So it comes to me as it does all film fans my time write a review on Citizen Kane. I watched it again last night. With the added thrill of seeing it with someone who has never seen it before so did not know about the glorious pay off of the final scene.
Of course up until that point, at first viewing, it's not impossible to think 'well a good script, good acting and the use of light is good, but the best film ever ? Really ?' Once you have seen it once and you realise what the film is about it really is the gift that keeps on giving. It's a film that deserves many repeated viewings. Last night was about the seventh time I have seen it and I noticed a few things last night that I had not noticed before. Little nuances in conversation that had escaped me the first few times.
Is it the best film ever ? Its difficult to argue that looked on from a historical perspective it changed cinema in a way few other films ever have since. Much as I love the technical innovations (do you know it was about the first film that featured rooms where you could see the ceiling) that came from Kane my true love of the film comes from the three things Hitchcock said you needed to make a great film. A good script, a good script and a good script. The acting is also marvellous from the youthful Orson Welles to the wonderfully aged Joseph Cotton.
Be nice to yourself and see it.
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