It is orson welles first feature, and he produced, cowrote with herman j. Roger ebert wasone of the few film critics who was routinely asked to provide movie commentaries for dvds that was the breadth of his reach and understanding of film. Grandson of citizen kane cowriter continues a family. In what now seems an irony, since the film is considered by many the greatest ever made, the screenplay award was its. The best film of all time is vertigo just dethroned citizen kane.
The legends of citizen kane and orson welles were, in the next halfcentury, to become one of the central myths of hollywood. Mankiewicz, and three other writers john houseman, roger q. The contract that gave birth to citizen kane was an unthinkable gamble by rko, but the studio had good reason to bet on orson welles. It also stars melanie griffith as hearsts mistress marion davies, john malkovich. We remember that this was kanes childhood sled, taken from him as he was torn from his family and sent east to boarding school. Roger eberts wikipedia edits collected as a book indiewire. Citizen kane is often praised as the best movie of all time, i think its gone. World premier of citizen kane vintage featurettes interview with ruth warrick interview with robert wise storyboards call sheets still photography with commentary by roger ebert deleted scenes ad campaign press book opening night 102840 ktsa, san antonio broadcast of. In terms of what they offer, theyre quite excellent we get things like commentary, as well as the initial trailer and scenes from the screening, but the real gems are the the battle over citizen kane documentary and the rko 281 hbo movie, both of which chronicle the creation and release of the movie. Ten random observations about citizen kane white city cinema. But not until ben mankiewicz saw the film in college did he finally get what all the.
This is for people who have never listened to a film commentary before and would like to hear one. Roger ebert appears with oprah winfrey on her talk show this tuesday. Roger ebert explains why citizen kane was one of his favorite films. This is for people who have never listened to a film commentary before. There can hardly be anything left to say about citizen kane other than to comment on sublime moments, says peter bradshaw. Citizen kane, american film drama, released in 1941, that was directed, produced, and cowritten by orson welles, who also starred in the lead role. Being so far removed from the year 1941 and a lifelong witness to the techniques citizen kane pioneered and standardized, i was left with it was all right. Considered by many critics, filmmakers, and fans to be the greatest film ever made, citizen. As the torrent of water dried up for the first time in thousands of years.
When, in the early 1960s, an international group of film critics were polled as to their numberone film of all time, citizen kane was in first position. Should i need to know anything specific before watching the movie. Denny and mollie kent contributed but were uncredited. I am sure than eisensteins the battleship potemkin is a great film, but its not going on my list simply so i can impress people. The structure of citizen kane is circular, adding more depth every time it passes over the life. Commentary by roger ebert the crown jewel of the bonus materials on this disc, this ebert commentary was originally recorded for a 2003 special edition dvd release of the film. When told about the thennew concept of having an audio commentary on the disc. A viewers companion to citizen kane roger ebert january 01, 2004.
According to outspoken film critic robert mckee, any greatness of citizen kane must lie in its style. Why mulholland drive is the greatest film since 2000 bbc. The repetition of this poll in the early 1970s and once again in 1982 produced the same result. Citizen kane routinely wins such polls, but of course all polls are a matter of apples and oranges, and it is instructive that even though it won, kane was voted for by only 39 percent of the directors, and 32 percent of the critics. The pirate bay the galaxys most resilient bittorrent site. Ebert s best film lists1967 present if i must make a list of the ten greatest films of all time, my first vow is to make the list for myself, not for anybody else. Its perhaps the best commentary track youll find out there, with the possible exception of the one roger recorded for citizen kane. Besides being named rightfully as the greatest movie of all time, citizen kane produced one of the most vicious controversies ever to strike hollywood. Ive heard great things about the one ebert did for citizen kane, and criterion is known for having great tracks.
But in one of the great serendipities of film history, casablanca rose above the tumult of its production history and became one of the alltime classics of filmdom, probably beloved by more people than even citizen kane, which was the only film to top it on afis alltime greatest 100 films list. I also recall enjoying the audio commentary on akira kurosawas seven samurai, although the name behind the voice escapes me. He uses this style shot throughout all of citizen kane. The audio commentary by the late, great roger ebert. Roger ebert was the film critic of the chicago suntimes from 1967 until his death in 20. Citizen kane is a 1941 film, produced by rko pictures and mercury films. The following is a college paper for uc berkeley film studies course.
Citizen kane is the movie i have seen more than any other. Mankiewicz, directed and played the leading role as charles foster kane inside his unfinished palatial mansion, media mogul charles foster kane lies dying alone, having lived in seclusion from the world for many years. Rko 281 is based on the true story of the making of citizen kane and the war of words between welles and hearst. But lisas innocent act masks the fact that shes looking to bring johnny down.
