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MauritiusToday.com - Shopping Mall - Citizen Kane (Special Edition)
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List Price: $9.98
Our Price: $3.53
Your Save: $ 6.45 ( 65% )
Availability: N/A
Manufacturer: RKO Radio Pictures
Starring: William Alland, Georgia Backus, Fortunio Bonanova, Sonny Bupp, Ray Collins
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9780780625495
Format: Black & White
ISBN: 0780625498
Label: RKO Radio Pictures
Manufacturer: RKO Radio Pictures
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: RKO Radio Pictures
Release Date: 2001-09-25
Running Time: 119
Studio: RKO Radio Pictures
Theatrical Release Date: 1941-05-01
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Editorial Reviews:
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Arguably the greatest of American films, Orson Welles's 1941 masterpiece, made when he was only 26, still unfurls like a dream and carries the viewer along the mysterious currents of time and memory to reach a mature (if ambiguous) conclusion: people are the sum of their contradictions, and can't be known easily. Welles plays newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane, taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. The result is that every well-meaning or tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event. Written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz, and photographed by Gregg Toland, the film is the sum of Welles's awesome ambitions as an artist in Hollywood. He pushes the limits of then-available technology to create a true magic show, a visual and aural feast that almost seems to be rising up from a viewer's subconsciousness. As Kane, Welles even ushers in the influence of Bertolt Brecht on film acting. This is truly a one-of-a-kind work, and in many ways is still the most modern of modern films from the 20th century. --Tom Keogh
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: 700 reviews and counting--what will it take?
Comment: On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles directed and narrated what would prove to be one of the entertainment world's best practical jokes ever--the radio broadcast of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds." Granted, no one was seriously harmed by this, but it was deemed by many to be heartlessly deceptive.
So, what would one do to top that one? Simple: make a movie. Seated safely in the theater, each viewer knows that it's just a movie, nothing more--a simple story. OK, maybe one or two twists are thrown in, but there's nothing in the plot that's too taxing on the old gray matter. And what's the simple story? Well, read the previous 700 or so reviews, and you'll have a very good idea. Right? Maybe not.
When reading reviews or critiques of this film, you might encounter impressive words or phrases like cinematography, psychology, interpretation, film noir, nuance, documentary, deep focus, visceral, innovative, and so forth. This film has either delighted, perplexed, amazed, or bored millions for decades. And yet, to this day, I haven't heard anyone actually--and accurately--"tell it like it is." Not one person. There are at least 700 reviews here on Amazon. For the love of grass, did NO ONE actually watch the movie? Or, more aptly posed, did no one actually LISTEN to the movie? I've read some references to the significance of the underscore music, the "fireplaces," and what-not. Yes, they are astute observations duly noted, but they, however, are all relegated to the "close-but-no-cigar" bin.
Pursuant to the above, I give WARNING! Here comes the Letterman-esque SPOILER, NOT A SPOILER section:
The Prerequisite: Watch the Scorsese film "After Hours." This is what some facetiously or ignorantly call a "black comedy" (comedie noir); it is actually a non-comedic, true "black film" (film noir). The insidiously sinister message that this film sends will well prepare you for "Citizen Kane." If you don't feel the collective and pure evil emanating from the screen in this movie, then don't bother moving on to "Citizen Kane"; save your money. If you "do" get the gist of "After Hours," yet still need another fix, then you may tackle "Citizen Kane."
Remember: Orson Welles both realized and utilized the power of the "radio" broadcast. The listener could "hear" the story. But not being provided any visuals, the listener was forced to conjure the necessary images. Through this process, Welles wielded a huge amount of control over the audience. He had the medium (the radio), the voice (the spell), and the words (the image inducers): he was good to go! Over "Citizen Kane," you can talk about cinematography, lighting, angles, and all that "visual stuff" all day long, but you will go hoarse barking up the wrong tree.
The Clue: You must LISTEN to the movie; don't simply watch it. If you focus predominately (or even entirely) on the underscore music (as some reviewers have) and do NOT absorb the "source sounds," you will miss the crux! And how do I know that? Read all 700 reviews! Or, listen to all that gobbledy-gook that spews from the mouths of movie "experts" or AFI members.
