Citizen Kane

[John]

Finally watched this movie last night - it's a phenomenal movie. Going to rewatch parts of it tonight. The visuals are amazing, story is tight.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

What channel?

 

[John]

What channel?

dvd

 

[intlzncster]

I was underwhelmed actually. I mean, technically, I understand why it was brilliant, especially in context of the era. But I just don't find it that entertaining. It is interesting to watch from an intellectual perspective, given the aforementioned reasons. Sort of like L'Avventura.

 

[John]

I was underwhelmed actually. I mean, technically, I understand why it was brilliant, especially in context of the era. But I just don't find it that entertaining. It is interesting to watch from an intellectual perspective, given the aforementioned reasons. Sort of like L'Avventura.

being someone who watches a lot of old movies, I just thought it was amazing in comparison. I tried to watch it in the context of someone back then seeing it.

 

[intlzncster]

being someone who watches a lot of old movies, I just thought it was amazing in comparison. I tried to watch it in the context of someone back then seeing it.

Oh without question. One of, if not the, most important movies of all time.

I think my feeling is that: I appreciated it, but didn't enjoy it immensely.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Oh without question. One of, if not the, most important movies of all time.

I think my feeling is that: I appreciated it, but didn't enjoy it immensely.

I felt the same, but I want to give it another shot.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Oh without question. One of, if not the, most important movies of all time.

I think my feeling is that: I appreciated it, but didn't enjoy it immensely.

That's the way I've felt each time I watched it, but that hasn't been for 15 years at least. I think we even watched it in my summer UConn film class.

There are other great, classic films, which helped shape movies going forward, but which aren't much fun to sit through.

 

[intlzncster]

There are other great, classic films, which helped shape movies going forward, but which aren't much fun to sit through.

Yeah, you end up watching a bunch of those in the Film 101 classes. I know I did. Glad I took it, as it shows you where everything comes from and informs you on different ways to watch movies. But damn, some of those were boring a ss films.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Yeah, you end up watching a bunch of those in the Film 101 classes. I know I did. Glad I took it, as it shows you where everything comes from and informs you on different ways to watch movies. But damn, some of those were boring a ss films.

It does pay off when you watch DePalma or Spielberg rip off Hitchcock and realize where it came from. Not that Hitchcock made boring movies. I had a friend at UConn who was a movie buff extraordinaire. Saw everything. So I watched a lot of stuff I wouldn't have otherwise, like Diva.

 

[dbmill]

It does pay off when you watch DePalma or Spielberg rip off Hitchcock and realize where it came from. Not that Hitchcock made boring movies. I had a friend at UConn who was a movie buff extraordinaire. Saw everything. So I watched a lot of stuff I wouldn't have otherwise, like Diva.

I also had a friend at UConn who was a movie buff extraordinaire. I spent many a late night in his room watching all sorts of stuff. It turned me into something of a movie buff. While I do watch my share of new and more or less recent releases (mainly through Netflix), I have a particular fondness for the old classic stuff, and that includes silent movies. My wife happens to share this fondness, so it figures that after sporting events that the most watched channel on our TV is Turner Classic Movies.

That being said, there are a number of old classics that I would certainly consider dull or boring, or just don't want to see again. Citizen Kane is not one of them. It may have acquired a certain classic art film status, but both my wife and I find it tremendously entertaining, from the story that is going on to the gymnastics of Orson Welles direction. With that film he is the kid taking advantage of the proverbial candy store.

 

[ZooCougar]

Rosebud.

 

[StoweD210]

Rosebud.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I also had a friend at UConn who was a movie buff extraordinaire. I spent many a late night in his room watching all sorts of stuff. It turned me into something of a movie buff. While I do watch my share of new and more or less recent releases (mainly through Netflix), I have a particular fondness for the old classic stuff, and that includes silent movies. My wife happens to share this fondness, so it figures that after sporting events that the most watched channel on our TV is Turner Classic Movies.

That being said, there are a number of old classics that I would certainly consider dull or boring, or just don't want to see again. Citizen Kane is not one of them. It may have acquired a certain classic art film status, but both my wife and I find it tremendously entertaining, from the story that is going on to the gymnastics of Orson Welles direction. With that film he is the kid taking advantage of the proverbial candy store.

Perhaps it should be categorized as "I need to be in the mood for it". Some movies you can just watch and they carry you. Citizen Kane is not that.

I buttressed my movie watching list when I had a 3 day a week, 12 hour a day job in the summers during college. All my friends were working those two days I had off, so I tended to rent movies. I've rated about 1500 of them on Netflix, and I stopped doing it ages ago. My wife also likes classic movies, especially WWI and WWII, westerns and classic musicals.

 

[huskyrob1]

Oh without question. One of, if not the, most important movies of all time.

I think my feeling is that: I appreciated it, but didn't enjoy it immensely.

Never made my top 5, but would probably put it somewhere in the 2nd 5.

My top 5 would be in order....A Place in the Sun, How Green Was My Valley, Schindlers List, The Apartment, and M*A*S*H.

2nd 5....
Shane, The Sound of Music, Citizen Kane, To Kill A Mockingbird, A Passage To India.

Honorable mention.....

Casablanca, Saving Private Ryan, Star Wars, The Godfather and Godfather II, Dr Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia, Gone With The Wind, Giant, Heaven Can Wait, Psycho, It's a Wonderful Life, Niagara, Stalag 17, The Grapes of Wrath, The Prisoner of Zenda, The Quiet Man, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, The Graduate.

