Citizen Kane (1941)
Product Information
Product Details: Citizen Kane (1941)
- Edition:
- DVD Gold Edition Box Set; Includes RKO 281. See other editions
- MPAA Rating:
- NR
- Release Date:
- 11/19/2002
- UPC:
- 663286201525
- Directed by:
- Orson Welles
- Featuring:
- Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore. See all cast
Synopsis: Citizen Kane (1941)
Synopis: CITIZEN KANE is Orson Welles's greatest achievement--and a landmark of cinema history. The story charts the rise and fall of a newspaper publisher whose wealth and power ultimately isolates him in his castlelike refuge. The film's protagonist, Charles Foster Kane, was based on a composite of Howard Hughes and William Randolph Hearst--so much so that Hearst tried to have the film suppressed. Every aspect of the production marked an advance in film language: the deep focus and deeply shadowed cinematography (from Gregg Toland); the discontinuous narrative, relying heavily on flashbacks and newsreel footage (propelled by a script largely written by Herman L. Mankiewicz); the innovative use of sound and score (sound by Bailey Fesler and James G. Stewart, music composed and conducted by Bernard Herrmann); and the ensemble acting forged in the fires of Welles's Mercury Theatre (featuring the film debuts of, among others, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane, and Agnes Moorehead). Every moment of the film, every shot, has been choreographed to perfection. The film is essential viewing, quite possibly the greatest film ever made and, along with THE BIRTH OF A NATION, certainly the most influential.Features: Citizen Kane (1941)
Features: DVD Features:Region 1
Disc One: CITIZEN KANE
Full Frame - 1.33
Additional Release Material:
Audio Commentary - 1. Roger Ebert - Film Critic
2. Peter Bogdanovich - Biographer
Additional Footage - 1. 1941 World Premiere Newsreel
Trailers - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Interactive Menus
Text/Photo Galleries:
Storyboards
Publicity
Stills/Photos - 1. Gallery of Rare Photos, Correspondence, etc.
Disc Two: Supplementary Material
Additional Release Material:
Documentary - 1. THE BATTLE OVER CITIZEN KANE
Production Interviews - 1. Orson Welles - Director
2. Cast & Crew
Additional Footage - 1. Rare Footage from Hearst's San Simeon Estate and Welles' Historic "War of the Worlds" Broadcast
Text/Photo Galleries:
Biographies - 1. Orson Welles - Director
2. William Randolph Hearst - Subject
Disc 3: RKO 281 - THE BATTLE OVER "CITIZEN KANE"
Region 1
Snap Case
Pan & Scan - 1.33
Single Side - Single Layer
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Dolby Digital Surround - English
Dolby Digital Mono - Spanish
Interactive Features:
Interactive Menus
Text/Photo Galleries:
Biographies - Cast & Crew
Additional Products:
Free Poster Offer: Original Theatrical One-Sheet Movie Poster (27"x40") Quantities are limited.
