Citizen Kane (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Citizen Kane (Two-Disc Special Edition) Review

I think Orson Welles was the greatest creative genius in film who never really reached his full potential. Having said that, he remains one of the greatest creative figures in American cinema and radio!!! This review is primarily about Orson Welles the creative genius and some information on the movie that made his reputation "Citizen Kane."

After creating a sensation across America with his radio rendition of H. G. Wells "War of the Worlds" on Halloween night in 1938, this twenty-four year old "wunderkind" was lured to Hollywood to make movies in 1939. His first film idea unfortunately was rejected by RKO studio; it was an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness." He had done the story on Radio with his Mercury Theatre Players to great acclaim. I would have loved to seen Welles' make a film on this great haunting story. A loose adaptation would not come for some forty years later with the incomparable Francis Ford Coppolla film "Apocalypse Now." However, Orson's first film for RKO was "Citizen Kane" (1941). He directed, starred and co-wrote the screenplay with Herman Mankiewicz, it was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won for Best Screenplay. Still considered by the American Film Institute as the greatest movie ever made!!! I do not disagree. Here are a few interesting facts about this film.

Orson had no experience in film; he was primarily a radio entertainer. He had to learn about cinematography very quickly. He got his cinematographer Gregg Toland to give him a "crash course" on how to shoot a movie, the great camera angles of the film proves that Orson was a very quick study.

Film scholars and historians view "Citizen Kane" as Welles' attempt to create a new style of filmmaking by studying various forms of movie making, and combining them all into one. The most innovative technical aspect of Citizen Kane is the extended use of deep focus. In nearly every scene in the film, the foreground, background and everything in between are all in sharp focus. This was done by cinematographer Gregg Toland through his experimentation with lenses and lighting. Specifically, Toland often used telephoto lenses to shoot close-up scenes.
Another unorthodox method used in the film was the way low-angle shots were used to display a point of view facing upwards, thus allowing ceilings to be shown in the background of several scenes. This technique happens to be one of my very favorite used in the movie. Since movies were primarily filmed on sound stages and not on location during the era of the Hollywood studio system, it was impossible to film at an angle that showed ceilings because the stages had none. Welles changed all that. There is one great story of how Orson wasn't satisfied with the camera angle of a particular scene, even after Toland had put the camera on the floor of the sound stage. Toland told Orson it was impossible to get a better angle. Not being satisfied, Orson took the fire axe off the wall and proceeded to hack a hole into the floor of the sound stage allowing the camera to be lowered an extra three feet; thus Orson attained his desired cinematic angle and the student surpassed his teacher!!!

When execs at RKO couldn't decide on greenlight-ing "Citizen Kane" (1941), Orson asked for film equipment and a small crew released so he could spend the mid-way time doing test shots. Not wanting their New-York-import to grow cold with the RKO deal, they granted the request ... Orson proceeded to shoot actual scenes of the movie. By the time execs realized what he had done, Orson had many key scenes complete. They green-lit Citizen Kane (1941) ... Already having financed the picture, unknowingly.
Finally, Welles prevented studio executives of RKO from visiting the set. He understood their desire to control projects and he knew they were expecting him to do an exciting film that would correspond to his "The War of the Worlds" radio broadcast. Welles' RKO contract had given him complete control over the production of the film when he signed on with the studio, something that he never again was allowed to exercise when making motion pictures. It is a great pity to of ham strung a creative genius like Wells.

In 1975, in spite of all his box-office failures, he received the American Film Institute's 3rd Lifetime Achievement Award in 1975 from its Chairman Charlton Heston, who said of Welles in his remarks; "The first AFI award went to a director (John Ford), the second to an actor, (James Cagney). In Orson Welles, we honor both crafts." In 1984 the Directors Guild of America awarded him its highest honor, the D.W. Griffith Award. His reputation as a film maker has climbed steadily ever since.

Citizen Kane (Two-Disc Special Edition) Feature

• A fascinating story of idealism corrupted by wealth, Citizen Kane is frequently named the greatest film of all time and is credited with inspiring more directorial careers than any other film in history. Orsen Welles and Agnes Moorehead star.Running Time: 119 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG Age: 053939656527 UPC: 053939656527 Manufacturer No: T6

Citizen Kane (Two-Disc Special Edition) Overview

The story of an immensely wealthy newspaper publisher, as he is remembered by his friends and former wife after his death. Loosely based on the life of William Randolph Hearst. Frequently called the greatest film of all time.
No Track Information Available
Media Type: DVD
Artist: WELLES/COTTEN/COMINGORE/MOOREH
Title: CITIZEN KANE
Street Release Date: 09/24/2002
Domestic
Genre: DRAMA

