On pretty much any organized list of the greatest movies of all time, Citizen Kane is up there as number one. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, its a 1940s movie about a man the comes up through poverty to be rich but when he dies, his last word is “Rosebud”. A news reporter then tries to piece together his life to find out why he said that. I’m not saying that it’s a bad movie, just that there have been much better movies out there.
So why do I think this? First, the pacing was pretty bad. The 2 hours seemed to add another 1/2 hour because of the way it was told. If a movie is to be considered the greatest, it should at least have a reason to drag out. It also didn’t have AS deep of a meaning as some other movies. Sure, the whole point is good, but it didn’t make you think about the movie to get it, they pretty much explained everything in the dialogue. “Show, don’t tell” is the motto for filmmakers, and Kane didn’t follow it. Finally, none of the movie is the best I’ve ever seen. There’s been better writing in Pulp Fiction, better cinematography (the way a shot looks) in Assassination of Jesse James, better acting in There Will Be Blood, better story in Schindler’s List, and a better meaning in No Country For Old Men.
Still, as a 60 year old movie, Citizen Kane is a good one. But with so many better films today, it doesn’t stand out. Next week I’ll post a blog on my top 5 movies that should be in front of Citizen Kane on any “Best Movies Ever” list.