Tucked neatly into "Citizen Kane," there is a clue that is a "dead" giveaway (pun intended). This clue (or "cue," if you will) is so profound that it gives the film away. If you catch that clue--that is, "hear" it--you will realize that you are watching a truly sadistic horror movie that will haunt you for a long time. And the beauty of it is, you never see the crime! THIS--not all the nonsense you've been reading--is the true genius that Orson Welles displays here. And after this film, he never repeated that demonstration of genius. In fact, my guess is that he never even tried. Really. In life, you only have to strike gold once. Don't think he didn't know that.
With this DVD, what you have before you is "the" greatest joke anyone has ever played on the American public (with, perhaps, the possible exception of the displaying of the image of Andrew Jackson on a Federal Reserve Note!). From his grave, Orson Welles has been having the longest "last laugh" on heavenly record. And to make matters even more ironic (in the Socratic sense), ridiculous, and "in-your-face," this film was remade and subsequently released in 1999. Sure, the format was different, the director was different, the Oscar-winning actor playing the lead role was different, and just about everything else was different. But the crime was the same. The horror was the same.
The Challenge: Find it! Figure it out! Be the very first reviewer here on Amazon, or possibly on the entire planet, to tell it straight--to get it right! To just come right out and say, "This movie is about a man who, plainly and simply--." I will not be the spoiler. I will leave that honor to you. I anxiously wait to hear from the one who finds it, the one who puts an end to the longest and greatest joke ever played on the movie-goer. Ready? Set! Go!
Joseph L. D'Agostino, author of "Modern Music Systems: a new perspective on music scales, clefs, and chords"
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Battle for Citizen Kane
Comment: This review is for the Turner Home Ent version of Citizen Kane (Two-Disc Special Edition). The reason I emphasize that fact, is the reason I recommend it. As everyone knows, Citizen Kane appears every year near the top of the list of the greatest films ever made. In my opinion, if that were objectively true, then you could show it to anyone and they would agree, but they don't. I have shown the film to many friends over the years and most seem puzzled by its status as the greatest. Why?
In art, there are works that stand alone. There is no question why they were created. Alongside these are works that are incomplete although the art dealers and art critics would never admit it. These works have a hidden secret interpretation. The best example is minimalism. To the uninitiated, a solid-colored canvas seems like someone forgot to paint a picture into it, but once the concept of color fields as art is revealed, you may realize that the works connect to that idea. So then and now, the art question hinges on whether or not an art work that needs THE BIG EXPLAINATION in order to connect to the audience is a great or even good work of art.
On the second disk is a fascinating documentary film called, `The Battle for Citizen Kane.' It is THE BIG EXPLAINATION and I have found that not only do people tend to agree that Citizen Kane deserves is status as The Greatest after they view it, but often they want to see Citizen Kane again to see what they missed. Since the documentary is somewhat required viewing for "the greatest movie ever made," I have a hard time giving Citizen Kane my vote for the greatest, but I recommend anyone to watch the documentary first unless they were there in 1941.
Customer Rating:
Summary: 4 stars out of 4
Comment: The Bottom Line:
Despite all the hype and all the hoopla (which often turns me off to films), I sat on my couch after the movie ended and was struck by the force of the film, knowing that without question I had seen a cinematic treasure; the film is just as innovative, interesting, and brilliant as everyone says it is.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best movie ever..( spoiler )
Comment: I watched this movie for the first time in english class. I had to write a paper of 8 pages about it. I was amazed by all the elements and interested in what "Rosebud" was. I will admit that I still cry at the end of this movie because like Kane, some of us has lost a something so precious when we are kids that even when the money we have now, we cannot replace it. The music score doesn't help to hold the tears. Just magnificent how a man that was thought to have everything had nothing.
Customer Rating:
Summary: GREAT SATISFACTION!
Comment: I sent a review last week. What happened to it? I'll try again.
I was very pleased to receive "Citizen Kane" BEFORE THE PREDICTED SHIPPING DATE. I ordered from Amazon because I didn't think it would be available here. But I saw it last week in a store for almost twice what I paid for it. Will certainly order from the seller next time. Shirley
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