quote:
When I say it's the greatest, it's like me saying Babe Ruth is the greatest baseball player of all time. I don't think Babe Ruth could compete against modern day athletes and their are dozens of movies I'd rather watch than Citizen Kane, but it's done more for modern day film making than any other movie ever. More than Godfather, more than Star Wars, more than Gone with the Wind. That's why I say it's the greatest.
- MarkoRamius
quote:
I think what it has done to film is a large part of why it is so great. Watch any biopic (fictional or based on true events) and you can see that they are all built on the template that it made.
And yes, Welles killed it. I remember being so amazed at how much more natural his acting was compared to the others in the film who had that early film weird acting style.
So yeah - it pretty much set the standard for storytelling, acting, cinematography and prob more.
- israeliag
quote:
It's impossible to fully appreciate a film as innovative and influential as Citizen Kane because you've seen it all a thousand times in later films. Just trust the historians on this one. Or find a good documentary about it.
- Harry Lime
quote:
you wouldn't have breaking bad or any of these antihero films/shows without it.
- israeliag
I agree with all of these. Movies are like all other forms of art. While you may not want to jam out to it on your iPod daily,
Beethoven's 5th is one of the greatest and most influential musical compositions ever created. It's embedded in most of the popular music we hear today or at least influences it.
Citizen Kane is the same way.
In addition to
Citizen Kane, there was a definite shift in movie-making & acting styles starting in the late 1930s/early 1940's. Prior to this, movies were essentially produced, filmed, directed, and acted like stage productions. All the talent, both in front of and behind the camera, came from the stage era, so it's natural that movies reflected that genre. But movies like
Gone With the Wind &
The Wizard of Oz slowly started reflecting their own art form and cinematography. Line delivery began to normalize from the fast-paced, over-enunciated style to more lifelike performances while production crews began improving camera angles & lighting & sound designed for microphones. Movies (and editing) finally evolved from the traditional one-camera, single-performance style commonly used by stage productions.
But it was
Citizen Kane that really put all these modern productions techniques together and brought it into the next era.
When it comes to story-telling, the most popular and seemingly innovative stories are still stealing from
Citizen Kane even in 2015.
Citizen Kane directly influenced
The Sixth Sense & the entire genre that spawned from it with the "twist endings."
Citizen Kane directly influenced
Breaking Bad and every TV show & movie that focuses on the anti-hero.
Citizen Kane's story lines involving politics, business, and journalism are still found in movies today. Story-telling through the eyes of an investigative reporter and the documentary & mock-umentary styles of story-telling that have been so popular over the last 15 years are all influenced by
Citizen Kane.
Personally, I'm not an old movie fanboy. I hate it that people love old movies just because they're old. For me, most of the "classics" from the 30's, 40's and 50's are terribly overrated; however, there are a few that are truly brilliant...and Citizen Kane is the most glaring example.