Citizen Kane – A Great Film

Carol and I bought the 2 Disk Special Edition of Citizen Kane today and watched it this evening. Even though I had watched the film very recently I was still enthralled by it’s visuals, superb acting and riveting story. It’s a fiction based both on the life of William Randolph Hearst and (whether or not he meant it at the time) it’s creator Orson Welles.

Roger Ebert called it a great movie. He was right. It is one of the greatest American films ever made.

Also included in the DVD set is the PBS Special called “The Battle Over Citizen Kane“. It tells of how Hearst, upon hearing that the film was a not-so flattering biography of himself, tried to have it supressed and used all his might as a newspaper giant to discredit and destroy Welles. Sadly the furor it created did put Welles in the position where he never again gained control of a major Hollywood production. A great story about a great story.

Having visited Hearst Castle (William Randolph Hearst’s “Ranch”) in San Simeon, California this past summer the film meant a little more to Carol and I than it would have had we never set foot there. I took many photographs when we were there. It was an extrodinairily opulent palace. The mountain of cash it would take to create anything of the like today would be staggering.

If you haven’t seen it, I implore you to watch it. I even posted the script for the film on some of my web space here.