CITIZEN KANE is the greatest film? I don't buy it.

[DerekG]

Welles sure as hell raised the bar, but I can name ten movies that trounced "Kane":

Hitchcock's VERTIGO
Lean's LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
Coppola's THE GODFATHER; THE GODFATHER: PART II
Polanski's CHINATOWN
Altman's NASHVILLE
Scorsese's MEAN STREETS; RAGING BULL
Spielberg's JAWS; SCHINDLER'S LIST

[caty]

1. I agree.

I thought "Citizen Kane" had a decent story line, but it was a little boring.

"Rear Window"
"Philadelphia Story"
"Casablanca"
"Kings Row"
"The Yearling"
"I Remember Mama"
"Laura"
"An Affair to Remember"-- are just a few of the older movies that I found greater than "Citizen Kane". All the ones you mentioned were great also. Since all of our tastes in movies are different, it would be impossible to have one movie hold the title of "greatest film".

[dr.strangelove]

2. I think you are wrong

You named several great pictures, but in my opinion none of them beats Kane, though Godfather II and Raging Bull are my choice for 2 and 3.
In fact Godfather II is, in my opinion, the only time a sequel topped the original. (That and Superbabies Part II, now that is quality film making :sarcasm: )

[caty]

3. In "your" opinion

you are right.

[dr.strangelove]

5. Well, opinons are like assholes . . .

When rating films one can only offer opinions, since rating art is subjective.

[caty]

8. You got it!

:thumbsup:

[NYCGirl]

4. "Kane" changed the way films were made, with many innovations.

That's why it's considered the greatest film ever made.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19980524/REVIEWS08/401010334/1023

It is one of the miracles of cinema that in 1941 a first-time director; a cynical, hard-drinking writer; an innovative cinematographer, and a group of New York stage and radio actors were given the keys to a studio and total control, and made a masterpiece. ``Citizen Kane'' is more than a great movie; it is a gathering of all the lessons of the emerging era of sound, just as ``Birth of a Nation'' assembled everything learned at the summit of the silent era, and ``2001'' pointed the way beyond narrative. These peaks stand above all the others. (Roger Ebert)


Edited for typo.

[LaraMN]

6. Get real,

[elshiva]

7. There is no greatest film ever, no film is perfect.

[DerekG]

9. "The Godfather" is perfection

Not one false note; not one bum performance.

I challenge anyone to find a flaw.

[CanuckAmok]

11. Casino, too.

And Apocalypse Now.

And Wings of Desire.

All flawless examples of their respective genres.

[Rabrrrrrr]

10. That's because there is no one greatest film

All one can really do, in any sense of honesty, is call the top 10 "The greatest film".

And Citizen Kane is up there. Pure genius.

If *I* had to vote for the ONE greatest film ever, I would join the majority of reviewers and say Citizen Kane.

But some of what you pointed out are equally excellent - Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo...and I would add North by Northwest, The Wild Bunch, Touch of Evil, Ran, Casablanca, and a host of others.

When one is at the top of anything, it's impossible to choose the one that is "best".

[WI_DEM]

12. It's probably one of the most influential films rather than greatest

film ever made.

[Coventina]

13. As Peter Griffin said, "Rosebud was his sled. There I saved you two long

boring, boobless hours."


on edit: spelling

[Elidor]

15. It turns out Rosebud was much, much more than a sled

Watch "RKO 281" sometime.

[zauberflote]

23. My two cents

Rosebud was a hook, but a very nice one, and a perfect starting point to get at the superb psychological depths of the movie. The groundbreaking cinematography and set designs aren't bad either.
It's become fashionable to trash Kane for reasons that have almost nothing to do with the movie. Would-be critics think they're showing off their exceptional taste just by being contrary. That's OK. Kane can take it. It's as good a movie as any made in America.
But the best movie, if you must know, is Bergman's "Persona."

[XemaSab]

14. I think the people who make the

"best film" lists are horrible snobs.

Why not "Ghostbusters?"

Seriously, why not?

Or "Jaws" or "Pee Wee's big adventure" or any number of other films?

(Personally, I think "Strangelove" beats the crap out of 2001 any day of the week.)

[democracyindanger]

16. Not Ghostbusters because

Stripes, Caddyshack and Meatballs were all funnier.

[DerekG]

17. As you can see in my OP, I think JAWS is superior to KANE

"Ghostbusters" and "Pee Wee's Big Adventure," on the other hand, are just great entertainment.

[Montauk6]

18. I thought "Magnificent Ambersons" was far superior

And Welles's crowning moment, of course, was his radio adaptation of "The War of The Worlds."

[arwalden]

19. And... CAR WASH

[Aristus]

20. As someone once said about Shakespeare in another context,

the great thing about "Citizen Kane" is that it really is very good, in spite of all the people who say it really is very good!

The trouble is, most viewers nowadays come to "Kane" after years of viewing films influenced in one way or another by it. So the startling innovations used by the film don't seem as groundbreaking when you view it for the first time.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

21. It's the most influential, not the most entertaining, IMO.

[WCGreen]

22. Well, I have to agree.....

Although it was great and inovative for it's time...

Other movies proven to be better at standing the test of time....