I think the thing that stunned me the most about Citizen Kane aside from the almost contemporary camera work and story-telling was the make-up work. The ageing of Welles in the film was utterly convincing; to the point that on first viewing I didn't realize that the elderly Kane was played by the twenty-five year old Orson Welles.
Maëlys McArdle Not just the aging, but the reverse-aging too. The youngest Wells-as-Kane scene we see, “I’ll have to close the newspaper in sixty years”, he was actually made to look younger than he regularly looked.
It's also a great film to cite the next time someone sees a film with a nonlinear structure and tries to say it's a Tarantino rip-off. I love the guy's films, but he really didn't invent any of the things he's known for, which doesn't stop lazy critics from saying otherwise every other week.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks I think this is just Recency Bias - it’s easier for lazier critics to draw comparisons to more contemporary material like Tarantino’s but he would be the first to admit he is riffing on everything that has come before him, like all good directors they are influenced and then use this to create.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks Citizen Kane isn't nonlinear the way Pulp Fiction was, it has flashback sequences that are introduced with a framing device. Pulp Fiction just tells the story out of order, and doesn't make any excuses, it just does it. It was the FIRST film to do so, and later examples of films doing this are Memnto and Arrival (and I think that's it).
As a film lover, you eventually learn to love this film and understand why it's such a masterpiece. It's so ahead of its time that the fact that it stands up to films made today speaks to its Timeless quality
I saw your comment and I agree. It's an amazing film. Have you also seen "The Magnificent Ambersons"? Also Welles, atmospheric, disturbing, brilliant. Check it out.
@@tdsims1963 I have. Only seen it once. It sucks that the studio basically ruined the film and the version we have isn't the original cut. Half of that film is a masterpiece, the rest is so rushed
I recently discovered your channel and have to say I love it. I find many reviewers either too pompous or too fan boyish. You really hit the right note in WHY a film works or doesn’t. And I LOVE your reviews of older films. My love of them stems from watching them with my dad (oh I hope you look at the old Universal monster flicks too!). Even though Hollywood imposed a code on film makers, it seems that this is when the cream rose to the top. Today’s freedom seems to evoke fear of taking chances. So as a result I’m more cautious of forking out $15 (cost of a ticket in my area) for a film. But your reviews give me an idea of what to check out. Keep up the awesome work.
Dot2Trot's Low Carb Living continue watching, the dark knight is the first film that really changed my perspective on what film can be but Chris solidified it. It’s truly beautiful and meaningful. True filmmakers continue to bring stories to us that strike home.
Spoilers! (Kinda) Rosebud is the name of his wooden sled. The movie was practically saying that for all the money, land, women, power he accumulated, the one thing he never could get was a childhood, which was lost when his parents sold him away.
Phil Swift I just finished watching it and too me the ending signified the end of the Corleone family's reign, while the first movie was the beginning of a new era. I don't think it was as good as the first but I don't think it was redundant.
Autism is Unstoppable the way I view it the whole trilogy is really about Michael and from the end of Godfather to the end of part 2 he didn’t really change much other than killing his brother which just didn’t seem like enough to me, I felt like he was already corrupted. Don’t get me wrong I still love watching part 2 just because I still love the characters and most of the directing but that and the Young Vito story line (which was also enjoyable but just kind of out of place) just bring it down a couple notches compared to the first. I feel like Part 3 had far more potential as a script than part 2 did but obviously that was pretty much a total shit show.
@@nagi159 yeah thats the tough thing about text. but yeah i think it was a subtle dig at Chris for only really praising the cinematography, referring to what he liked about the film lo,l.
I saw it when I was 17 or 18, in film class. I thought it was good. Every time I saw it after that it just got better and better. It’s greatness is undeniable.
It’s interesting, though more than a little heartbreaking, when a new artist comes out with their first finished project and later it’s recognized as their Magnum Opus. Some people just have a vision and store its spirit up inside of them for years until it’s unleashed in the world. And then, sometimes, that’s it. As an editor, I’ve seen some people with amazing ideas and incredible stories, then measured them up. Would they be the type to go back to that inner well and replenish their inspiration? Or would they flicker, wildly try to regain their spark, and fade away? So far, I’ve not been able to tell which from which when I meet them and first hear their enthusiasm.
Watch it again and you will give it an 8/10 , Then watch it again and you will give it 9/10 , Then watch it again and you guessed it , It will be a 10/10 , Its that sort of Movie , It reels you in , You will notice things that you didnt see the Previous viewing , Give it a Try.
When I taught Film History (until recently retired), and showing usually twice a year, with my different classes, I promised myself that if it EVER bored me I won't show it again. Never happened.
Chris, I really enjoy your take on everything and especially great movies. But I have a question. At 6:10 you say that he died alone, but doesn't his butler say at the end of the film that he was with him in the end hearing those words? In my mind it isn't a plot hole at all, the butler heard that, he said it himself. Otherwise, I agree with what is being said. It is one of the best because of its tragic but true nature.
@@vinblack85 well I thought it was amazing and it was the best film of 2020. I think Fincher will get best director and should as well. I also thought the acting was incredible and I found the story interesting. I also loved how the style was the exact same as citizen Kane. But each to their own I suppose
I don't think Citizen Kane is the greatest or anywhere close to the greatest film ever made, but I definitely see it as one of the most visually influential. If you try watching a bunch of other movies from 1941, they don't hold up nearly as well, and Citizen Kane's cinematography and shot compositions are surprisingly modern looking. Visually, nothing looked like this movie before and everything started looking like it after.
People say Citizen Kane is the greatest movie of the 1940s, but I say it's nothing compared to Casablanca. Still like Kane though, and its filmmaking is off the walls!
@@jacobmartin7481 Agree. Casablanca is more beautifully shot and way better acted. Also, it has a properly developed arc. I do like CK, but Casablanca I can rewatch again and again.
On the alleged plot hole, the fact is that there's no wide establishing shot of the room in which Kane dies, so it's impossible to assert that he was alone, coupled with the fact that his butler specifically says he was the one who heard Kane say 'Rosebud' as he died, so frankly I don't think it's a real issue. A similar-themed Welles picture was Mr. Arkadin, which has a nice Criterion release and is definitely worth a look.
Kinda left me blueballed here Chris. Basically >It's widely heralded as the greatest, but it actually on the surface seems not gripping >It's well-made technically >What made it special was the raw artistry and perfectionism of Welles >The more I thought about it and came back to it, it grew on me. Usually with you reviews you talk about special moments, performances, incorporation of technical elements, what the film communicates. You could say, "Hey, everybody already talks about all that analysis with Citizen Kane", but you're like UA-cam's golden boy, by far the most-subscribed film reviewer; the UA-cam layman wondering about Citizen Kane will come to THIS video, and it kind of leaves them in the dark.
'kay, I knew Jeremy and Chris were always neck-and-neck, didn't know Jeremy was ahead; I wouldn't categorize Screen Junkies as a film review channel: they've got their Honest Trailers and then they do some commentary and whatnot, but my point stands
I recently rewatched this at Cinema City in Norwich. This is one of my all time favourites, and the thing is what I will say is I think it is more emotional than it gets credit for, and in some respects even has comedic elements you don't see coming. I love it and I do think it's more accessible than people think.
I was wondering when Chris was going to talk about this timeless masterpiece Edit: this is beside the point but Orson Welles was 26 when he made this. Talk about being talented
And Newton invented calculus and laws of motion and optics and proved that any person with just pen and paper sitting anywhere on earth can prove that it goes around the sun in ellipse...before turning 26!
Chris talked about how Wells had that contract where he had complete creative control on Citizen Kane. A shame then, that all his follow-up films broke that contract and he feuded with the studios over creative control (and all the movies, the studios won), leading to studio meddled films such as The Magnificent Ambersons, The Lady from Shanghai, and Touch of Evil, some of which still stand strong (Touch of Evil especially, which did get a director's cut), while others really hurt due to the meddling (Ambersons).
