Citizen Kane [VHS] [1942]: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Warrick, Ray Collins, Erskine Sanford, Everett Sloane, William Alland, Paul Stewart, George Coulouris, Fortunio Bonanova, Gregg Toland, Robert Wise, George Schaefer, Herman J. Mankiewicz: Amazon.co.uk: Video

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Arguably the greatest of American films, Orson Welles' 1941 masterpiece, made when he was only 26, still unfurls like a dream and carries the viewer along the mysterious currents of time and memory to reach a mature (if ambiguous) conclusion: people are the sum of their contradictions and can't be known easily. Welles plays newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane, taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. The result is that every well-meaning or tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event. Written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz, and photographed by Gregg Toland, the film is the sum of Welles's awesome ambitions as an artist in Hollywood. He pushes the limits of then-available technology to create a true magic show, a visual and aural feast that almost seems to be rising up from a viewer's subconscious. As Kane, Welles even ushers in the influence of Bertolt Brechton film acting. This is truly a one-of-a-kind work, and in many ways is still the most modern of modern films this century. --Tom Keogh

Synopsis

Acclaimed as the greatest movie of all time, the story parallels the career and death of William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper tycoon. Also features 'Reflections On Citizen Kane' a special documentary.

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Customer Reviews

39 Reviews

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (39 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since I haven't thought of that girl', 2 Aug 2006

By	Mr. A. E. Hall "brother_of_sadako" (Liverpool, UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Citizen Kane : Special Edition [DVD] [1942] (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.

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81 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Flawed DVD publication, 6 Nov 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Citizen Kane [DVD] [1942] (DVD)

It goes without saying that this movie is a 20th century masterpiece from a cinematic and dramatic genius. Being a film that undoubtedly gains through repeated viewing it would seem a natural for the new digital medium. However this DVD release is marred by the quality of the print which looks like it could do with some serious restoration but more importantly by the abysmal quality of the DVD digitisation. It appears suspiciously as though this disc was produced from a 30 fps NTSC video master and standards converted to 25 fps PAL frame rates, badly. Consequently the viewer is almost constantly aware throughout the movie of the 'jaggies' caused by the TV interlace which is very prominent on edges, excessively so during movement. Frankly this not good enough for a 35mm movie of this importance and particularly so on a high priced DVD. It's release in this condition would seem at best cynical and at worst insulting to both the audience and the work of a great filmic artist. As if to underline the cheapskate nature of this release the disc lacks any additional supporting material in the form of interviews and documentary footage. This is all the more bizarre given this was such a controversial movie and one which led to the dramatic and untimely end of the directors Hollywood career. If you're a fan or even an ordinary movie goer and think you're going to enjoy the benefits of digital quality with this magnificent film you'll probably be disappointed. If it wasn't for the power of the movie story telling this disc would be practically unwatchable. Looks like the money grubbing bean counters have won out once again. Disgraceful.

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59 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Great film, abysmal DVD, 16 Sep 2002

By	Michael Brown - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Citizen Kane [DVD] [1942] (DVD)

The R2 version of Citizen Kane - the one with the yellow cover - has to be one of the worst DVDs ever. There's no extras, aside from the (rather good) trailer, and the picture and sound quality is truly awful.

For example, there's a scene near the end, where Kane as an old man is walking down a long flight of stairs. I swear, he appears to jump a dozen stairs in one go. That's how bad the picture quality has been mangled.

If you've got a multi-region player, go for the R1 Special Edition instead. Picture and sound have been massively cleaned up (Kane now walks down ALL of those stairs!), plus there's some cracking extras too.