Ten Movies I’m Glad I Saw: Citizen Kane (#10)

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And now....what you’ve all been waiting for (both of you )! Here are the classic movies that I saw, long after their releases (obviously, given that most of these were released before I was born!), and loved the stuffing out of. Here’s the first classic, critically acclaimed movie on the list. #10: Citizen Kane This movie tops a lot of lists: best movie, and most overrated movie. Given that it’s the bottom of the top ten, I tend to concur that it might be a little overrated. But dang, what a movie. Compounding the greatness of the movie itself is the fact that this was Orson Welles’ first movie as a director. In the commentary on the DVD the late movie critic/historian Roger Ebert pointed out that “this film has more special effects than Star Wars,” noting the innovative camera angles that made things so powerful. (The audience in Kane’s political speech, for instance, is a painting.) Long speculated to be loosely based on William Randolph Hearst’s career, Charles Foster Kane (Welles) died with the word rosebud on his lips, and the tabloid media wants to know the significance of the word this media mogul said. They never do, but we do, of course, with the final shot in the film. Amid the backstory there are great performances by young actors such as Joseph Cotten (who’ll show up on this list again) and Agnes Moorehead (long before her iconic “Endora” role on Bewitched). I had to watch this in American Cinema class. I’m so happy I did. Citizen Kane Directed by Orson Welles Released in 1941 The campaign speech (with a painted audience):