Review of Citizen Kane (1941) by Vincent W — 17 Feb 2013

Heavy style and lots of innovation in various film-making techniques don't prevent this film from being very boring for the most part. At the time I dare say it was interesting to middle-aged adults but it really holds very little for me at this stage in my life.

I'm going to address some specifics from the Wikipedia article:

Cinematography- unless you are a film buff who knew what to look for, the unique way in which camera shots were done will be completely lost on you as they were for me. There really was no such thing as cinematography before color. I hate to have to say that but it is true. If this film had been done in color, it would have been amazing cinematography. You can praise the creators for their remarkable work but that doesn't mean that it is enjoyable to watch for any reason other than cinema history.

Special effects- some camera tricks. Not much interesting.

Makeup- transforming himself into Old Kane took Orson Wells several hours. The end result is impressive.

Soundtrack- really uninteresting to the casual watcher. There are some interesting comparisons to radio music that are probably justified but just because I find a way to bring a new style to movies doesn't make it a good movie. It makes it art but not necessarily a good movie.

Wikipedia also goes on and on about William Randolf Hearst's reaction to the film. Really, that only matters to people interested in cinema history.

SUMMARY: A boring movie but it has some interesting ideas that I might ponder for future use. I won't recommend this film but I won't say not to watch it either.