Review of The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) by Ryan M — 20 Sep 2009

Damn the studio for chopping 40 minutes out of "The Magnificent Ambersons", the upbeat ending seems a bit silly, and the final third of the film suffers. But everything else about it is marvellous: Wonderful fluid camerawork, lovely set and costume design, it's probably more ambitious than Citizen Kane: A story about the rise & fall of a rich family in changing America that was going through industrialisation, with a subplot on missed opportunities in love, all the while exploring the upper class of society.

There were rumours that a print of the original 131 minute cut was sent to Orson Welles while he was in Brazil after wrapping up shooting. It has never been found. Hopefully the rumours are true, because this could have been magnificent, it will just have to settle for very good.