Citizen Kane (Two-Disc Special Edition) Specifications

Arguably the greatest of American films, Orson Welles's 1941 masterpiece, made when he was only 26, still unfurls like a dream and carries the viewer along the mysterious currents of time and memory to reach a mature (if ambiguous) conclusion: people are the sum of their contradictions, and can't be known easily. Welles plays newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane, taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. The result is that every well-meaning or tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event. Written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz, and photographed by Gregg Toland, the film is the sum of Welles's awesome ambitions as an artist in Hollywood. He pushes the limits of then-available technology to create a true magic show, a visual and aural feast that almost seems to be rising up from a viewer's subconsciousness. As Kane, Welles even ushers in the influence of Bertolt Brecht on film acting. This is truly a one-of-a-kind work, and in many ways is still the most modern of modern films from the 20th century. --Tom Keogh

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Law Abiding Citizen [Blu-ray]

Law Abiding Citizen [Blu-ray] Review

When I saw this film advertised for theatres, I thought it was an action film. I don't think it was marketed well. Law Abiding Citizen goes way beyond action, though it does have some explosive sequences. It's actually more of a noir thriller, with many plot twists and unexpected diversions. It had many elements that reminded me of films like Phone Booth, Die Hard With a Vengeance and even Speed. The trailer made it out as a simple criminal versus a virtuous DA, but it's much deeper than that. Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler are playing a deadly game against one another, and there is no black and white. Butler's character is supposedly "the villain," but one that is so easy to sympathize with, even justified in his actions. The film really highlights many of the problems in our criminal justice system, lending the story credibility and realism. The plot kept me guessing as to just how Butler was accomplishing his objectives. However, I do think the ending could have been better. After so much clever cat and mouse, the climax was too simple and didn't live up to what came before. Overall though, it was an exciting film that kept me paying close attention and on the edge of my seat. Also, the acting from the two leads was top notch, and even the supporting cast was noticeably superb.

The DVD has some well done extras, including featurettes on special effects shots and behind the scenes. However, the best featurette discusses the law behind the film. Experts explain the actual statutes that impact the characters in the film and how they are realistically played out in the story. It added a lot to the film, basing the plot on more than than just getting off on "a technicality." The extras add to the film experience. Well worth the money; I'll definitely watch this again.

Law Abiding Citizen [Blu-ray] Overview

Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) is an upstanding family man whose wife and daughter are brutally murdered during a home invasion. When the killers are caught, Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), a hotshot young Philadelphia prosecutor, is assigned to the case. Over his objections, Nick is forced by his boss to offer one of the suspects a light sentence in exchange for testifying against his accomplice. Fast forward ten years. The man who got away with murder is found dead and Clyde Shelton admits his guilt. Then he issues a warning to Nick: Either fix the flawed justice system, or key players in the trial will die. Soon Shelton follows through on his threats, orchestrating from his jail cell a string of spectacularly diabolical assassinations that can be neither predicted nor prevented. Only Nick can stop the killing and finds himself in a desperate race against time facing a deadly adversary who seems always to be one step ahead.

Law Abiding Citizen [Blu-ray] Specifications

The legal thriller meets the serial-killer shocker in Law Abiding Citizen. The story begins when home invaders kill Clyde Shelton's wife and daughter. The bereaved father (played by a thoroughly unsympathetic Gerard Butler) looks to slick Philly prosecutor Nick Rice (a low-key Jamie Foxx) to see that they receive the maximum sentence. Instead, the murderer, Ames, testifies against his accomplice, Darby, who gets the chair, while he gets 10 years. Upon his release, Ames' mutilated body turns up in an abandoned warehouse, and all roads lead to Shelton. Rice attempts to defend him, but his client makes it impossible--Shelton wants to go to prison--so he does time, but then members of Rice’s legal team start to die. The attorney suspects Shelton, but can't connect him to the crimes, so he races against the clock to save the lives of his assistant, Sarah (Leslie Bibb), D.A. Jonas (Bruce McGill), and his own wife and child. The movie may sound like a Yank reboot of the Japanese chiller Cure, in which an inmate kills from inside institutional walls, but plays more like a mash-up between The Silence of the Lambs, without the psychological complexity, and The Devil's Advocate, without the cynical giggles. F. Gary Gray got his start with hip-hop videos and urban action flicks, like Set It Off, until he hit the big time with his remake of The Italian Job. Law Abiding Citizen is a disappointing muddle from a director who's done better in the past and will surely do better in the future. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Stills from Law Abiding Citizen (Click for larger image)

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