 

[intlzncster]

Never made my top 5, but would probably put it somewhere in the 2nd 5.

My top 5 would be in order....A Place in the Sun, How Green Was My Valley, Schindlers List, The Apartment, and M*A*S*H.

2nd 5....
Shane, The Sound of Music, Citizen Kane, To Kill A Mockingbird, A Passage To India.

Honorable mention.....

Casablanca, Saving Private Ryan, Star Wars, The Godfather and Godfather II, Dr Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia, Gone With The Wind, Giant, Heaven Can Wait, Psycho, It's a Wonderful Life, Niagara, Stalag 17.

What a list rob, I don't even know what to say to that

 

[huskyrob1]

What a list rob, I don't even know what to say to that

Thanks, I think. Lol. I used 7 different criteria with various weights to get what I came up with.

 

[dbmill]

Never made my top 5, but would probably put it somewhere in the 2nd 5.

My top 5 would be in order....A Place in the Sun, How Green Was My Valley, Schindlers List, The Apartment, and M*A*S*H.

2nd 5....
Shane, The Sound of Music, Citizen Kane, To Kill A Mockingbird, A Passage To India.

Honorable mention.....

Casablanca, Saving Private Ryan, Star Wars, The Godfather and Godfather II, Dr Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia, Gone With The Wind, Giant, Heaven Can Wait, Psycho, It's a Wonderful Life, Niagara, Stalag 17, The Grapes of Wrath, The Prisoner of Zenda, The Quiet Man.

You made my wife very happy putting How Green Was My Valley so high on your list, it's a terrific film. If I were to make out such a list, both John Ford and Alfred Hitchcock would be very well represented. I once started trying to figure out what were the best (or my favorite) Hitchcock movies, I came up with about 10+ great movies before I got to what I would regard as his second tier. That second tier wasn't too shabby as well, containing some very good films. John Ford would have that same "problem" for me as well.

 

[huskyrob1]

You made my wife very happy putting How Green Was My Valley so high on your list, it's a terrific film. If I were to make out such a list, both John Ford and Alfred Hitchcock would be very well represented. I once started trying to figure out what were the best (or my favorite) Hitchcock movies, I came up with about 10+ great movies before I got to what I would regard as his second tier. That second tier wasn't too shabby as well, containing some very good films. John Ford would have that same "problem" for me as well.

One thing that can make a great film is a great and memorable performance by a child actor, and Roddy McDowell's performance and his characters narration of the film has to be near the top, along with Brandon Dewilde in Shane, all the Sound of Music child actors, Mary Badham as "Scout" in To Kill A Mockingbird (her character also narrates that film), and Alfred Lutter playing the son and Jodie Foster as his friend in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, but McDowell's performance in HGWMV was special. Not sure if you're aware but How Green Was My Valley upset the heavily favored Citizen Kane at the 1941 Oscars and made off with many of the major awards.

 

[dbmill]

One thing that can make a great film is a great and memorable performance by a child actor, and Roddy McDowell's performance and his characters narration of the film has to be near the top, along with Brandon Dewilde in Shane, all the Sound of Music child actors, Mary Badham as "Scout" in To Kill A Mockingbird (her character also narrates that film), and Alfred Lutter playing the son in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, but McDowell's performance in HGWMV was special. Not sure if you're aware but How Green Was My Valley upset the heavily favored Citizen Kane at the 1941 Oscars and made off with many of the major awards.

Oh, I'm quite aware of Citizen Kane not winning the Oscar. During the studio era, outsiders like Orson Welles were not likely to do well at Oscar time. Also, Kane and Welles made quick enemies in Hollywood, especially of William Randolph Hearst. We're lucky that Citizen Kane even exists today, considering the efforts at the time to buy up the film negative, with the intent to destroy it.

 

[junglehusky]

Anybody else watched Citizen Kane and were like "Oh, so that's what those Simpsons references were all about!"

 

[dbmill]

Anybody else watched Citizen Kane and were like "Oh, so that's what those Simpsons references were all about!"

Funny, recently I introduced to someone at work the movie "Freaks" (1932) the cult horror movie that Tod Browning made with real circus performers, and showed him the classic "Gooble Gobble! One of Us!" scene. His eyes immediately lit up, and he went right to the Simpsons take off on that scene. At last, he understood!

 

[John]

Watched How Green Was My Valley last night based on the recommendations here. It's a great great movie, I don't know how I missed it all these years. The acting is top shelf, set design very good, story is phenomenal (and quite moving). I'd definitely watch it again and also recommend it if you haven't seen it.

 

[dbmill]

Watched How Green Was My Valley last night based on the recommendations here. It's a great great movie, I don't know how I missed it all these years. The acting is top shelf, set design very good, story is phenomenal (and quite moving). I'd definitely watch it again and also recommend it if you haven't seen it.

Glad you liked it. The way some of the visual shots are framed is quite amazing, they tell their own story right there. It is possibly John Ford's best movie. Considering how many good and great films he did, that is saying something.

 

[John]

Glad you liked it. The way some of the visual shots are framed is quite amazing, they tell their own story right there. It is possibly John Ford's best movie. Considering how many good and great films he did, that is saying something.

some of the scenes are visually jawdropping.