The Layman's Review: Citizen Kane

Welcome to the Layman's Review, where we give you a simple overview and a rating of some of history's most famous films. We're here to entertain you with facts and trivia, and to help you decide if any of these films are worth your time and interest. For a full list of movies on review, check out my previous post 'The Very Sciency Science Behind Film Choices'. 

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Film: Citizen Kane

Director: Orson Welles 

Year: 1941

Running Time: 119 minutes

Big Names

             Orson Welles - Charles “Charlie” Foster Kane

             Ruth Warrick - Emily Kane

             Dorothy Comingore - Susan Alexander Kane

             George Coulouris - Walter Parks Thatcher

             Joseph Cotten - Jedediah Leland

             Ray Collins - James Gettys

             Everett Sloane - Mr. Bernstein

Plot Summary

The classic story of a man with too much: too much money, too much power and too many promises to keep. When Charles Foster Kane, a child from a family of little means, comes into a valuable bequeathment, he is sent away to be raised properly by Walter Parks Thatcher. Despite never taking his wealth truly seriously, Charlie builds himself into a newspaper tycoon, socialite and would-be politician. The story begins at the moment of Charlie’s peculiar death, spawning a series of interviews regarding his even more peculiar life. 

Top Quotes

“I can remember everything. That’s my curse, young man. It’s the greatest curse that’s ever been inflicted on the human race: memory.”

             - Jedediah Leland

“Old age. It’s the only disease, Mr. Thompson, that you don’t look forward to being cured of.”

             - Mr. Bernstein 

“I think it would be fun to run a newspaper.”

             - Walter Parks Thatcher, quoting Charles Foster Kane

“I don’t think there’s one word that can describe a man’s life.”

             - Charles Foster Kane

“That’s all he ever wanted out of life…was love. That’s the tragedy of Charles Foster Kane. You see, he just didn’t have any to give.”

             - Jedediah Leland

Fun Trivia

• Alternative title options included “American” and “John Q.”

• It is widely agreed that the film is based on William Randolph Hearst and his mistress Marion Davies. Hearst was so angry about the movie he refused a personal invitation to the premiere from Orson Welles, attempted to buy the negative (in the hopes of destroying it), banned reviews from any of his newspapers and labelled Welles a Communist in an effort to prevent the film’s release.
• The character Susan Alexander Kane enjoys completing jigsaw puzzles because it was a hobby of Marion Davies.
• Jedediah Leland’s character is based on Ashton Stevens, a columnist who worked for the San Francisco Examiner and the Chicago Herald-American. 

• Director, writer and star Orson Welles was 25 when he played the title role of Kane, a part that required him to portray a character through many decades of his life. For scenes in which he played an older Charlie Kane, Welles spent six and half hours in makeup being prepped for a 9 a.m. shoot. 

• The film’s co-writer, Herman J. Mankiewicz, was known to be an alcoholic and therefore forbidden to drink during pre-production. He was banished by Welles to Victorville and guarded by producer John Houseman to keep him on track.

Ratings

Jessica's Rating: 3.5 Martini Glasses

I think we all found ‘Citizen Kane’ a bit…underwhelming. However, given all the hype that surrounds this particular film, it is hard for a 74-year-old production to live up to our grand expectations. One can easily see how, for its time, ‘Citizen Kane’ was a watershed moment in cinematic history. Additionally, I found the dialogue rather profound and relatable at times, although I’m sure others will disagree. 

Jeni's Rating: 3 Martini Glasses

Not what I was expecting from one of the films billed as the greatest film of all time, though given it's 1941 release, I wasn't really expecting it to still be in line with cinema tastes of today either. Don't get me wrong, I did like it, particularly the themes of paternalistic philanthropy and wealth unable to buy happiness, but it wasn't as gripping as I'd expected, and the denouement at the end didn't really blow me away. There is the aspect of shady newspaper journalism and political intrigue that does keep it relevant for today as well, but they seemed thrown away asides rather than driving the dialogue.

Independent Third-Party Reviewer Rating: 2 Martini Glasses

"Are you sure we've got the right film?!"

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