Senitype Image from the Movie
35mm Film Frame
Book:16 Page Commemorative Booklet
Awards: Citizen Kane (1941)
- Academy Awards
- Best Original Screenplay:
- Orson Welles
- Best Original Screenplay:
- Herman J. Mankiewicz
User Reviews: Citizen Kane
-
Citizen Kane
, April 6, 2007Reviewer: Mistress Mychel - See all Mistress Mychel's reviews -
Citizen Kane
, August 3, 2006Reviewer: Deanna - See all Deanna's reviewsPros: great movie
Cons: black and white for those who prefer color
one must understand the context in which this film was made to truly appreciate this film for the highly innovative,true work of art that it is.Citizen Kane is an atypical film made in the studio era, of Hollywood, basically studio bosses owned everything and everyone in the film and used their stars and matched to their genre,followed a straight narrative and kept the spotlight on their stars.Citizen Kane broke all the rules in more ways than one, the lighting is used thematically,to express betrayal,trust,et cetera.When Kane makes his declaration of priniciples, he steps out the light of good intentions and his face is completely darkened by shadows, so we cannot tell if he was lying,self delusional or merely being idealistic ,but the lighting lets us know it is a lie.This was a big no-no,in the studio era, the stars must be lit at all times.This film is highly innovative for it's time only because Orson Welles had a unique contract that gave him complete creative control of this film,which was unheard of.The story starts with the death of the main character Mr.Kane, a media magnate, his death,goes back to his childhood and makes a full circle,by chronicaling his life and ends where it started at hids death.Welles threw convention out the window and used an entire cast of unknowns from his theatre group, some had never worked in film before,neglecting the established star system of the studio bosses,and the straight predictable start to finish story line. Unlike a typical Hollywood movie from this era, the females in Citizen Kane are far from weak, indeed they are the strongest characters in the movie,the women of Citizen Kane were dominant forces to be reckoned with .One of the best scenes in the movie is the montage of Kanes marriage,that shows years over a couple of minutes, the couple start off close and in bright lighting and as the marriage progresses,the talking evolves into silence,his wife look becomes more severe and the table gets longer,it ends with the wife expressing her disdain by reading the rival newspaper in his face during breakfast.This film was not just innovative because of the film techniques such as deep focus, focusing on three planes of action,chiarascurro lighting,overlapping dialog,using echoes to emphasis coldness, or lighting to emphasis a characters trapped feeling, no this film was innovative for it's time because Welles made his own film and played by his own rules while making it,satirizing the life of media magnate William Randolph Hearst,neglecting to use established stars in stereotypical roles and film techniques and produced a high quality film demonstrating the stifling effect studio bosses exerted in the creative process of motion picture making.It is no wonder this film was the most criticized and blacklisted film in Hollywood duing the studio era.I viewed this film with a greter appreciation,for the second time after gaining a little more understanding of the film's context.This is a great film and worth every penny, I cannot imagine how someone could not enjoy this film. ...
Pros: awesome film
Cons: none unless, you don't like black and white films
one must understand the context in which this film was made to truly appreciate this film for the highly innovative,true work of art that it is.Citizen Kane is an atypical film made in the studio era, of Hollywood, basically studio bosses owned everything and everyone in the film and used their stars and matched to their genre,followed a straight narrative and kept the spotlight on their stars.Citizen Kane broke all the rules in more ways than one, the lighting is used thematically,to express betrayal,trust,et cetera.When Kane makes his declaration of priniciples, he steps out the light of good intentions and his face is completely darkened by shadows, so we cannot tell if he was lying,self delusional or merely being idealistic ,but the lighting lets us know it is a lie.This was a big no-no,in the studio era, the stars must be lit at all times.This film is highly innovative for it's time only because Orson Welles had a unique contract that gave him complete creative control of this film,which was unheard of.The story starts with the death of the main character Mr.Kane, a media magnate, his death,goes back to his childhood and makes a full circle,by chronicaling his life and ends where it started at hids death.Welles threw convention out the window and used an entire cast of unknowns from his theatre group, some had never worked in film before,neglecting the established star system of the studio bosses,and the straight predictable start to finish story line. Unlike a typical Hollywood movie from this era, the females in Citizen Kane are far from weak, indeed they are the strongest characters in the movie,the women of Citizen Kane were dominant forces to be reckoned with .One of the best scenes in the movie is the montage of Kanes marriage,that shows years over a couple of minutes, the couple start off close and in bright lighting and as the marriage progresses,the talking evolves into silence,his wife look becomes more severe and the table gets longer,it ends with the wife expressing her disdain by reading the rival newspaper in his face during breakfast.This film was not just innovative because of the film techniques such as deep focus, focusing on three planes of action,chiarascurro lighting,overlapping dialog,using echoes to emphasis coldness, or lighting to emphasis a characters trapped feeling, no this film was innovative for it's time because Welles made his own film and played by his own rules while making it,satirizing the life of media magnate William Randolph Hearst,neglecting to use established stars in stereotypical roles and film techniques and produced a high quality film demonstrating the stifling effect studio bosses exerted in the creative process of motion picture making.It is no wonder this film was the most criticized and blacklisted film in Hollywood duing the studio era.I viewed this film with a greter appreciation,for the second time after gaining a little more understanding of the film's context.This is a great film and worth every penny, I cannot imagine how someone could not enjoy this film. ...