I watched this film for my scriptwriting class and it was so good! The struggle that Orson Welles went through with Hollywood and then finally being able to make this film was very inspiring.
Citizen kane is a masterpiece. Great lighting, great camera angles and Orsen wells best work both on and off camera. It's a journey about the rise and fall of the mighty business tycoon. Stunning visual story telling and must watch for everyone, whose interested in filmmaking. Yes, it is the greatest movie ever made. A+ C S.
I went into this movie assuming it would be highly overrated and boring. I was very VERY wrong. Not only is this truly a masterpiece for its time, but it also holds up very well today despite its age. It is more relevant than ever in its theme of power, corruption, media, and childhood trauma. And to think Orson Welles was in his 20s when he made this.. WILD
Ooo! Fun fact! There is no plot hole! At the end of the movie the butler says he was in the room. He tells the story of when he heard him say rosebud, then he says “I heard him say it that one other time. Then he dropped the snow globe, and didn’t say anything else. And I knew he was dead.” This is such a commonly missed line that everyone thinks there is a plot hole. In the book Citizen Kane by Harlan Lebo, he writes that when people came to Welles with this plot hole, he would let them feel like they discovered something, telling them they were the first person to every notice. 😄
Well, there are a surprising number of people who don’t think the movie is any good, so it was technically possible that Chris wouldn’t have liked it. Unsurprisingly, that’s not the case.
I’m glad you address the fact there is so much hype around it it can be difficult to live up to, and that you need to almost step back to really understand the impact
When I first saw this I wasn’t blown away by this but after I saw it again and once I understood more about film I came to see this as a masterpiece. This is how I felt about The Beatles and Black Sabbath. Once I actually sat down listened to whole albums like Rubber Soul or Master of Reality I recognized the impact and influence each note of each song. Perfection.
I am just actually seeing Godfather for the first time on Netflix, and it's taken me a few days to watch because of how long it is, but I am shocked on how good it is. Although I heard the sequels don't hold up, I am enjoying the first so far.
@@chubbners3436 If it takes you a few days to watch the godfather, then it'll probably take you a few weeks to finish the godfather part 2 which, in my opinion, is the best in the trilogy.
@@Wolfe-zl4ld Is the movie longer than the first? Because the runtime for the first is 3 hours, and I can't imagine the second being longer than the first
Yeah I agree wholeheartedly with the Wolfe's statement, but do yourself a favor and omit Part III completely. That movie was an abortion, should've never happened.
Very well said Chris. The thing about "Citizen Kane" that is so often missed in the over hyped confusion people feel is that people come to it now in a vacuum. The modern viewer often comes to this movie lacking a context for the era in which it was made. Virtually every aspect of this film was so well designed, executed and entirely original in its conception in such a way as to change the way movies have been made since. That's a rare achievement.
Trips Citizen Kane did much more for the medium of cinema than Dead Poet’s, Cuckoo’s Nest and Ben-Hur I think is the point. Fellini came damn close at times though
Citizen Kane was one of the first movies I remember seeing that made me really think about the beauty of filmmaking and I credit it with making me fall in love with film as an art form, not just entertainment.
I’ll be watching this for the first time. It’s for university. I probably need to watch it two or three times. Once to just watch it, second time to analyse it, and another to think about it.
Last year for a Shakespeare class I had to write a proposal for a Shakespeare adaptation, and I wrote about a modern day Macbeth adaptation about a Kanye-like figure's rise to fame and downfall, and it would be for Kanye what Citizen Kane was for William Randolph Hearst. Ever since then I always think of Kanye's life when I think of Citizen Kane lol.
Sometimes with old films, some of the technological marvels of the time just don't hit the same way now as they did then (i.e. Beauty and the Beast 1946 to a SMALL degree). But this film is still gorgeous! It's amazing! I was in a film class when I first watched it and was sitting with a few high school students that were getting college credit. And they groaned the whole time about how slow it was and how bad they thought it was. I was to slap them upside the head so badly.
Everyone talks about the visual aspect of Citizen Kane. Its style. But that story, the story of Kane’s regrets, is the story that defines almost anyone who grew up in Western culture. Do you end up lamenting Rosebud or not? All of us can ask that question and the answer will very much define a lot of us. It’s not to be overlooked when discussing the greatness of Citizen Kane.
I watched it for the first time earlier this year. It really is great. On my top 10 list, in fact, right between There Will Be Blood and The Third Man.
2:53 "Easily my favorite film of the 1940's" That's a bold statement since there are so many other great films in that decade. Casablanca It's a Wonderful Life Pinocchio Fantasia The Third Man The Great Dictator The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Double Indemnity Rope and many others I'm forgetting about
Probably because like most lame ass filmgoers they've not seen any besides Casablanca & Citizen Kane which they've only seen because those two pop up on Greatest Film lists all the time so they think if they watch them 2 then suddenly they can regard themselves as serious cinephiles. Looking at this guy's BluRay collection, I get the vibe he's one of them. And you missed out three of my favourites The Red Shoes, Late Spring, Lost Weekend & my favourite Hitchcock film Shadow Of A Doubt. 👍
@@alexandresobreiramartins9461 That's even worse. In pure entertainment terms, there are a lot of better films out in the 40's than Citizen Kane. Bet he hasn't seen many anyway.
Here are some more films from the 1940s: Les Enfrants du Paradis Late Spring Utamaro's Five Women Mildred Pierce Rebecca The Magnificent Ambersons Red River My Darling Clementine Notorious The Best Years of Our Lives The Philadelphia Story The Grapes of Wrath The Red Shoes Bicycle Thieves The Mark of Zorro The Sea Hawk Day of Wrath How Green Was My Valley The Maltese Falcon The Woman in the Window The Sea Wolf Genroku Chushingura Sabateur There was a Father Yankee Doodle Dandy Shadow of a Doubt The More the Merrier Gaslight Laura To Have and Have Not Brief Encounter A Tree Grows in Brooklyn I know Where I'm Going! They Were Expendable A Matter of Life and Death Great Expectations The Big Sleep No Regrets for Our Youth Black Narcissus Monsieur Verdoux The Lady from Shanghai The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp I Remember Mama Whisky Galore!
To appreciate Citizen Kane, I recommend watching 5 or 6 films from the 20s and 30s (each) beforehand. Getting yourself settled into the context in which that film was made makes a big difference in people's ability to appreciate it
I agree with that philosophy. It’s helpful to get into the mindset of a person who is watching this during the 1940s or 1950s, in order to understand how well-made the film is. Comparing this film with the stuff we have today will make the film look awful in comparison.
My mother is a playwright and screenwriter, so I think I saw Citizen Kane the day we came home from the hospital. I'm joking, but I was really small when I first saw it, and I cried for Kane and his loneliness. As I got older, I began to understand the character study, the acting of Joseph Cotten, Mank's brilliantly organized script, and, above all, Greg Tolland's cinematography. He drilled through four feet of concrete to get the right shot. These men made something beautiful that showed us insight into people. Then when I found out its origin story - that Welles had met Hearst and Marion at a party, decided to make a film to figure out this loon, and in this process gave us a new way to make films. I usually enjoy watching Touch of Evil more, but I can't turn off Kane because it's perfect and reminds me why I'm getting my MFA in film. So glad to see you talking about this film.
I was lucky enough to first watch the movie without knowing ahead of time what "Rosebud" means. It really made me tear up when I found out. Nowadays I guess the mystery has been revealed to pop culture fans even if they haven't watched the film, but this movie is really one of the greats and one of those that lives up to it's hype.
