Friday, December 21, 2012

Citizen Kane - 1941


Chandler - 12/21/12

Citizen Kane is ranked #1 on AFI's best movies of all time list. It is not the best movie of all time.

I hated this movie. But it deserves to be on The List and everyone should probably watch it. Let's list a few reasons why "film snobs" rate this movie so high:

- CK introduced the world to "deep focus," which is when everything in a single shot is in focus, no matter the distance from the camera.
- It was one of the first films to use a lot of low angle shots, where you'd actually see a ceiling of a room.
- It's one of the first movies to use flashbacks and multiple narrators.
- Orson Welles uses the technique of fast-forwarding time through a montage. Totally blew people's minds in the 1940's.
- Countless special effects, make-up and soundtrack techniques were pioneered by CK.
- William Randolph Hearst, who the film is based on, was still alive during the release. This greatly pissed off Hearst and caused a lot of drama. This is actually pretty cool and there's some good documentaries I need to watch regarding the subject.

Alright, so the film is crazy important to every single movie you've ever seen since its creation. This is why you should see it. But the story is painfully slow. We're now desensitized to the groundbreaking aspects, and we don't have enough patience for a monotonous narrative. It's a shame, but Citizen Kane ironically gets a #1 rating on my scale.

Rating - 1

No comments: