AVS Discussions
Movie and TV Discussion => Movie reviews => Topic started by: Barry on January 09, 2026, 06:45:17 PM
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Living in New York, before cable and big screen TVs, I first saw the Citizen Kane on local stations. The movie was not in black and white. It was gray and gray. It was also often cut down to fit in commercials into a two hour spot. My parents loved the movie, but it didn’t make that much sense to me. Neither did the Maltese falcon when it was cut up.
My PBS ran Citizen Kane in a two hour block with no commercials, but a break after one hour. The movie made sense and I enjoyed it, but it was still gray and gray.
I then got the video laser disc of it. Oh my gosh, was this better. The picture was clearer and sharper. And for the first time I heard the soundtrack and its tremendous musical score. Wow, it was so impressive.
Well, the 4K version of the movie by criterion is such a step forward to what we have gotten. I am seeing the movie in black-and-white, not grey and grey, and brightly and sharply on a large screen. The soundtrack is so impressive.
The sharpness and focus of every scene is impressive, and it is still unique. The editing and pacing of the movie is outstanding. Uniquely, the story is told in flashbacks, building the life of Charles Foster Kane, brick by brick. I really like the use of shadows and the the light streams in many sequences. Gosh, this is such a great movie and imitated so often.
Criterion explains that the original negative to the movie is no longer an existence and what they had to do to create their 4K version. It is mostly believed that RKO recycled the the original negative to get the silver. But this movie looks terrific.
Is it the best movie ever made? Better than Bambi vs Godzilla? I think so. Four years it was on top of every movie poll, but I think people just got tired of always giving it to top award so they started changing their votes. Vertigo sometimes gets up there. It’s a fine movie, but it’s not a top one of my opinion. The last 15 minutes of Vertigo doesn’t make much sense.
I have one problem with the plot:
Where is his mother? Agnes Morehead was brilliant in the role, but wouldn’t a mother have followed through on her son’s growth if she really cared about him? There’s no mention of her death or anything. It is implied that the father was violent towards his son and that’s why she gave him up, but there was no follow-through.
Charles Forster Kane was a man who wanted to be loved but could not give love. Maybe if his mother was around it would have been different. But it would not have made a better movie!
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This was a revolutionary film at the time of its making with so many "unique" camera shots that we take for granted today. I think that's why it's considered the best movie of all time. I looked so forward to watching and and when it was done my wife and I looked at each other and had the same thought...good, but not great. I prefer Casablanca because it's much more entertaining and is so rewatchable.
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This was a revolutionary film at the time of its making with so many "unique" camera shots that we take for granted today. I think that's why it's considered the best movie of all time. I looked so forward to watching and and when it was done my wife and I looked at each other and had the same thought...good, but not great. I prefer Casablanca because it's much more entertaining and is so rewatchable.
I love Casablanca too! You know David, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
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Absolutely love this movie, as well, Barry. It's the absolute tops of my list.
Like you, I first caught this on local TV. Even as a young teen, I was absolutely captivated by it, despite the meager OTA quality and commercial breaks. The story was gripping, characters were both enduring and frustrating, and the stylized photography was unlike anything else I had seen. Add in the tight and thought-provoking dialog and Bernard Herrmann's first ever movie score, and this thing is a true winner, and I find new things to love about it with every rewatch.
I haven't bought the 4K yet, but the Criterion Blu-ray looked pretty sharp.
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Absolutely love this movie, as well, Barry. It's the absolute tops of my list.
Like you, I first caught this on local TV. Even as a young teen, I was absolutely captivated by it, despite the meager OTA quality and commercial breaks. The story was gripping, characters were both enduring and frustrating, and the stylized photography was unlike anything else I had seen. Add in the tight and thought-provoking dialog and Bernard Herrmann's first ever movie score, and this thing is a true winner, and I find new things to love about it with every rewatch.
I haven't bought the 4K yet, but the Criterion Blu-ray looked pretty sharp.
it didn’t capture me when they cut time out of the movie so they could fit in a lot of commercials. When I saw it on regular TV uncut I then said oh my gosh this is a good movie. and I needed to see it about 200 times to get everything that was going on.
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I have it and yet to watch it. I have no idea why. It’s been rated number 1 of all time forever.