Citizen Kane (Two-Disc Special Edition)
starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead, Ray Collins, Dorothy Comingore
directed by: Orson Welles
directed by: Orson Welles
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Product Description:
CITIZEN KANE is Orson Welles's greatest achievement--and a landmark of cinema history. The story charts the rise and fall of a newspaper publisher whose wealth and power ultimately isolates him in his castle-like refuge. The film's protagonist, Charles Foster Kane, was based on a composite of Howard Hughes and William Randolph Hearst--so much so that Hearst tried to have the film suppressed. Every aspect of the production marked an advance in film language: the deep focus and deeply shadowed cinematography (from Gregg Toland); the discontinuous narrative, relying heavily on flashbacks and newsreel footage (propelled by a script largely written by Herman L. Mankiewicz); the innovative use of sound and score (sound by Bailey Fesler and James G. Stewart, music composed and conducted by Bernard Herrmann); and the ensemble acting forged in the fires of Welles's Mercury Theatre (featuring the film debuts of, among others, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane, and Agnes Moorehead). Every moment of the film, every shot, has been choreographed to perfection. The film is essential viewing, quite possibly the greatest film ever made and, along with THE BIRTH OF A NATION, certainly the most influential.
Amazon.com essential video:
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
CITIZEN KANE is Orson Welles's greatest achievement--and a landmark of cinema history. The story charts the rise and fall of a newspaper publisher whose wealth and power ultimately isolates him in his castle-like refuge. The film's protagonist, Charles Foster Kane, was based on a composite of Howard Hughes and William Randolph Hearst--so much so that Hearst tried to have the film suppressed. Every aspect of the production marked an advance in film language: the deep focus and deeply shadowed cinematography (from Gregg Toland); the discontinuous narrative, relying heavily on flashbacks and newsreel footage (propelled by a script largely written by Herman L. Mankiewicz); the innovative use of sound and score (sound by Bailey Fesler and James G. Stewart, music composed and conducted by Bernard Herrmann); and the ensemble acting forged in the fires of Welles's Mercury Theatre (featuring the film debuts of, among others, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane, and Agnes Moorehead). Every moment of the film, every shot, has been choreographed to perfection. The film is essential viewing, quite possibly the greatest film ever made and, along with THE BIRTH OF A NATION, certainly the most influential.
Amazon.com essential video:
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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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Kane has never made my top 5.
There is a lot to like in Citizen Kane if you are a film student or historian.The plot isn't bad either and Orson Wells broke a few molds getting this film out.If you study film history, this is the one for you.If you are looking for some entrancing entertainment, there are better choices.I've seen the film 5 times and each time I ask myself, so, where's all this best film of all time stuff located.In the beginning?Middle?Ending?Rosebud?
Like all art, film can exist on ... Read More
Rating: 
- Influential
I saw this movie as a school assignment in college. It is one of the most memorable assignments in may career as a student. This movie is great. It is a classic!
Rating: - All Around Great
For all the baggage that Citizen Kane is bagged with, it's pretty remarkable that underneath, the hype (Citizen Kane tops the list of AFI's greatest films of all time, on both editions), the hate, and opposing view points about it, Citizen Kane is really a good movie.Make no mistake, in my opinion, Citizen Kane is not the best movie of all time, but that's not it's fault some people scrutnize it because of those biased film geeks at the American Film Institure (though it certainly has more of it's ... Read More
Rating: 
- never recieved my order
I never recieved my order. I emailed the seller three time with no responce. I have left a negative feedback and placed a claim. In the future I will take a close look at all sellers I deal with in Amazon.com
Rating: - The Best of the Best!
In 1941, after Orson Welles had already made a splash in theater and radio, he headed for Hollywood. The 26-year old whiz kid decided to take on another big name, newspaperman William Randolf Hearst. His first film, Citizen Kane, would be a satire on Hearst's life. Not only would Welles star in the film, but he would also direct and co-write it. Although the film was almost destroyed forever, it can still rightly be called the one of the greatest movies ever made!
The film opens by the ... Read More
- Kane has never made my top 5.There is a lot to like in Citizen Kane if you are a film student or historian.The plot isn't bad either and Orson Wells broke a few molds getting this film out.If you study film history, this is the one for you.If you are looking for some entrancing entertainment, there are better choices.I've seen the film 5 times and each time I ask myself, so, where's all this best film of all time stuff located.In the beginning?Middle?Ending?Rosebud?
Like all art, film can exist on ... Read More
- InfluentialI saw this movie as a school assignment in college. It is one of the most memorable assignments in may career as a student. This movie is great. It is a classic!
- All Around GreatFor all the baggage that Citizen Kane is bagged with, it's pretty remarkable that underneath, the hype (Citizen Kane tops the list of AFI's greatest films of all time, on both editions), the hate, and opposing view points about it, Citizen Kane is really a good movie.Make no mistake, in my opinion, Citizen Kane is not the best movie of all time, but that's not it's fault some people scrutnize it because of those biased film geeks at the American Film Institure (though it certainly has more of it's ... Read More
- never recieved my orderI never recieved my order. I emailed the seller three time with no responce. I have left a negative feedback and placed a claim. In the future I will take a close look at all sellers I deal with in Amazon.com
- The Best of the Best!In 1941, after Orson Welles had already made a splash in theater and radio, he headed for Hollywood. The 26-year old whiz kid decided to take on another big name, newspaperman William Randolf Hearst. His first film, Citizen Kane, would be a satire on Hearst's life. Not only would Welles star in the film, but he would also direct and co-write it. Although the film was almost destroyed forever, it can still rightly be called the one of the greatest movies ever made!
The film opens by the ... Read More