Citizen Kane doesn't begin with a "major plot hole". The butler clearly states at the end of the film that he heard Kane say "Rosebud" right before he dropped the snow globe and died, so he was obviously present.
He is shown dying alone. I still agree that it isn't a plothole considering the fact that the bulter clearly states near the end that "Rosebud" was pretty much the only word he said for a while, so many could conclude that it was his last
I love that you are honest about the possibility of a movie growing on you with time and repeated viewings! It seems like there is so much emphasis on initial reactions with UA-cam reviewers, so thank you for taking the long view on this one. I need to revisit this movie. I fell asleep both times I tried to watch it!
The plothole you mentioned is not a plothole. One of Kane's employees (the butler I think) was interviewed toward the end of the movie and mentioned he was in the room when Kane died. It just didn't show him at the very beginning. But he was there and heard Kane say Rosebud.
3:54 That's kinda where I stand when it comes to this movie, I thought it was alright but nowhere near the greatest movie ever made, I was expecting a lot more than I actually got, it doesn't even really feel like a movie to me, it feels more like just a simple character study, and the fact that it focuses more on showing us Charles Foster Kane's backstory kinda makes the supposed main story fade into the background, so for basically the entire runtime I was like "Is this movie even about anything?" I guess you can argue yes it's about finding out what he meant by his final word "Rosebud" but again, the movie focuses so much on his backstory that that plot just fades into the background, so even though I thought it was fine there's just something about it that has never enticed me to watch it again
I see what you're saying. I think a lot of people have such unrealistic expectations about this movie after hearing it's one of the best ever made, and are disappointed when they're not 'taken to another planet' as you put it. It took me a while to appreciate how ahead of it's time Citizen Kane was in the context of how films were being made at the time (I'm about the same age as Chris so I wasn't around to watch them.)
Just watched Citizen Kane today, it surely lived up to the hype!! In my opinion it's not perfect as a lot of people say, but it's definitely one of my top 5 films of all time
@@mariacabello1238 But watch it on the largest screen you can! That "warehouse" scene at the end really needs a big screen to get the full effect of both the point of the movie and the technical achievement of filming that scene. You don't want to ruin it by watching it on a tablet or phone!!
While Citizen Kane is a film about adults, was not made for or intended for children and therefore is very far above most children's heads, I can see how the childish minded whose cinema experience and appreciation goes no further than comic book films would find CK and hundreds of other cinematographic works of art boring. Hint: The problem is not with these films. I don't understand how anyone cannot easily "get" a story about a rich man who desperately tries to buy love and happiness and utterly fails to get them because while he gives all of his money for them, he never gives, or realizes that he must give any part of himself. It's the ancient story of Mammon and the limitations of acquisition. What's not to get?
Oh boy, here we go. Here come the comments that clash over if Citizen Kane is overrated or a masterpiece. This oughta be interesting. **Grabs a bowl of popcorn with excitement
@@kevinmedcalf4926 I think it's a good film myself and it's a visual achievement like Blade Runner. Like most other reviewers say, it's a film that was way ahead of it's time in 1941. It felt like a film that could've been made today. I will say, in my opinion, that it is not one of my favorite films. So really, it's a two-sided opinion, but I still think it's a damn good film.
It's my favorite film of all time, and when I saw it for the first time I was a kid in '96-- I had *no idea* that it's widely considered the best film ever. Yet I understand if people believe that it's not one of the best. I believe that it generally requires a certain kind of viewer whose parents were either not present or emotionally absent to love it.
I first watched this movie in film class. Literally half the room left by the 3rd act and people were falling asleep. I sat there and watched this masterpiece with my jaw on the floor... by far one of if not the best movie ever made.
The vital key to appreciating CK is to imagine you were first seeing it in 1941, with only films that had been made up to that point to compare it to. The film's great genius is how *innovative* it was. At the time, audiences had never seen anything like this kind of story telling. If you compare it to the thousands of movies that have imitated it in one way or another for 80 years, naturally you won't appreciate it properly.
I remember back when I first moved to my dorm room and basically all I had was my bed, my PSP, my laptop, and a few movies, one of them being Citizen Kane. I decided to slide it into my laptop’s disc drive one night and give it a go, since I had never seen it before and I literally had nothing better to do. As this was just a few months shy of a decade ago and my memory is notoriously bad, I don’t remember the film very well, but what I do remember is being absolutely astounded by it and honestly being moved to tears. Now I need to find my copy of it and watch it again to remind myself of why I loved it so much.
My experience was kinda the same. I stopped by my Half Price Books after jogging at a park. Ended up picking up Spaceballs, Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Citizen Kane's 70th Anniversary all on Blu-ray. Popped it inside my PS4 Slim and I was blown away. I'm happy I've seen it and now I'm curious to pop the Battle over Citizen Kane documentary after last night.
Touch of Evil, The Trial and The Third Man are all really, really good Orson Welles performances. Basically the movies he’s in that start with the letter T.
You have a really great conversational style that's great to listen to. Most reviewers are trying to do an Entertainment Tonight thing, which is flat-out annoying. Thanks, looking forward to more of your stuff.
I'm kinda glad I was in college the first time I saw this film. I enjoy it for sure and understand why it's considered a classic, but when it comes to the rise and fall of a charismatic business man, I perfer Wolf of Wall Street.
Great review. After watching it for the first time a few months ago I thought how on earth am I going to review a movie review as ICONIC as Citizen Kane. So thanks for doing this.
I hear two things frequently said about Citizen Kane: "It's the best film ever made." and "I have no idea what it's about." The first one of course depends on individual opinions, but the second one...I feel like people build it up in their minds as some kind of weird, obscure movie. It's not a super complex or obscure plot, it details the life of this man and his story strikes me as Ebenezer Scrooge if he hadn't had the intervention in A Christmas Carol. It's sad and tragic. But it's not overly preachy either, in my opinion. It does shed new light on this movie to learn that Orson Welles was hesitant to make a movie for Hollywood, given he was enthusiastic about stage theater. I can't help but think, now, that he went into that movie on a technical level wanting to do what couldn't be done on the stage, which is great!
"The News on The March sequence, Kane's backstory, it was leaps and bounds ahead of its time. Cinematography, music, use of cross dissolves." That's all I really got from Chris in regards to how he felt about the movie. Almost the entire video he's talking about the influence and impactfulness of Citizen Kane, but I never really felt that with this review. He never really breaks down why Citizen Kane is impactful or influential, as all his critiques could be applied to any other critically acclaimed film. All I want to know is why Chris liked it. But in this review, it seems less like Chris enjoying the movie and more like Chris forcing himself to like it. PLEASE convince me otherwise, I would love a differing opinion on this.
@@abhishek-xh2ld It's understandable how emotionally influencing a movie can be when it's been reviewed analysed to death. But if we just don't care to review a movie properly because someone else did before us, then what's the point of reviewing a movie in the first place? There is a reason we watch Chris's reviews, and that's to get Chris's opinion, not a lecture on the impact of the movies he is reviewing. What HE thinks of the movie. It's why I enjoy his hilariocities a lot more than I enjoy his reviews of critically acclaimed films, because you see and hear reviews that are strictly Stuckmann's. He's not worried about what other people think most of the time, and he gets into a LOT of detail regarding how the story plays out, the performance of the character, etc.
I kind of agree. I don't think Chris wanted that kind of review. He is capable of a shot by shot analysis and even provides an example of the director's amazing use of depth of field in that pull back from the child making a snowman. But I see Chris's point. I have written reviews for 40 years but when it came to Avengers: Endgame what was there left to say, so I took apart something else: the notion of fan service.
@@Tymbus I would love for you to elaborate more on what you mean when Avengers: Endgame does not have a lot to say. I mean, a person such as you, who has been reviewing movies for 40 years can definitely provide some valuable insight. But overall, I can understand your point.
I mean, I am very far from being a film buff, but your video described my experience with "Citizen Kane" to a T!! I watched it about 7 years ago, didn't really get it and felt underwhelmed, since I'd read it was the greatest movie of all time. But then I started thinking about it, how the camera would move so softly, how the black and white would clearly show you what was going on, even with the odd structure at times. I can now say that yes "Citizen Kane" is the greatest movie of all time to show the audience the elements of the movie that we usually don't think about. "Citizen Kane" showed me that a movie is more than moving pictures and I love it for that. Now I gotta go watch it again.
"He died alone while saying 'rosebud', yet there was still knowledge of him saying it." Perhaps it was an not intentional, but could be a brilliant touch. I mean, that scene represents him dying alone. What greed and selfishness imposed. No friends, family, etc. Rosebud was all he had in the end. His innocence. No witnesses is not a major plot hole.
I rented this once just to see what all the fuss was about. Once the credits rolled, I immediately rewound it to watch again. (Oops, just showed my age)
To me, it was the realization at the end that through his whole life, he was looking for something to replace his childhood. The one thing he took solace in. His childhood home, his mother, and the sled they had to pry from his hands when taking it all away. A life free of the crushing responsibilities of his adulthood. A life where he truly felt loved, something he tried to recreate the rest of his life. Certain things can really only be understood by someone with some experience as an adult. Looking back on your childhood, longing for the carefree days of your youth. Discovering that many of the things you thought would make you happy as a child leave you empty. That maybe adulthood and responsibilities aren't quite what you thought they were as a child.
I remember being forced to watch this movie in high school, and I def fell asleep. I woke up at the end of class realizing that I had to write a paper on it and just remember wanting to die.
I had to watch this film about 3 or 4 times to gain a true appreciation for the craft of Orson Wells. This truly is a masterpiece..I remember most when he raged when his second wife left him and he smashed everything to pieces..everything except the little globe depicting a snow covered scene from his childhood, innocence totally lost. All he had left were his memories.
There's no 'The'. And yes it's a wonderful movie but best of all-time? Not sure about that. Not even sure it's Ozu's best, many prefer Late Spring which is also an amazing film.
@@nicholasntaganda3768 You should do. Amazing films. He has such a signature style & his storytelling is beautiful. His films always leave you with the notion that you should appreciate & respect your nearest & dearest whilst you still got them.
6:11 I don't even like the movie but as it's so popular and this is such a popular 'fact' about it, I just want to clear up for anyone who hasn't actually seen it, this is not a plot hole. They explicitly say someone was there to hear his last word. Anyone who says this is a plot hole either hasn't seen the movie at all or spaced out at the wrong moment, which a lot of people seem to have done.
This movie is *literally* the Citizen Kane of movies!
Eh, it's really more the Dark Souls of movies, tbh.
Fuck dark souls. It ain't no citizen kane
I read that in a snake voice
That comment is the Citizen Kane of Citizen Kane comparisons.
Was looking for this comment
I think the thing that stunned me the most about Citizen Kane aside from the almost contemporary camera work and story-telling was the make-up work. The ageing of Welles in the film was utterly convincing; to the point that on first viewing I didn't realize that the elderly Kane was played by the twenty-five year old Orson Welles.
Maëlys McArdle Not just the aging, but the reverse-aging too. The youngest Wells-as-Kane scene we see, “I’ll have to close the newspaper in sixty years”, he was actually made to look younger than he regularly looked.
It's also a great film to cite the next time someone sees a film with a nonlinear structure and tries to say it's a Tarantino rip-off. I love the guy's films, but he really didn't invent any of the things he's known for, which doesn't stop lazy critics from saying otherwise every other week.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks I think this is just Recency Bias - it’s easier for lazier critics to draw comparisons to more contemporary material like Tarantino’s but he would be the first to admit he is riffing on everything that has come before him, like all good directors they are influenced and then use this to create.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks Citizen Kane isn't nonlinear the way Pulp Fiction was, it has flashback sequences that are introduced with a framing device. Pulp Fiction just tells the story out of order, and doesn't make any excuses, it just does it. It was the FIRST film to do so, and later examples of films doing this are Memnto and Arrival (and I think that's it).
Camera work here is so flawless. Make-up is so convincing too.
I heard this is the "The Room" of good movies
Just like how The Room was the Citizen Kane of bad ones
Semaj Jarrett no
No The Room is the Citizen Kane of bad movies
It's a great movie but you need to "get" it. It's about the spirit of a great man
@@mythgravenn its a joke
As a film lover, you eventually learn to love this film and understand why it's such a masterpiece. It's so ahead of its time that the fact that it stands up to films made today speaks to its Timeless quality
I saw your comment and I agree. It's an amazing film. Have you also seen "The Magnificent Ambersons"? Also Welles, atmospheric, disturbing, brilliant. Check it out.
It’s ahead of its time because everything is overrated now just like this movie
@@tdsims1963 I have. Only seen it once. It sucks that the studio basically ruined the film and the version we have isn't the original cut. Half of that film is a masterpiece, the rest is so rushed
@@santi_super_stunts2573 yeah except it's not
i respect it, however, it's dog shit outside of it's technical improvements to cinema.
Orson Welles was 25 during the production of Citizen Kane.
I'm 25 now. How do I do this?
David Payne Start a talk show and see what follows
give it the 2 hours that it is get movie equipment and software and hope for the best....
don't mind if you get it next year
24 actually
CaptainBroDude Nah it was 25
Near the end of the film, the Butler mentions that he heard Kane say his last word
I recently discovered your channel and have to say I love it. I find many reviewers either too pompous or too fan boyish. You really hit the right note in WHY a film works or doesn’t. And I LOVE your reviews of older films. My love of them stems from watching them with my dad (oh I hope you look at the old Universal monster flicks too!). Even though Hollywood imposed a code on film makers, it seems that this is when the cream rose to the top. Today’s freedom seems to evoke fear of taking chances. So as a result I’m more cautious of forking out $15 (cost of a ticket in my area) for a film. But your reviews give me an idea of what to check out. Keep up the awesome work.
You're saying Chris is not a fanboy? Oh man :D
Dot2Trot's Low Carb Living continue watching, the dark knight is the first film that really changed my perspective on what film can be but Chris solidified it. It’s truly beautiful and meaningful. True filmmakers continue to bring stories to us that strike home.
nah, he is fine, but sometimes completely off
He grew up watching movies
I grew up fanboying.
Spoilers! (Kinda)
Rosebud is the name of his wooden sled.
The movie was practically saying that for all the money, land, women, power he accumulated, the one thing he never could get was a childhood, which was lost when his parents sold him away.
Thanks was looking for this
Oh come on brah, it only came out in 1941 I haven’t had a chance to see it yet! 🤣
This is the Citizen Kane of Stuckmann videos
Citizen Kane: Synonymous of The Best of filmmaking
Empire strikes back: Synonymous of Best and darkest second part.
Symptoms of Stuckmannism
@@1997residente Someone hasn't seen The Dark Knight...
@@maximumoccupancy I have seen It. It's good but i don't believe it's better than citizen Kane (It's rated 9.0 on imdb,CK is rated 8.0)
@@1997residente What do your personal feelings have to do with overall consensus ratings?
I have a dream that someday you'll review The Godfather trilogy.
He should. If not all three, the first two especially.
Jacob Martin the second movie is redundant change change my (and Francis Ford Coppola’s)mind.
Phil Swift I just finished watching it and too me the ending signified the end of the Corleone family's reign, while the first movie was the beginning of a new era. I don't think it was as good as the first but I don't think it was redundant.
