Last movie you watched

[Bukdiah]

Saw Black Panther twice. Kinda meh about it but leaning towards good but not great.

[Vegan Daddy]

Chungking Express(1994)

This was really cute. Great soundtrack.

[Speed Force League Unlimited]

Dunkirk

I really enjoyed watching it.

[Soubhagya]

Citizen Kane: Finally watched it. I enjoyed it. Its amazing how modern it feels for a film which is so old. Orson Welles was awesome. I loved his performance. I was surprised to find some funny moments. I thought such a film would be the most serious affair. Somehow its ingrained that being great and being funny is considered to be different. No, its not funny. But it has some comedic moments in the first half. I thought the film was great.

[Kirby101]

Citizen Kane: Finally watched it. I enjoyed it. Its amazing how modern it feels for a film which is so old. Orson Welles was awesome. I loved his performance. I was surprised to find some funny moments. I thought such a film would be the most serious affair. Somehow its ingrained that being great and being funny is considered to be different. No, its not funny. But it has some comedic moments in the first half. I thought the film was great.

For more great Wells directed movies , look for Lady from Shanghai and Touch of Evil. See if you can find the version that was re-editied a few years back. That one is closer to Wells original vision.

[Zero Hunter]

I watched the Geena Davis / Samuel L. Jackson action thriller The Long Kiss Goodnight.

I don't care what anyone says that is a really fun movie. Geena Davis should have done more roles where she played a bad ass because I totally bought her as one in this.

[Bukdiah]

Citizen Kane: Finally watched it. I enjoyed it. Its amazing how modern it feels for a film which is so old. Orson Welles was awesome. I loved his performance. I was surprised to find some funny moments. I thought such a film would be the most serious affair. Somehow its ingrained that being great and being funny is considered to be different. No, its not funny. But it has some comedic moments in the first half. I thought the film was great.

Was surprised at how well the film aged. I was taken back a bit by the news reel voice over thing at the beginning but then it stopped and the movie began!

[Jim Kelly]

One of the many things I like about CITIZEN KANE is the mix of different kinds of movies within the movie.

The newsreel is like a genuine newsreel of the time--they even use stock footage--but, of course, it's a fake--the editor Robert Wise dragged the footage across a stone floor and ran it across a cheesecloth filled with sand to achieve that grainy quality. One distributor complained to RKO about this film stock's inferior quality and demanded a replacement print.

You also have musicals in the movie--the song "Charlie Kane" was composed by Ruby and Guizar just for this movie and it has a dance number to go with it (Bernard Hermann conducted the RKO orchestra). The opera that Susan performs is an original created just for the movie, with John Houseman writing the libretto and Bernard Hermann the score.

There'a also bits that are pure comedy or romance. Perhaps my favourite scene in the movie is when Bernstein sits at his desk and tells the anecdote about the girl in a white dress.

Welles and his crew had to invent things for the movie that had either never existed or rarely existed before then.

Greg Tolland used deep focus lenses so everything stays in focus at the same time (rather than pulling focus). So, for example, in the scene where little Charlie plays in the snow outside and Agnes Moorehead walks across the rooom, as the camera dollies back, everyone stays in focus and you can see little Charlie clearly through the window as the grown-ups make decisions about his life. That scene also uses an inventive soundscape, as the actors overlap each other when talking, while you can still hear Charlie shouting outside as he plays.

Coming from radio, Welles brought new ideas about sound editing. So when a scene ends and cuts to a new scene, the sound overlaps--which is commonplace now but not something anyone had thought of doing before.

He also uses matte shots, dissolves and tracking shots in inventive ways. The establishing shot at the El Rancho with Susan Alexander, seems to be one continuous shot as the camera cranes in through the neon sign, though the skylight, into the nightclub and toward Susan's table--yet it's actually a series of inventive cuts.

And it's not just showing off, as these shots have a purpose that supports the story. The camera is pushing through, breaking through, invading personal space trying to get close up on people--trying to get at the truth of them.

While some characters like Susan are shot from a downward angle, the camera is often pointed upward at Charles Foster Kane as he looms over other people. But in those days, they didn't shoot interiors at an upward angle, because they would be shooting into the rafters on the soundstage. Sets didn't have ceilings. So they covered the rafters with cheesecloth to make it look like there was a ceiling.

When I first saw this movie in the late '70s and early '80s, the prints were so bad that you couldn't appreciate the quality of some shots. In the mid-80s the prints of CITIZEN KANE were remastered so you could see the rich black contrasts and details that were lost. The scene at the Inquirer with the "Charlie Kane" song is one of those scenes you couldn't really appreciate with the old prints.

