Citizen Kane

One of my big classic outstanding items that I kept putting off for a while until I finally couldn't take it anymore and I just had to get it and watch it. In many ways, it is undoubtedly a timeless work whose ideas fittingly reflect even today's media world. With a narrative style revolutionary for its time, consisting of newspaper articles, interviews, and memories of people close to the film, is certainly one of the many reasons why it is an absolute and much quoted classic even from today's perspective. The four stars are purely subjective, as it didn't grip me as much as I imagined it would. (18/11/2020)

Citizen Kane is undoubtedly one of the gems of world cinema, and even though I am not giving it a full score, because I have seen (subjectively speaking) better films from the last century, it still deserves my admiration. From a technical point of view, this film is really well made, and there's probably no point in mentioning here the work with space, depth of field or cinematography - suffice it to say that in this respect Citizen Kane is a progressive film. As far as the plot is concerned, it is a very well-written story, told from multiple perspectives and inviting the viewer to take an active part in deciphering the mysterious word "rosebud". In short, a gem of world cinema, where perhaps only the running time and the expectation of something (relatively) perfect prevents me from giving it a full score. (27/07/2015)

One of the most respected films, which I personally wouldn't put on the pedestal of the absolute best, but it must be acknowledged that Orson Welles and the screenwriter did an absolutely incredible job. Every scene is perfectly crafted and so is the whole. Additionally, Welles was a great actor, which he showcases here in various emotional dimensions, as well as at different ages. An impressive film, but don't expect something that will completely change your life. (05/09/2014)

There’s in fact nothing to complain about. Citizen Kane is a phenomenon talked about in every movie lecture or a movie discussion. It is a movie which was, with its theme but also the filmmaking aspect, totally ahead of its time. Even though I don’t understand how Orson Welles was able to make movies in Hollywood in 1941 when the rest of the boys, even 10 years younger, were getting ready or were already on the battlefield in WWII, it must be acknowledged that he was in the right place at the right time. I don’t give it five stars for purely subjective reasons that the movie was not always able to hold my attention, which is often the case for me with movies from that era. (20/01/2019)

A very good film on the theme of "Having everything and having nothing", undoubtedly timeless, not only in terms of the way it looks and how imaginatively it is shot. But is it necessary to talk about it as the best film of all time? Ummm... Anyway, Orson Welles the actor transformed admirably during 120 minutes, while Orson Welles the director never once bored me during 120 minutes and always surprised me with something. And I finally know what a "bud" is, which was on my mind when I watched an episode of Columbo, and I also know what movie the Simpsons parodied in the Mr. Burns teddy bear episode. (13/07/2014)