- Actors: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Warrick
- Directors: Orson Welles
- Writers: Orson Welles, Herman J. Mankiewicz, John Houseman, Mollie Kent, Roger Q. Denny
- Producers: Orson Welles, George Schaefer
- Format: PAL
- Language English
- Subtitles: English
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 2
- Classification: U
- Studio: Universal
- DVD Release Date: 21 July 2003
- Run Time: 119 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00009B0R9
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,664 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details |
Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
The most acclaimed film in cinema history, Citizen Kane receives extra bolstering each time it tops a "greatest films ever" list. As a piece of filmmaking it ticks all the right boxes: a precociously talented director and lead actor in Orson Welles, Gregg Toland's innovative cinematography, a strong screenplay by Welles and Herman J Mankiewicz, rich scoring from Bernard Herrmann, and so on. For its time, it was technically groundbreaking, and laid out a blueprint for Hollywood filmmaking that's still influential. But, most importantly, as a viewing experience it's still one of the most mesmerising and beautiful films in existence. From its opening scenes--Kane's eerie Gothic mansion, his lone figure muttering the word "Rosebud" as he dies, journalists discussing the newsreel footage of his obituary--Kane lays out an enigma: who exactly was this man? Looping flashbacks build up a portrait of a contradictory figure who, despite living in the public eye, remained a mystery at heart.
A testament to the corrupting influence of money, fame and the media and at its centre the tale of a man in search of love, Citizen Kane is a personal tragedy on an epic scale. Technically, it's a lesson in filmmaking in itself whose daring aesthetics nonetheless remain unobtrusive. It's doubtful that a debut director will ever be given such free reign by a studio again and even if this happened, it's doubtful that such a masterpiece would be created.
On the DVD: Citizen Kane in this DVD special edition is beautifully remastered and comes with a feature illustrating the before and after of the restoration process. A 50-minute documentary, "Anatomy of a Classic", hosted by Barry Norman, delves into the making of the film as well as trying to deal with some of the myths that surround it, like the (untrue) rumour that Welles ran over both time and budget. Film historian Ken Barnes takes over for a commentary and Welles himself is featured in his controversial 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds and 1945 broadcast of The Happy Prince. A photo gallery, extensive cast and crew profiles, breakdown of all the films expenses and trailer round off this admirable package.--Laura Bushell
DVD Description
DVD Special Features:
Disc One
Disc One
- Remastered feature
- Theatrical trailer
- Moving menus
- Animated chapters
Disc Two
- Anatomy of a Classic presented by Barry Norman
- Heart of Ages
- 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast
- The Happy Prince
- 12 cast and crew profiles
- The original production budget
- Photo Gallery
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Citizen Kane has been considered the greatest film ever made on many an occasion. Is it worthy of such high esteem? Certainly! Is it the best movie ever made? No, but it is certainly not far off.
Let us for a second forget its influence on future cinema (which was considerable, with only Birth of a Nation even coming close) and look at it as just a film.
Orson Wells is unforgettable as Charles Foster Kane. He matures through the film from the infectious and enthusiastic editor of a struggling newspaper with his ill-fated 'declaration of principles' to the bombastic, fist-thumping political hopeful and then finally, the man in inexorable decline with a world that had ceased to listen. The other actors (many of whom were new to the screen) are also very good.
The directing is captivating (I use that word only because there exists no word in the English language to describe how good it really is) with the use of strong lighting on shadow hooking your eyes onto the screen, meaning you cannot turn away, 'Ludivgo Treatment' style. The script is also a dream (despite the fact that Orson Welles was not as big an influence as the crediting suggests).
I will also give a mention to a line that is very personal to me, which I mentioned in the title for good reason: 'One day in 1896 I was crossing over to Jersey on the ferry, and as we pulled out, there was another ferry pulling in, and on it there was a girl waiting to get off. A white dress she had on. She was carrying a white parasol. I only saw her for one second. She didn't see me at all, but I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since I haven't thought of that girl'. There are many other wonderful lines, but I love this one because I bet there isn't a man alive who hasn't had that experience of that beautiful girl they only saw briefly, never spoke to but always remember.
Citizen Kane may or may not be the greatest film ever. One thing is for sure: There are only a handful of films that even come close.
Let us for a second forget its influence on future cinema (which was considerable, with only Birth of a Nation even coming close) and look at it as just a film.
Orson Wells is unforgettable as Charles Foster Kane. He matures through the film from the infectious and enthusiastic editor of a struggling newspaper with his ill-fated 'declaration of principles' to the bombastic, fist-thumping political hopeful and then finally, the man in inexorable decline with a world that had ceased to listen. The other actors (many of whom were new to the screen) are also very good.