Near the end of that scene as Leland and Bernstein talk about the Chronicle, there's a shot over Joseph Cotton's shoulder and you see the window in the background and in the window you can clearly see the reflection of Kane dancing with the chorus girls.

Every time that one watches CITIZEN KANE, it's like seeing a new movie, because there are new things that come to light.

[Osiris-Rex]

Bright. The critics weren't really all that wrong.

[Soubhagya]

For more great Wells directed movies , look for Lady from Shanghai and Touch of Evil. See if you can find the version that was re-editied a few years back. That one is closer to Wells original vision.

Thanks for the recommendations Kirby! I will see them

[Soubhagya]

Was surprised at how well the film aged. I was taken back a bit by the news reel voice over thing at the beginning but then it stopped and the movie began!

I was surprised too. I love that news reel thing. Take away the things like being in black and white and the 'style' of narration which is in 'old timey' style it just might be a news item one would watch on tv today only much better as its a film. I was amazed by the energy. The way camera moves for example and how they are framed. That's what i guess is cinematography. How scenes are shot and camera movement. (Looked that up a few days ago after oscar nominations came out. I wanted to understand what cinematography means). It looks years ahead of its time. There are films being made even now that don't have this kind of stuff. And Editing was really impressive. That was what i thought which was giving the film such energy. The cuts and how scenes are put together. (Hope i am not coming across as a show off or a bore. I am trying to look at films more deeply nowadays).

Technical achievements aside its also well acted, has some great dialogue, story as well as character work. Making it a complete 0package.

[Soubhagya]

One of the many things I like about CITIZEN KANE is the mix of different kinds of movies within the movie.

The newsreel is like a genuine newsreel of the time--they even use stock footage--but, of course, it's a fake--the editor Robert Wise dragged the footage across a stone floor and ran it across a cheesecloth filled with sand to achieve that grainy quality. One distributor complained to RKO about this film stock's inferior quality and demanded a replacement print.

You also have musicals in the movie--the song "Charlie Kane" was composed by Ruby and Guizar just for this movie and it has a dance number to go with it (Bernard Hermann conducted the RKO orchestra). The opera that Susan performs is an original created just for the movie, with John Houseman writing the libretto and Bernard Hermann the score.

There'a also bits that are pure comedy or romance. Perhaps my favourite scene in the movie is when Bernstein sits at his desk and tells the anecdote about the girl in a white dress.

Welles and his crew had to invent things for the movie that had either never existed or rarely existed before then.

Greg Tolland used deep focus lenses so everything stays in focus at the same time (rather than pulling focus). So, for example, in the scene where little Charlie plays in the snow outside and Agnes Moorehead walks across the rooom, as the camera dollies back, everyone stays in focus and you can see little Charlie clearly through the window as the grown-ups make decisions about his life. That scene also uses an inventive soundscape, as the actors overlap each other when talking, while you can still hear Charlie shouting outside as he plays.

Coming from radio, Welles brought new ideas about sound editing. So when a scene ends and cuts to a new scene, the sound overlaps--which is commonplace now but not something anyone had thought of doing before.

He also uses matte shots, dissolves and tracking shots in inventive ways. The establishing shot at the El Rancho with Susan Alexander, seems to be one continuous shot as the camera cranes in through the neon sign, though the skylight, into the nightclub and toward Susan's table--yet it's actually a series of inventive cuts.

And it's not just showing off, as these shots have a purpose that supports the story. The camera is pushing through, breaking through, invading personal space trying to get close up on people--trying to get at the truth of them.

While some characters like Susan are shot from a downward angle, the camera is often pointed upward at Charles Foster Kane as he looms over other people. But in those days, they didn't shoot interiors at an upward angle, because they would be shooting into the rafters on the soundstage. Sets didn't have ceilings. So they covered the rafters with cheesecloth to make it look like there was a ceiling.

When I first saw this movie in the late '70s and early '80s, the prints were so bad that you couldn't appreciate the quality of some shots. In the mid-80s the prints of CITIZEN KANE were remastered so you could see the rich black contrasts and details that were lost. The scene at the Inquirer with the "Charlie Kane" song is one of those scenes you couldn't really appreciate with the old prints.

Near the end of that scene as Leland and Bernstein talk about the Chronicle, there's a shot over Joseph Cotton's shoulder and you see the window in the background and in the window you can clearly see the reflection of Kane dancing with the chorus girls.

