BLACK AND WHITE SOIREE 1 : A TRUE CLASSIC "CITIZEN KANE"

So, the first black and white classic I want to discuss with you is one I think every cinephile should have watched at least once. And it actually sits rather well after the previous weeks entries – you remember I was griping about directors who play the lead in their own films, right? Behold Orson Welles and / in Citizen Kane. Surely one of the best films ever made, Mr. Welles wrote, directed AND played the lead in it (talk about multitasking). But I need to stress one thing though, THAT was Orson Welles – a cinematic genius. Not all of us are or ever can be Orson Welles. Just so you all know that even though I think this film and The Town were good, I am NOT contradicting myself. I am not (just for clarification) comparing Ben Affleck to Orson Welles either. I have every respect for Mr. Affleck but there is a VAST difference between his directing and his new film and Mr. Welles and the film discussed here (there are FAR too many “and”s here and my Mom (who is an English teacher) will probably murder me when she reads this, just in case you were wondering). The similarity is of course that by the time he made his debut as a director (aged 25 to be fair), Mr. Welles was an acting SENSATION (imagine that spelled out in bulbs on Broadway) in the theatre. Which kinda, you know, gives you clout and artistic freedom. Oh and money. That, however, is another story.

Citizen Kane is a man in the US of A. He is a media tycoon, a grand public figure and he has just passed away. Now, the newspapers all agree that there are many things to say about Mr. Kane, and all are fixed on finding “a new angle” on the matter. One newspaper chief hits on a true mystery: Mr. Kane’s last words. Or rather word: Rosebud. No one can make head or tail of it; it is a bona fide mystery. “Talk to everyone who ever knew him!” orders the chief. “Find this Rosebud”. So off we go along with the reporter on the job. With him, we interview his ex-wife, school friend, business partner, legal guardian, household staff and many, many more… They all have truly fascinating stories about Mr. Kane but still no one knows who or what Rosebud is… Is there a way of discovering Rosebud? Or will Mr. Kane take his secret to the grave with him?

Ok, so it doesn’t take much to realize that this is actually a very VERY good detective story. But it isn’t just that. Yes we track clues, interview people and search for Rosebud, but there is a second story, delicately poised within the story of “Rosebud”; the life of Citizen Kane. Now, the film in its day caused a grand furor for many reasons. First, the technical inventions and innovations brought by Welles to the cinema. I will not go into those very technical details – it’s hardly the point of this blog but there is AMPLE material on the internet on this subject if you are interested. Secondly, there’s the genre. The film was actually a “film noir” which came as a bit of shock in 1941 seeing as the genre hadn’t been invented yet. Thirdly, the story of Kane’s life bears marked resemblances with the life story of real-life media tycoon of the 30’s William Randolph Hurst. The resemblances were so great that Hurst tried desperately to actually stop the film from being aired so sure he was that the film was about him. Honestly, the list of resemblances is rather staggering, but the point is that at the time the film gave the feeling of almost being a documentary a “true story” kind of effect. You should watch this film because it is brilliant, way ahead of it’s time and a damn good yarn. You will leave the proverbial table replete whether you are a scholar of the trade or just an attentive viewer in search of some good quality entertainment.

P.S. interesting footnote : I was struck when watching this film by Mr. Welles’s good looks. I was therefore rather amused to find out later that Mr. Welles complained bitterly about how much he had been “made up” to play the young Mr. Kane and that he had to “live down” the fact that he never looked that good for years to come… Such, my dears, is the acting trade for you!