Autism is Unstoppable the way I view it the whole trilogy is really about Michael and from the end of Godfather to the end of part 2 he didn’t really change much other than killing his brother which just didn’t seem like enough to me, I felt like he was already corrupted. Don’t get me wrong I still love watching part 2 just because I still love the characters and most of the directing but that and the Young Vito story line (which was also enjoyable but just kind of out of place) just bring it down a couple notches compared to the first. I feel like Part 3 had far more potential as a script than part 2 did but obviously that was pretty much a total shit show.
A+ - A+ - C+
I wonder why it's popular, now I know...
It's the cinematography!
I think that's a bit of an oversimplification.. I think there's tons more to like about it, but the cinematography is absolutely stunning ^^
@@nagi159 i think Dylan was making a joke
@@tobyty123 Were they? I couldn't tell ;/
@@nagi159 yeah thats the tough thing about text. but yeah i think it was a subtle dig at Chris for only really praising the cinematography, referring to what he liked about the film lo,l.
A lot of people forget to credit it for having a nonlinear narrative, which was ahead of it's time
I saw it when I was 17 or 18, in film class. I thought it was good. Every time I saw it after that it just got better and better. It’s greatness is undeniable.
It gets better with each watch.
Review Lawrence of Arabia!!!
This
Well that will be an A+ as well
(Palpatine Voice) Do it.
Yes plz
YES! Pleeeeease
"You're not writing an opera!"
"But I am writing an opera..."
~ Mank (2020), dir. David Fincher
This is the citizen Kane of citizen Kane reviews
This is the Citizen Kane of youtube comments!
@@mindseyemelodies This is the Citizen Kane of UA-cam replies.
Citizen Kane is the Citizen Kane, of Citizen Kane!
"I had the confidence of ignorance" --Orson Wells
"I don't know how to run a newspaper. I try everything I can think of" --Orson Welles playing Kane
It’s crazy that this’s Orson Wells’ first film. I mean, that man came swinging right out from the gate.
It’s interesting, though more than a little heartbreaking, when a new artist comes out with their first finished project and later it’s recognized as their Magnum Opus. Some people just have a vision and store its spirit up inside of them for years until it’s unleashed in the world. And then, sometimes, that’s it.
As an editor, I’ve seen some people with amazing ideas and incredible stories, then measured them up. Would they be the type to go back to that inner well and replenish their inspiration? Or would they flicker, wildly try to regain their spark, and fade away? So far, I’ve not been able to tell which from which when I meet them and first hear their enthusiasm.
He did do a ton of theater and radio before that. He started at age 15 so had about ten years experience.
@@SunflowerSpotlight Mind if I hear YOUR story? Beautiful speech.
It wasn't his first movie.
I liked it. It was good, but it wasn't exactly Ciztizen Kane...7/10
Watch it again and you will give it an 8/10 , Then watch it again and you will give it 9/10 , Then watch it again and you guessed it , It will be a 10/10 , Its that sort of Movie , It reels you in , You will notice things that you didnt see the Previous viewing , Give it a Try.
@@petergeorgelin6320 you did not get the joke 😂
Better than modern movie
@@petergeorgelin6320 how did you not get the joke?😂
Your taste was awful
I respect you for wearing that t-shirt in a Citizen Kane review.
When I taught Film History (until recently retired), and showing usually twice a year, with my different classes, I promised myself that if it EVER bored me I won't show it again. Never happened.
*tries to act shocked by Chris' score*
To be fair I'd be both shocked and dissapointed with anything less than an A+
* pikachu shocked face *
@deadvoguestar good for you.
Chris, I really enjoy your take on everything and especially great movies.
But I have a question. At 6:10 you say that he died alone, but doesn't his butler say at the end of the film that he was with him in the end hearing those words? In my mind it isn't a plot hole at all, the butler heard that, he said it himself.
Otherwise, I agree with what is being said. It is one of the best because of its tragic but true nature.
Here in anticipation for David Fincher’s Mank.
Mank was great
A truly boring movie
@@vinblack85 have you seen citizen Kane
@@CD-603 yes I have and it's great. But Mank was boring and while maybe good just too inside and meh
@@vinblack85 well I thought it was amazing and it was the best film of 2020. I think Fincher will get best director and should as well. I also thought the acting was incredible and I found the story interesting. I also loved how the style was the exact same as citizen Kane. But each to their own I suppose
"Ignorance, the world knows no authority like it."- Orson Welles
Ignorance is bliss
I don't think Citizen Kane is the greatest or anywhere close to the greatest film ever made, but I definitely see it as one of the most visually influential. If you try watching a bunch of other movies from 1941, they don't hold up nearly as well, and Citizen Kane's cinematography and shot compositions are surprisingly modern looking. Visually, nothing looked like this movie before and everything started looking like it after.
Jonathan Sefcik what do you think the greatest movie of all time is?
Except Welles wasn't the cinematographer, Gregg Toland was.
People say Citizen Kane is the greatest movie of the 1940s, but I say it's nothing compared to Casablanca. Still like Kane though, and its filmmaking is off the walls!
@@jacobmartin7481 Agree. Casablanca is more beautifully shot and way better acted. Also, it has a properly developed arc. I do like CK, but Casablanca I can rewatch again and again.
@@MariaVosa not everything needs an arc..
On the alleged plot hole, the fact is that there's no wide establishing shot of the room in which Kane dies, so it's impossible to assert that he was alone, coupled with the fact that his butler specifically says he was the one who heard Kane say 'Rosebud' as he died, so frankly I don't think it's a real issue.
A similar-themed Welles picture was Mr. Arkadin, which has a nice Criterion release and is definitely worth a look.
Kinda left me blueballed here Chris. Basically
>It's widely heralded as the greatest, but it actually on the surface seems not gripping
>It's well-made technically
>What made it special was the raw artistry and perfectionism of Welles
>The more I thought about it and came back to it, it grew on me.
Usually with you reviews you talk about special moments, performances, incorporation of technical elements, what the film communicates. You could say, "Hey, everybody already talks about all that analysis with Citizen Kane", but you're like UA-cam's golden boy, by far the most-subscribed film reviewer; the UA-cam layman wondering about Citizen Kane will come to THIS video, and it kind of leaves them in the dark.
Screen Junkies and Jeremy Jahns are bigger
'kay, I knew Jeremy and Chris were always neck-and-neck, didn't know Jeremy was ahead; I wouldn't categorize Screen Junkies as a film review channel: they've got their Honest Trailers and then they do some commentary and whatnot, but my point stands
@@benjamin_burke Wholeheartedly agree. Regurgitating the same points as everyone else does not add any value to the conversation.
I agree. I haven't watched this yet. But has Chris given me a reason to?
He doesn't seem too enthusiastic about this film but still gave it an A+.
I recently rewatched this at Cinema City in Norwich. This is one of my all time favourites, and the thing is what I will say is I think it is more emotional than it gets credit for, and in some respects even has comedic elements you don't see coming. I love it and I do think it's more accessible than people think.
I was wondering when Chris was going to talk about this timeless masterpiece
Edit: this is beside the point but Orson Welles was 26 when he made this. Talk about being talented
I remember you bring 26
And Newton invented calculus and laws of motion and optics and proved that any person with just pen and paper sitting anywhere on earth can prove that it goes around the sun in ellipse...before turning 26!
It doesn't end there, he revolutionized theater and radio as well. An innovator of multiple mediums.
Chris talked about how Wells had that contract where he had complete creative control on Citizen Kane. A shame then, that all his follow-up films broke that contract and he feuded with the studios over creative control (and all the movies, the studios won), leading to studio meddled films such as The Magnificent Ambersons, The Lady from Shanghai, and Touch of Evil, some of which still stand strong (Touch of Evil especially, which did get a director's cut), while others really hurt due to the meddling (Ambersons).
jigar talaviya it just shows you can’t put an age limit on greatness
The end of the movie the butler said that he was there when Kane died, he was simply not shown in the opening scene.
