Review of Citizen Kane (1941) by Matt M — 18 Jan 2013

Not much hasn't been said about this film, that is generally regarded as the best film ever made. It's certainly one of the most influential in almost every aspect, and exhibits represents not only the perfection of cinema but also cinematic perfection in a more general term.

The screenplay, based on William Randolph Hearst, is quite poignant and entertaining as well as containing fearless attacks on systems and studies on the effect of power on people. Its biographical composition is epic and ambitious and has been copied by numerous other films that followed.

The photography is a revolutionary spectacle, making use of Gregg Toland's ground breaking deep focus technique, which added depth and played on shadows and lights in a way which hadn't been quite seen since the introduction of sound in movies.

Orson Welles as the titular anti-hero delivers a stunning, powerful and majestic performance, representing with his Kane the decadence and narcissism of power gluttony. To wrap things up, Citizen Kane is perhaps the finest representation of the bold magnificence of cinema and its direct sanctification as a form of art in its own right.