Every time that one watches CITIZEN KANE, it's like seeing a new movie, because there are new things that come to light.

Great post!

I noticed that shot of camera going down to Susan Alexander. Its impressive. I thought that was a show off. I don't mind show off. If you have something, show it. But if its backed by something it becomes richer.

I did not think that it could have a purpose. Invading personal space to get close to people. That's really good. I thought its a film i would not watch a lot of times. It was great. But how many times can i watch it? Looks like i could a lot of times from your post. I appreciate your posting about your experience.

[Jim Kelly]

I have to credit my film prof Noreen Golfman for drawing attention to the whole thing with the invading personal space. There's an entire thing with breaking glass in the movie, which is something that a lot of film makers use because it has a certain meaning in film (which is shot through a glass). So at the beginning of the movie you go past the No Trespassing sign, past the fence, through the window to Kane and the snow globe falls and breaks into fragments and in these fragments you see reflections. Glass keeps getting used through the whole movie and so when the camera breaks through the glass to get at Susan Alexander (who just wants to be left alone) it has a certain semiotic meaning. And of course our narrative device, Thompson, wears glasses.

[Hilden B. Lade]

Annihilation and Mute are both films that blew my mind and make me ask "what the hell did I just watch?"

However, only Annihilation was actually good. Though Mute might be worth watching if for nothing else but Paul Rudd's performance as Ant-Man if he were deranged and mustachioed and had a big knife instead of that ant-power suit.

[Bukdiah]

One of the many things I like about CITIZEN KANE is the mix of different kinds of movies within the movie.

The newsreel is like a genuine newsreel of the time--they even use stock footage--but, of course, it's a fake--the editor Robert Wise dragged the footage across a stone floor and ran it across a cheesecloth filled with sand to achieve that grainy quality. One distributor complained to RKO about this film stock's inferior quality and demanded a replacement print.

You also have musicals in the movie--the song "Charlie Kane" was composed by Ruby and Guizar just for this movie and it has a dance number to go with it (Bernard Hermann conducted the RKO orchestra). The opera that Susan performs is an original created just for the movie, with John Houseman writing the libretto and Bernard Hermann the score.

There'a also bits that are pure comedy or romance. Perhaps my favourite scene in the movie is when Bernstein sits at his desk and tells the anecdote about the girl in a white dress.

Welles and his crew had to invent things for the movie that had either never existed or rarely existed before then.

Greg Tolland used deep focus lenses so everything stays in focus at the same time (rather than pulling focus). So, for example, in the scene where little Charlie plays in the snow outside and Agnes Moorehead walks across the rooom, as the camera dollies back, everyone stays in focus and you can see little Charlie clearly through the window as the grown-ups make decisions about his life. That scene also uses an inventive soundscape, as the actors overlap each other when talking, while you can still hear Charlie shouting outside as he plays.

Coming from radio, Welles brought new ideas about sound editing. So when a scene ends and cuts to a new scene, the sound overlaps--which is commonplace now but not something anyone had thought of doing before.

He also uses matte shots, dissolves and tracking shots in inventive ways. The establishing shot at the El Rancho with Susan Alexander, seems to be one continuous shot as the camera cranes in through the neon sign, though the skylight, into the nightclub and toward Susan's table--yet it's actually a series of inventive cuts.

And it's not just showing off, as these shots have a purpose that supports the story. The camera is pushing through, breaking through, invading personal space trying to get close up on people--trying to get at the truth of them.

While some characters like Susan are shot from a downward angle, the camera is often pointed upward at Charles Foster Kane as he looms over other people. But in those days, they didn't shoot interiors at an upward angle, because they would be shooting into the rafters on the soundstage. Sets didn't have ceilings. So they covered the rafters with cheesecloth to make it look like there was a ceiling.

When I first saw this movie in the late '70s and early '80s, the prints were so bad that you couldn't appreciate the quality of some shots. In the mid-80s the prints of CITIZEN KANE were remastered so you could see the rich black contrasts and details that were lost. The scene at the Inquirer with the "Charlie Kane" song is one of those scenes you couldn't really appreciate with the old prints.

Near the end of that scene as Leland and Bernstein talk about the Chronicle, there's a shot over Joseph Cotton's shoulder and you see the window in the background and in the window you can clearly see the reflection of Kane dancing with the chorus girls.

Every time that one watches CITIZEN KANE, it's like seeing a new movie, because there are new things that come to light.

I feel I gotta give Citizen Kane a rewatch. I remember reading stuff about this scene



They specially designed that table so that it would split in half and come back together as tracks the mother's path.