Wait a second. There was no cane in Citizen Kane.
MrGeekFreek I was looking for this comment.
There is a sledge though
Isn’t there a cane in the party scene?
I watched this film for my scriptwriting class and it was so good! The struggle that Orson Welles went through with Hollywood and then finally being able to make this film was very inspiring.
Citizen kane is a masterpiece. Great lighting, great camera angles and Orsen wells best work both on and off camera. It's a journey about the rise and fall of the mighty business tycoon. Stunning visual story telling and must watch for everyone, whose interested in filmmaking. Yes, it is the greatest movie ever made.
A+ C S.
I went into this movie assuming it would be highly overrated and boring. I was very VERY wrong. Not only is this truly a masterpiece for its time, but it also holds up very well today despite its age. It is more relevant than ever in its theme of power, corruption, media, and childhood trauma. And to think Orson Welles was in his 20s when he made this.. WILD
Do "Rear Window" next Chris, please.
And vertigo!
Ooo! Fun fact! There is no plot hole! At the end of the movie the butler says he was in the room. He tells the story of when he heard him say rosebud, then he says “I heard him say it that one other time. Then he dropped the snow globe, and didn’t say anything else. And I knew he was dead.” This is such a commonly missed line that everyone thinks there is a plot hole. In the book Citizen Kane by Harlan Lebo, he writes that when people came to Welles with this plot hole, he would let them feel like they discovered something, telling them they were the first person to every notice. 😄
Gee, I wonder what Chris could possibly think about this one.
I'm gonna give Citizen Kane... an F!
Worf ... to pay respect for Orson Wells’ memory ✊😩🙌
Hmm... I wonder if it's good...
Worf (GASP)
HOW DARE YOU!?!
Well, there are a surprising number of people who don’t think the movie is any good, so it was technically possible that Chris wouldn’t have liked it.
Unsurprisingly, that’s not the case.
I’m glad you address the fact there is so much hype around it it can be difficult to live up to, and that you need to almost step back to really understand the impact
When I first saw this I wasn’t blown away by this but after I saw it again and once I understood more about film I came to see this as a masterpiece. This is how I felt about The Beatles and Black Sabbath. Once I actually sat down listened to whole albums like Rubber Soul or Master of Reality I recognized the impact and influence each note of each song. Perfection.
5:43 For what I saw, the idea behind the plothole is that when mr, Kane said rosebud, someone heard him saying that.
We did
Review godfather like so he can see
I am just actually seeing Godfather for the first time on Netflix, and it's taken me a few days to watch because of how long it is, but I am shocked on how good it is. Although I heard the sequels don't hold up, I am enjoying the first so far.
@@chubbners3436 If it takes you a few days to watch the godfather, then it'll probably take you a few weeks to finish the godfather part 2 which, in my opinion, is the best in the trilogy.
@@Wolfe-zl4ld Is the movie longer than the first? Because the runtime for the first is 3 hours, and I can't imagine the second being longer than the first
@@chubbners3436 Yes, I believe the run time is 3 hrs 22m. But the film is so damn good you'll probably wouldn't feel the length. But that's just me.
Yeah I agree wholeheartedly with the Wolfe's statement, but do yourself a favor and omit Part III completely. That movie was an abortion, should've never happened.
We’re Animany,
totally insaney,
Citizen Kaney!
Ani-mani-ACS! Those are the facts!
loved that as a kid
Citizen Kane is the dark souls of movies
Care to explain why?
Lmfaoo so true
@@SoundwormBite because it makes you go through many different emotions when experiencing it
Citizen Kane is more like the Super Mario Bros of movies
Lmao
Citizen Kane is the Citizen Kane of Citizen Kane.
He finally reviewed it...
..... and tomorrow he deletes his channel making this his last review ever.
Very well said Chris. The thing about "Citizen Kane" that is so often missed in the over hyped confusion people feel is that people come to it now in a vacuum. The modern viewer often comes to this movie lacking a context for the era in which it was made. Virtually every aspect of this film was so well designed, executed and entirely original in its conception in such a way as to change the way movies have been made since. That's a rare achievement.
Orson Welles was 25 when he made the greatest film of all time!
Varun its good but it’s so overated not even close to the greatest of all time
Jj Anyanwu nevermind, it took me a couple days to process it than I realized how amazing it was
24 I believe
Trips Citizen Kane did much more for the medium of cinema than Dead Poet’s, Cuckoo’s Nest and Ben-Hur I think is the point. Fellini came damn close at times though
The Godfather is the best movie of all time. Just saying
Citizen Kane was one of the first movies I remember seeing that made me really think about the beauty of filmmaking and I credit it with making me fall in love with film as an art form, not just entertainment.
I’ll be watching this for the first time. It’s for university. I probably need to watch it two or three times. Once to just watch it, second time to analyse it, and another to think about it.
Last year for a Shakespeare class I had to write a proposal for a Shakespeare adaptation, and I wrote about a modern day Macbeth adaptation about a Kanye-like figure's rise to fame and downfall, and it would be for Kanye what Citizen Kane was for William Randolph Hearst. Ever since then I always think of Kanye's life when I think of Citizen Kane lol.
Here is another B&W films that I always love that I saw WITH my father...... He always loved Orson Wells as much as I loved during my teen years!
This film is incredible. The Roger Ebert commentary on the special edition is BRILLIANT. It is like a crash course in film history and production.
Sometimes with old films, some of the technological marvels of the time just don't hit the same way now as they did then (i.e. Beauty and the Beast 1946 to a SMALL degree). But this film is still gorgeous! It's amazing!
I was in a film class when I first watched it and was sitting with a few high school students that were getting college credit. And they groaned the whole time about how slow it was and how bad they thought it was. I was to slap them upside the head so badly.
thank you Chris for using this platform to show off some excellent films that not all UA-cam users would have on their radar, i.e younger film lovers!
I am going to admit that I have never loved this film like other people do, I like it a lot. Personally, I prefer A Touch of Evil over this film.
Everyone talks about the visual aspect of Citizen Kane. Its style. But that story, the story of Kane’s regrets, is the story that defines almost anyone who grew up in Western culture. Do you end up lamenting Rosebud or not? All of us can ask that question and the answer will very much define a lot of us. It’s not to be overlooked when discussing the greatness of Citizen Kane.
Chris grew up with Citizen Kane
I will feed you to your cat and feed your cat back to you. Stop it
If you want to be technical about it he grew up with rosebud....
VesaliusNine noice!
Pause this film at any moment, and it looks like perfection. That’s when you know a film has outstanding cinematography.
Depends on what you mean by perfection.
I watched it for the first time earlier this year. It really is great. On my top 10 list, in fact, right between There Will Be Blood and The Third Man.
2:53 "Easily my favorite film of the 1940's"
That's a bold statement since there are so many other great films in that decade.
Casablanca
It's a Wonderful Life
Pinocchio
Fantasia
The Third Man
The Great Dictator
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Double Indemnity
Rope
and many others I'm forgetting about
Probably because like most lame ass filmgoers they've not seen any besides Casablanca & Citizen Kane which they've only seen because those two pop up on Greatest Film lists all the time so they think if they watch them 2 then suddenly they can regard themselves as serious cinephiles. Looking at this guy's BluRay collection, I get the vibe he's one of them. And you missed out three of my favourites The Red Shoes, Late Spring, Lost Weekend & my favourite Hitchcock film Shadow Of A Doubt. 👍
I'd still say Citizen Kane is a better film than most of the films you listed. Only really competing with a handful most notably Casablanca.
He didn't say it's the best film, he said it's his favorite. There's nothing bold about that claim.
@@alexandresobreiramartins9461 That's even worse. In pure entertainment terms, there are a lot of better films out in the 40's than Citizen Kane. Bet he hasn't seen many anyway.
