mr. Burns became who he was is a fully fledged Citizen Kane parody. *edit* And Ashleigh.... you ABSOLUTELY GOT IT!!! :) You got the whole point of Rosebud and hit the nail.
That's always the biggest parody of this movie. They've done many references (many), but the episode with Bobo is literally the opening scene. I hadn't seen 'Citizen Kane' when that episode was out, but I've re-watched the first ~10 seasons so much that you begin to notice the references more and more and it's so damn clever.
Wasn't there a Simpsons bit where Mr. Burns tries to wreck his room but he was too weak to do it? lol
@@brandonthesteele I think that was the season 2 episode "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" where he ran for Govenor :) Lots of Citizen Kane references in that episode too. This is when he lost and tries to wreck the house of the Simpsons and commands Homer do destroy something.
Awesome username! I always laugh with Mr. Burn just hopping in the car and saying let’s roll. Also he left behind his brother, George Burns lol.
@@jgarofalo8813 Yeah hahaha xD And as a kid i never understood that reference with his brother since i never knew George Burns but then again i'm also not american so i never saw anything with George, except a few years some clips from his appearances in talkshows. And the dude was hilarious.
The actress playing Kane's mother was Agnes Morehead - who achieved immortality with her performance of Endora in the 60s tv show 'Bewitched'.
You got it spot-on, Big Brain Ashleigh. And one of my favorite movie quotes, that I applied to my own working life (when I was encouraged to work more to make more money) is "There's no trick to making a lot of money. If all you care about is making money."
Yeah, because there are things more important than making money.
But you can't live without it.
@@gaynor1721 Of course not, but there's a difference between working so you can live and living to work. I almost fell into that trap, but by balancing out being a good employee with living within my means, I didn't have to be a slave to Mammon or to my employer.
Rosebud was his single memory of happiness that never became toxic or corrupted.
I knew _you_ would get it. Moments like this are why I encouraged you to start this.
Looking forward to the Rear Window review. Also want to recommend the movie Dead Again...especially if you like a good mystery
Starring Ken Brannagh, another young actor/writer/director wunderkind
The fourth wall breaks are likely because most early films were based on stage productions.
Couple bits of trivia.
*At 17:10 the actor actually flubbed his line but was able he was able to save it with the "I am drunk" line.
*The actress who played Kane's second wife was unfortunately blacklisted during the red scare.
Another movie with this kind of mystery plot is Immortal Beloved from 1994.
It tells the life story of Beethoven (played by Gary Oldman) through the lens of his assistant trying to find out who his possessions should go to after his death, and instead of a will, all they have is a letter addressed to his "immortal beloved." So his assistant has to go around and find everyone he ever loved (a bunch of ladies, including Isabella Rossellini 😍) and interview them about various periods of his life.
It's a movie that has made me cry 100% of the times I've watched it, plus of course it has an amazing soundtrack.
That is such an amazing movie, and I definitely cry every time I watch it too! I hope Ashleigh will watch it, since we know she enjoys Gary Oldman!
Young Charles shouts "The Union Forever" just before his family gets torn apart and he gets sent away. Heartbreaking.
The final warehouse scene in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' was a homage to the Kane's warehouse filled with boxes at the end of 'Citizen Kane'. Even the music was the same.
i loooove when Ashleighs light bulb lights up
You done good Ashleigh. Look how enthusiastic you are about a movie that tells a story without computer generated special effects. A whole new world is opening up to you.
It's awesome that you're giving her props, but she's been watching old movies for years now. She totally gets it. That's why we love her. 🙂
Legit, good pick up! You go through this guy’s whole life going, “Ok, guess we’re still moving along.” But when you get to the end and you realize what’s going on the whole movie is super sad. Go back and watch it knowing how much he only longed for happiness and it’s a who different movie.
I look forward to Mondays and Fridays because of you, Ashleigh. You’re such a joy to watch.
You should check out Mank, story of Herman j Mankiewicz who co wrote the screen play for Citizen Kane with Orson Wells about his struggles to finish the screen play in time. Great movie, Mank is from 2020 but was done in black and white staring Gary Oldman
What a perfect response to this movie! I’m so glad you were invested enough to think through and put together what you think it means.
There’s this great Simpson episode where they visit famous props from movies and they marvel at ‘The cane from Citizen Kane!’