The directing is captivating (I use that word only because there exists no word in the English language to describe how good it really is) with the use of strong lighting on shadow hooking your eyes onto the screen, meaning you cannot turn away, 'Ludivgo Treatment' style. The script is also a dream (despite the fact that Orson Welles was not as big an influence as the crediting suggests).
I will also give a mention to a line that is very personal to me, which I mentioned in the title for good reason: 'One day in 1896 I was crossing over to Jersey on the ferry, and as we pulled out, there was another ferry pulling in, and on it there was a girl waiting to get off. A white dress she had on. She was carrying a white parasol. I only saw her for one second. She didn't see me at all, but I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since I haven't thought of that girl'. There are many other wonderful lines, but I love this one because I bet there isn't a man alive who hasn't had that experience of that beautiful girl they only saw briefly, never spoke to but always remember.
Citizen Kane may or may not be the greatest film ever. One thing is for sure: There are only a handful of films that even come close.
26 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This universal release really does deserve to be called a special edition, especially when compared to the previous yellow jacketed DVD version.
The first disc contains the main feature which has been beautifully restored. There's also an interesting audio commentary by Ken Barnes.
Disc two features plenty of extras, including a documentary featuring Barry Norman. But the biggest and most welcome surprise was the inclusion of the entire 1938 radio version of "War of the Worlds", which is as much as a creative achievement as 'Kane' itself.
Whether one believes this is the greatest film ever or not, it's a superb piece of cinema which should be seen.
28 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The awful truth is that Citizen Kane is a brilliant movie, no matter what else can be said of it.
The nice thing about this edition is that it comes packed with helpful information about what makes this movie so brilliant, such as the critical appraisal or the commentary soundtrack.
The acting is very interesting as well, as most of the cast are stage actors. This allows for a more relaxed visual experience with long, stable shots and an emphasis on the characters and their surroundings. This was quite refreshing to me in a time when movies quite often detoriate into hyperkinetic camerawork.
I really enjoyed the movie and would therefore recommend it to everyone who thinks watching a movie can be like reading a brilliant book.
The nice thing about this edition is that it comes packed with helpful information about what makes this movie so brilliant, such as the critical appraisal or the commentary soundtrack.
The acting is very interesting as well, as most of the cast are stage actors. This allows for a more relaxed visual experience with long, stable shots and an emphasis on the characters and their surroundings. This was quite refreshing to me in a time when movies quite often detoriate into hyperkinetic camerawork.
I really enjoyed the movie and would therefore recommend it to everyone who thinks watching a movie can be like reading a brilliant book.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Cured my insomnia
wondered what all the fuss was about so being as dvds are so cheap i went ahead and bought it. total crap, fell asleep after half an hour.
Published 3 months ago by james_f
Brilliant film, deserves its fame.
This has to be one of my favourite films of all times. Well filmed, clear story behind it, with humourous and at times sad twists. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Taylor
Beyond the cult, the myth
The natural question ,we have to wonder about when watching this film, in its new splendor after restoration, is whether Orson Welles did not try to make a movie about himself. Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2008 by Jacques COULARDEAU
the best film ever
Not only is this the best film of all time, it is so far in front of every other it will never come off the top spot (unless by some miracle a new film is made which is so original... Read more
Published on 31 Dec 2006 by Nr J. Colton
Citizen Kane - masterpiece.
Citizen Kane made quantum leaps in the cinematic art when it first came out. first, Welles invented surrealism in film. Read more
Published on 27 Aug 2006 by Chris Andronicou
Possibly my favourite film of all time.
This amazing and absolutely outstanding film looks tremendous in this brand new print. In my view, this film set a benchmark that changed and lifted the barriers in film-making as... Read more
Published on 31 May 2006 by film fan
Rosebud has flowered into a Chelsea Gold Winner
It is difficlt to find anything to say about this brilliant film.
The amazing cinamatography,directing,script,and acting all by Welles at a remarkably young age put this along... Read more
The amazing cinamatography,directing,script,and acting all by Welles at a remarkably young age put this along... Read more
Published on 17 April 2006 by Mr. P. J. R. LEWIS
Sheer genius that can be misunderstood.
I can understand one of the postings here considering this to be worthy of only one star. I too thought it was a load of overrated, boring nonsense that couldn't stand the test of... Read more
Published on 3 April 2006 by M. Jones
Standing the test of time
This movie was released in 1941 and has emphatically lasted the test of time, so much so that many critics still today tout it as the greatest of all time. Read more
Published on 24 Feb 2006
Far from the greatest movie of all time
I can never decide what my favourite film, book, album etc of all time are, but this definitely isn't a great film. Read more
Published on 22 Sep 2005 by A. Houghton
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