Here are some more films from the 1940s:
Les Enfrants du Paradis
Late Spring
Utamaro's Five Women
Mildred Pierce
Rebecca
The Magnificent Ambersons
Red River
My Darling Clementine
Notorious
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Philadelphia Story
The Grapes of Wrath
The Red Shoes
Bicycle Thieves
The Mark of Zorro
The Sea Hawk
Day of Wrath
How Green Was My Valley
The Maltese Falcon
The Woman in the Window
The Sea Wolf
Genroku Chushingura
Sabateur
There was a Father
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Shadow of a Doubt
The More the Merrier
Gaslight
Laura
To Have and Have Not
Brief Encounter
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
I know Where I'm Going!
They Were Expendable
A Matter of Life and Death
Great Expectations
The Big Sleep
No Regrets for Our Youth
Black Narcissus
Monsieur Verdoux
The Lady from Shanghai
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
I Remember Mama
Whisky Galore!
To appreciate Citizen Kane, I recommend watching 5 or 6 films from the 20s and 30s (each) beforehand. Getting yourself settled into the context in which that film was made makes a big difference in people's ability to appreciate it
I agree with that philosophy. It’s helpful to get into the mindset of a person who is watching this during the 1940s or 1950s, in order to understand how well-made the film is. Comparing this film with the stuff we have today will make the film look awful in comparison.
That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard
No one ever talks about the makeup in this movie. It's such an underrated aspect.
Good time....if you're drunk
It's funny how I read your username in my mind exactly the way Jeremy says it.. 😂
Yeahhh that's a good sled
@Saif Sufian Otoum because chris grew up with citizen kane
@@anuragbhattacharya4682 Best user name
God damn you
My mother is a playwright and screenwriter, so I think I saw Citizen Kane the day we came home from the hospital. I'm joking, but I was really small when I first saw it, and I cried for Kane and his loneliness. As I got older, I began to understand the character study, the acting of Joseph Cotten, Mank's brilliantly organized script, and, above all, Greg Tolland's cinematography. He drilled through four feet of concrete to get the right shot. These men made something beautiful that showed us insight into people. Then when I found out its origin story - that Welles had met Hearst and Marion at a party, decided to make a film to figure out this loon, and in this process gave us a new way to make films. I usually enjoy watching Touch of Evil more, but I can't turn off Kane because it's perfect and reminds me why I'm getting my MFA in film. So glad to see you talking about this film.
Chris: "leaps and bounds ahead of it's time,"
Casablanca: "Am I a joke to you?"
Casablanca is OK but it was a run of the mill generic movie
I strongly disagree lol
Casablanca is great but ultimately it is just a romance. The story of Citizen Kane is the story of America.
One of the best screenplays ever written for sure, but nowhere near the technical achievement Kane was (and still is)
Casablanca is the shit
I was lucky enough to first watch the movie without knowing ahead of time what "Rosebud" means. It really made me tear up when I found out. Nowadays I guess the mystery has been revealed to pop culture fans even if they haven't watched the film, but this movie is really one of the greats and one of those that lives up to it's hype.
Citizen Kane doesn't begin with a "major plot hole". The butler clearly states at the end of the film that he heard Kane say "Rosebud" right before he dropped the snow globe and died, so he was obviously present.
He is shown dying alone. I still agree that it isn't a plothole considering the fact that the bulter clearly states near the end that "Rosebud" was pretty much the only word he said for a while, so many could conclude that it was his last
@arch_dornan6066 He is shown being filmed with a tight lense which doesn't show who is or isn't around him at the time of his death.
I love that you are honest about the possibility of a movie growing on you with time and repeated viewings! It seems like there is so much emphasis on initial reactions with UA-cam reviewers, so thank you for taking the long view on this one. I need to revisit this movie. I fell asleep both times I tried to watch it!
The plothole you mentioned is not a plothole. One of Kane's employees (the butler I think) was interviewed toward the end of the movie and mentioned he was in the room when Kane died. It just didn't show him at the very beginning. But he was there and heard Kane say Rosebud.
3:54
That's kinda where I stand when it comes to this movie, I thought it was alright but nowhere near the greatest movie ever made, I was expecting a lot more than I actually got, it doesn't even really feel like a movie to me, it feels more like just a simple character study, and the fact that it focuses more on showing us Charles Foster Kane's backstory kinda makes the supposed main story fade into the background, so for basically the entire runtime I was like "Is this movie even about anything?" I guess you can argue yes it's about finding out what he meant by his final word "Rosebud" but again, the movie focuses so much on his backstory that that plot just fades into the background, so even though I thought it was fine there's just something about it that has never enticed me to watch it again
Citizen Kane is the Lord of the Rings of 1940s films.
I see what you're saying. I think a lot of people have such unrealistic expectations about this movie after hearing it's one of the best ever made, and are disappointed when they're not 'taken to another planet' as you put it. It took me a while to appreciate how ahead of it's time Citizen Kane was in the context of how films were being made at the time (I'm about the same age as Chris so I wasn't around to watch them.)
Just watched Citizen Kane today, it surely lived up to the hype!! In my opinion it's not perfect as a lot of people say, but it's definitely one of my top 5 films of all time
How did you saw the film?, I can't find It.
You can buy the film online for a few bucks. UA-cam sells it for 4 bucks
@@mariacabello1238 But watch it on the largest screen you can! That "warehouse" scene at the end really needs a big screen to get the full effect of both the point of the movie and the technical achievement of filming that scene. You don't want to ruin it by watching it on a tablet or phone!!
While Citizen Kane is a film about adults, was not made for or intended for children and therefore is very far above most children's heads, I can see how the childish minded whose cinema experience and appreciation goes no further than comic book films would find CK and hundreds of other cinematographic works of art boring. Hint: The problem is not with these films.
I don't understand how anyone cannot easily "get" a story about a rich man who desperately tries to buy love and happiness and utterly fails to get them because while he gives all of his money for them, he never gives, or realizes that he must give any part of himself. It's the ancient story of Mammon and the limitations of acquisition. What's not to get?
"I grew up when Citizen Kane was made"
-Chris Stuckmann-
I'm glad to see you're still uploading. Thank you, Chris! Hope you're doing well.
Oh boy, here we go. Here come the comments that clash over if Citizen Kane is overrated or a masterpiece. This oughta be interesting.
**Grabs a bowl of popcorn with excitement
It can be both.
@@LoveShiaGDSN Yes it can. But throughout my history with Citizen Kane I've seen and heard debates about it almost every time it's talked about.
@@MisterFatherly What do you think about it.
@@kevinmedcalf4926 I think it's a good film myself and it's a visual achievement like Blade Runner. Like most other reviewers say, it's a film that was way ahead of it's time in 1941. It felt like a film that could've been made today. I will say, in my opinion, that it is not one of my favorite films. So really, it's a two-sided opinion, but I still think it's a damn good film.
It's my favorite film of all time, and when I saw it for the first time I was a kid in '96-- I had *no idea* that it's widely considered the best film ever.
Yet I understand if people believe that it's not one of the best. I believe that it generally requires a certain kind of viewer whose parents were either not present or emotionally absent to love it.
Please Chris. PLEASE do Lawrence of Arabia. Or ANY of the classic EPICS of the 50s and/or 60s!
I first watched this movie in film class. Literally half the room left by the 3rd act and people were falling asleep. I sat there and watched this masterpiece with my jaw on the floor... by far one of if not the best movie ever made.
Damn i expected just a little higher than a C.
Fuck you
Good one, lol 😆
I just don’t understand why he said that civil rights were a mistake
I know, right? I was shocked when he said "i hate dumb-dumb black n white films!!!!"