Yep, you nailed it. I think his life flashed before his eyes and it was that moment, that snowy day with his sled, that he fixed upon. There is an old saying that when someone loses the bright light in the center of their life, they will try and fill that darkness with a thousand tiny candles. He spent his life accumulating wealth, power, beautiful works of art, and even people, and it was all to try to fill the void that had been left inside him when he was taken from his family.
Orson Wells was a child prodigy. Early in his schooling he showed a great understanding of theatrics, drama and art.
In fact, he was a major force on Broadway and Theater. His directing and acting talent transferred over to radio and eventually theater.
It's amazing no one else has attempted a reaction to this classic, still in the top ten of many a veteran critic's rankings. Trust our Ashley to do it justice. Your take on the 'Rosebud' ending is very sound, though I would add the freedom of a lost childhood in general. 'Hearst Castle', or San Simeon, is still a popular tourist attraction to this day, set on a hillside above San Luis Obispo, Calif. Given the power of that media baron, it is a remarkable achievement that it was made at all, let alone 1941. The screenplay, the sets, the camera angles, the lighting and above all Welles's sheer virtuosity as director and main character speak for themselves.
Hearst Castle is one of the most fascinating places. They offer four different tours because you can’t see the whole thing in a day. Built high on a steep mountain a couple hours north of Los Angeles, he had a railroad built just to bring in building materials from all over the world. The attention to detail is mind blowing. It was the private playground of the rich and famous in Hollywood at the time. The pictures they have of old stars casually hanging out at the pool, the tennis courts, and the gardens are fun to see.
There have been at least 10 reactions to this film.
It's also about how power corrupts. Kane went from idealistic crusader for the people to leader telling the people what is best for them.
The greatest motion picture of all time!
Nominated for 9 Oscars including Best Picture but won for Best Original Screenplay.
I do put Casablanca above this, but yeah, such a fantastic film.
@@t0dd000oth are great but the American Film Institute greatest lists Cane as #1 but Casablanca comes in #3
the rumor - just a rumor - was that "rosebud" was wm. randolph hearst's pet name for marion davies's you-know-what. something mankiewicz might have knowledge of, being at one point a part of hearst's inner circle. making hearst even more furious that mankiewicz and welles managed to sneak into the film, especially as a symbol for kane's lifelong unhappiness.
Big brain Ashleigh in the house! Also, if you've watched "Bewitched" before, Mary Kane was played by Agnes Moorehead, who played Endora in "Bewitched", in case she looked familiar.
This was the first movie with ceilings because it was the first movie to put the camera low facing up to show the character as powerful. It was the first movie with reflections in mirrors or windows, and it was the first movie that kept far ground and near in the same frame both in focus. It had a lot more firsts.
It wasn't the first movie with ceilings.
@@ThreadBomb Ok, one of the first. Most movies didn't show ceilings because that's where the lighting and boom mics for sound were. Welles used a cloth to hide the Mics and the lighting was set up differently.
It's so good to watch someone who knows nothing about this film.
Back in 1987 I visited the US for the first time and stayed with a friend's family. One day they decided to slip a VHS in and it was 'Citizen Kane'. At the end of the movie I suddenly gasped 'It was the sled!' They all looked at me like I was mad, 'You didn't know?'. I am so glad I went in knowing nothing to. I think too many people are told repeatedly, 'best movie of all time' etc, so when they do see it, knowing half the great shots and plot twists, they say its 'overrated'. As someone who saw it for the first time blind I can confidently say it's not!
@ 7:52 "Kings Throne" (boss sits in bigger chair - for example, a scene from Its a Wonderful Life when Jimmy Stewart sits in a smaller chair confronting Lionel Barrymore) @25:08 I wonder if "The Lost Ark" is there.
By the way, you're correct about Rosebud!
Well done. Lots of people don’t get the Rosebud meaning.
Kane was based on publisher William Randolph Hearst. “Rosebud” was supposedly what Hearst called his mistress’s vijayjay. Hearst did everything in his power to prevent the release of the movie.
You made me strangely happy how you wrapped it all up
at the end so well. Much thanks.
Even after having watched it a few times oher the years the cinematography still wows me. It's influenced so many films over the decades that may be hard to imagine what it would have been like to watch it back when it was first released.
I’ve got a hunch it was similar to the feeling when Pulp Fiction (or Star Wars) came out. It was like a whole new world of filmmaking had been opened.
I was lucky enough to see it in the 90’s on the big screen and it was amazing!
Who else came here just to see her reaction to "Rosebud" at the end? LOL, and hear her say "Let's constipate on it" haha! Great reaction all thru as usual!