Cinematography film influences cinematographer the cinematographer of citizen kane was greg toland, toland is known for using deep focus cinematography, in which both the foreground and background are in focus. Citizen kane won oscar nominations in eight other categories. Citizen kane is a 1941 american drama film by orson welles, its producer, co screenwriter. The late film critic roger ebert gives a brief introduction of the movie citizen kane on amc, back when amc aired commercialfree movies. In almost all movies before citizen kane, you couldnt see the ceilings in rooms because there werent any. These tracks had been recorded separately from the. Best picture, actor welles, director welles, black and white cinematography, interior decoration, sound recording, scoring of a dramatic picture and film editing. Nominated for academy awards in nine categories, it won an academy award for best writing original screenplay by herman j. They include a few interviews, production stills one of which is partially narrated by roger ebert and the theatrical trailer.
Just start yor bluray, dvd, vhs, laserdisc or itunes download, synch it up with the podcast and you will get to hear steve and john talk through the whole movie. Video citizen kane 1941 480p dvdrip x264 450mb yify. Roger ebert sums it up when he says that citizen kane pretty much incorporates everything that was possible in sound film up to that point. The generally prevailing fact is that citizen kane 1941 was cowritten by director orson welles and herman j. Citizen kane a masterpiece at 50 roger ebert roger ebert. With orson welles, joseph cotten, dorothy comingore, agnes moorehead.
I have shown it well over 30 times in the past 5 years that i have been teaching film studies classes at the college level, and this is in addition to the dozens of times i watched it previously in every conceivable format going back to when i saw it for the first time on vhs at the age of 12. Get the version of the film with roger eberts commentary and youll find out why the critics all go gaga over the movie. Citizen kane, casablanca, floating weeds, dark city and, ah, beyond the valley of the dolls. Roger ebert on the autobiographical intensity of both films directors. Mulholland drive is a brilliant commentary on hollywoods machinations. Following the death of publishing tycoon charles foster kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance.
In 1975, he won the pulitzer prize for distinguished. It is widely noted that it was cinematographer gregg toland who first contacted orson welles about shooting citizen kane 1941. Citizen kane shows what level of understanding people had for movies at that time. Amazingly, dvd commentary helped give roger ebert his. Citizen kane commentary this 48page book is printed inhouse and contains a detailed semiological commentary prepared with the general reader, students and teachers in mind. Roger ebert was one of the most prolific critics in history, and his output only increased after cancer removed his ability to speak. Roger not robert it would also be ok if the torrents had the movie itself as long as the commentary track is there. Id recorded commentary tracks for some movies on dvd. Roger ebert introduces citizen kane on amc youtube. Roger ebert called citizen kane the greatest film ever made. World premiere of citizen kane interviews ruth warrick robert wise the production play all storyboards call sheets still photography with commentary by roger ebert. Citizen kane by joseph cotten, everett sloane, dorothy. Bogodanovich famously spent time with welles and eberts love for film, especially this one, is infectious.
Great in that it was produced by a man who had never had any motion picture experience. For those who would like to use it as a teaching and learning aid in a classroom situation the film has been segmented into twelve sequences of 10 to 15 minutes duration. William randolph hearst, newspaper magnate, and orson welles, radio and movie genius. Then, a couple of days ago, i watched it again with the roger ebert commentary. Citizen cane, when it came out, was like no other movie ever made. Requestmovie robert eberts dvd commentary for citizen.
Ten greatest films of all time roger ebert roger ebert. In this program, mckee skewers the content of cinemas sacred cow and charges orson welles with artistic overkill, dubiously praising the movies cinematic effects as a virtuoso display of camera technique, declamatory symbols. On may 1, 1941, rko radio pictures held the premiere of citizen kane at the palace theatre in new york, garnering raves from local critics. This is a small clip from the roger ebert commentary from citizen kane. A viewers companion to citizen kane roger ebert roger ebert. Since the dawn of the sound era, an estimated 25,000 featurelength films have been producedand thats in the english language alone. Why is citizen kane considered the best movie ever. Opening world premiere for citizen kane sd, 1 min footage from the premier. Cinematography of citizen kane twisted ladder movies. A video essay based on rogers dvd commentary for alex proyass dark city. The commentary on alfred hitchcocks the birds was interesting. A landmark work in the history of cinema, citizen kane is acclaimed by many critics as the greatest movie ever made. Orson welles sought to take sole writing credit, but mankiewicz fought back, claiming that he alone authored the screenplay.
In this sense mulholland drive picks up where citizen kane left off. Kane, which stars welles as hearstinspired media mogul charles foster kane, was a personal favorite of famed critics pauline kael and roger ebert, as well as presidentelect donald trump. With it goes the person who could answer all the films questions kane. The real gem of the set are the two additional features, the battle over citizen kane, a 1998 documentary about the film, and rko 281, an hbo movie from 1999 about the.
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