Chris is better than this..
this isn’t melons channel
The vital key to appreciating CK is to imagine you were first seeing it in 1941, with only films that had been made up to that point to compare it to. The film's great genius is how *innovative* it was. At the time, audiences had never seen anything like this kind of story telling. If you compare it to the thousands of movies that have imitated it in one way or another for 80 years, naturally you won't appreciate it properly.
@@circusbrains Absolutely!
I remember back when I first moved to my dorm room and basically all I had was my bed, my PSP, my laptop, and a few movies, one of them being Citizen Kane. I decided to slide it into my laptop’s disc drive one night and give it a go, since I had never seen it before and I literally had nothing better to do. As this was just a few months shy of a decade ago and my memory is notoriously bad, I don’t remember the film very well, but what I do remember is being absolutely astounded by it and honestly being moved to tears. Now I need to find my copy of it and watch it again to remind myself of why I loved it so much.
My experience was kinda the same. I stopped by my Half Price Books after jogging at a park. Ended up picking up Spaceballs, Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Citizen Kane's 70th Anniversary all on Blu-ray. Popped it inside my PS4 Slim and I was blown away. I'm happy I've seen it and now I'm curious to pop the Battle over Citizen Kane documentary after last night.
I wasn’t moved to tears, but I was blown away.
0:27 On the VHS case of Babe, a film critic called it "The Citizen Kane of talking pig pictures." :)
Orson Welles' best performance was in Transformers: The Movie
You are absolutely right! I even loved his drunken wine commercials more than this movie.
Lol
I think that’s his last movie and one he was telling friends he did it for the money
Touch of Evil, The Trial and The Third Man are all really, really good Orson Welles performances. Basically the movies he’s in that start with the letter T.
That statement is so sad on so many different levels.
You have a really great conversational style that's great to listen to. Most reviewers are trying to do an Entertainment Tonight thing, which is flat-out annoying. Thanks, looking forward to more of your stuff.
I'm kinda glad I was in college the first time I saw this film. I enjoy it for sure and understand why it's considered a classic, but when it comes to the rise and fall of a charismatic business man, I perfer Wolf of Wall Street.
Great review. After watching it for the first time a few months ago I thought how on earth am I going to review a movie review as ICONIC as Citizen Kane. So thanks for doing this.
Funny, I was just doing a project on film history which talks about this film’s effect on filmmaking
I hear two things frequently said about Citizen Kane: "It's the best film ever made." and "I have no idea what it's about."
The first one of course depends on individual opinions, but the second one...I feel like people build it up in their minds as some kind of weird, obscure movie. It's not a super complex or obscure plot, it details the life of this man and his story strikes me as Ebenezer Scrooge if he hadn't had the intervention in A Christmas Carol. It's sad and tragic. But it's not overly preachy either, in my opinion.
It does shed new light on this movie to learn that Orson Welles was hesitant to make a movie for Hollywood, given he was enthusiastic about stage theater. I can't help but think, now, that he went into that movie on a technical level wanting to do what couldn't be done on the stage, which is great!
"The News on The March sequence, Kane's backstory, it was leaps and bounds ahead of its time. Cinematography, music, use of cross dissolves."
That's all I really got from Chris in regards to how he felt about the movie. Almost the entire video he's talking about the influence and impactfulness of Citizen Kane, but I never really felt that with this review.
He never really breaks down why Citizen Kane is impactful or influential, as all his critiques could be applied to any other critically acclaimed film.
All I want to know is why Chris liked it. But in this review, it seems less like Chris enjoying the movie and more like Chris forcing himself to like it.
PLEASE convince me otherwise, I would love a differing opinion on this.
He already said that there is nothing new he can talk about this movie which had already not been said or analysed for decades.
@@abhishek-xh2ld It's understandable how emotionally influencing a movie can be when it's been reviewed analysed to death.
But if we just don't care to review a movie properly because someone else did before us, then what's the point of reviewing a movie in the first place?
There is a reason we watch Chris's reviews, and that's to get Chris's opinion, not a lecture on the impact of the movies he is reviewing. What HE thinks of the movie.
It's why I enjoy his hilariocities a lot more than I enjoy his reviews of critically acclaimed films, because you see and hear reviews that are strictly Stuckmann's. He's not worried about what other people think most of the time, and he gets into a LOT of detail regarding how the story plays out, the performance of the character, etc.
I kind of agree. I don't think Chris wanted that kind of review. He is capable of a shot by shot analysis and even provides an example of the director's amazing use of depth of field in that pull back from the child making a snowman. But I see Chris's point. I have written reviews for 40 years but when it came to Avengers: Endgame what was there left to say, so I took apart something else: the notion of fan service.
@@Tymbus I would love for you to elaborate more on what you mean when Avengers: Endgame does not have a lot to say. I mean, a person such as you, who has been reviewing movies for 40 years can definitely provide some valuable insight.
But overall, I can understand your point.
@@markparkinson6947 I saw you on JLongbone's channel. Hi.
I mean, I am very far from being a film buff, but your video described my experience with "Citizen Kane" to a T!! I watched it about 7 years ago, didn't really get it and felt underwhelmed, since I'd read it was the greatest movie of all time. But then I started thinking about it, how the camera would move so softly, how the black and white would clearly show you what was going on, even with the odd structure at times. I can now say that yes "Citizen Kane" is the greatest movie of all time to show the audience the elements of the movie that we usually don't think about. "Citizen Kane" showed me that a movie is more than moving pictures and I love it for that. Now I gotta go watch it again.
It's regarded as one of the best Movies of all time for a reason!
"He died alone while saying 'rosebud', yet there was still knowledge of him saying it." Perhaps it was an not intentional, but could be a brilliant touch. I mean, that scene represents him dying alone. What greed and selfishness imposed. No friends, family, etc. Rosebud was all he had in the end. His innocence. No witnesses is not a major plot hole.
I rented this once just to see what all the fuss was about. Once the credits rolled, I immediately rewound it to watch again.
(Oops, just showed my age)
To me, it was the realization at the end that through his whole life, he was looking for something to replace his childhood. The one thing he took solace in. His childhood home, his mother, and the sled they had to pry from his hands when taking it all away. A life free of the crushing responsibilities of his adulthood. A life where he truly felt loved, something he tried to recreate the rest of his life.
Certain things can really only be understood by someone with some experience as an adult. Looking back on your childhood, longing for the carefree days of your youth. Discovering that many of the things you thought would make you happy as a child leave you empty. That maybe adulthood and responsibilities aren't quite what you thought they were as a child.
I remember being forced to watch this movie in high school, and I def fell asleep. I woke up at the end of class realizing that I had to write a paper on it and just remember wanting to die.
I had to watch this film about 3 or 4 times to gain a true appreciation for the craft of Orson Wells. This truly is a masterpiece..I remember most when he raged when his second wife left him and he smashed everything to pieces..everything except the little globe depicting a snow covered scene from his childhood, innocence totally lost. All he had left were his memories.
“The Tokyo Story” by Yasujiro Ozu is the best film ever made.
V.J. Lopez Completely agree. I always go back and forth between that and Taxi Driver as my favourite film.
There's no 'The'. And yes it's a wonderful movie but best of all-time? Not sure about that. Not even sure it's Ozu's best, many prefer Late Spring which is also an amazing film.
Carl Rees I haven’t seen enough Ozu frankly, I’ve been meaning to watch more of his work but just haven’t gotten around to it.
@@nicholasntaganda3768 You should do. Amazing films. He has such a signature style & his storytelling is beautiful. His films always leave you with the notion that you should appreciate & respect your nearest & dearest whilst you still got them.
6:11 I don't even like the movie but as it's so popular and this is such a popular 'fact' about it, I just want to clear up for anyone who hasn't actually seen it, this is not a plot hole. They explicitly say someone was there to hear his last word. Anyone who says this is a plot hole either hasn't seen the movie at all or spaced out at the wrong moment, which a lot of people seem to have done.