Citizen Kane

The best film ever made. There’s really not much more to add to what already has been said about this great film, other than to add some personal views of mine of the film.

I first saw this on TV as a little boy on Saturday afternoon. Funny, that time period had a great impact on me. That must have been a particularly impressionable time for me. Even though we only had two TV channels (CBC and CTV), that time slot on Saturday afternoons that showcased films from the 1930s to the 1970s was a goldmine. CBC was particularly good at showing old black and white films. I was mesmerized. It is because of those films that I developed a deep affection for the simplicity and starkness of black and white films. Citizen Kane was one of those films.

There have been few films that have come close to matching the achievements of Citizen Kane. Even when somebody tries to make a film in black and white today, I always end up saying: “good try”. Orson Welles was decades ahead of his time. The camera angles, the incredible lighting, the fades, the close-ups, the acting, the music, the editing, cinematography, the seamless telling of a life’s tale – all superior to anything that has been released since then. I watch this film at least once every year to remind myself what film making is all about. I have seen this film countless times and I still sit there and shake my head at its brilliance.