One of the startling bits of information I uncovered is that Donald Trump claimed that this was his favorite film. oh wait he later revealed that "Deadly Bloodsport" was his favorite film. For film buffs, this is ticking off a big box. I admit to being a contrarian, but I'm not above questioning my judgement. It has been opined that the film doesn't change, but the viewer changes. The film sometimes does change, Ebert remarks how much one can see in the 35 millimeter version than the original prints. Of course the nitrate prints burned up in the 70's. Ted Turner was supposed to be trying to colorize "Citizen Kane." Let's accept that the viewer brings his/her experiences to the movie. Watching the two commentaries gave me a different subtext when I watched the film a third time in two days. I was a consciously more informed viewer. What did I see?
The film opens with shots of Kane's mansion, Xanadu. We see the metal fencing and the No Trespassing sign. We also view a light in one window. There is a quick wipe into a news reel (News on the March). This was s takeoff on "Time" magazine's "The March of Time." Welles appeared on the CBS radio show. After the newsreel is shown for professional news personnel , one journalist is given the task of discovering the "meaning" of Kane's last word "Snowbud." Thompson, William Allard, begins his research with Kane's second wife, Susan Aldrich Kane ( Dorothy Cummingore), she won't tell him anything. Thompson (we never see his face} next visits the library of Thatcher. He was the banker who oversaw Kane s' development untilhe turned 25. Then he would come into his inheritance which began with a huge goldmine. Reading the unpublished memoir setup flashbacks to the boy in Colorado. Rosebud remains illusive, and Thompson interviews Bernstein, Kane's business manager. The flashbacks can cover long periods of time. There is the famous flashback of Kane having breakfast with his first wife, Emily Norton (Ruth Warwick) through several years. They groe both more emotionally and physically distant over the years.
Of all his holdings Kane is interested in one, a second rate NYC daily, "The Inquirer." When he comes into his fortune at 25, he throws himself into the development of the paper. On the first day of his management, he has a statement of purpose appear on the front page. This avows that the paper will protect the interests of the working class. When Kane returns to manage the paper, he brings along his closest friend, Jed Leland (Joseph Cotton). Cotton becomes the drama critic. At one point it looks like Kane will become governor of New York. A scandal derails him. The depression hits his group of newspapers hard. Kane has spent money building up a print and radio empire. The bank takes over his empire. He retires to Xanadu, his unfinished palace in Florida with his second wife. His attempt to make her a great opera singer has been a total failure. After several years in Xanadu, Susan leaves him. Kane grows old alone. He has no friends or family. When he dies, a snow globe falls from his hand and breaks as he utters "Rosebud." The snow globe was in Susan's apartment the night they met. Kane has been buying things from all over the word for decades. After his death, they are catalogued and put up for auction. Thompson arrives to photograph the mass of goods, and perhaps to find Rosebud. He is unsuccessful, but he states that finding Rosebud wouldn't explain Kane's life. We are let in on what Rosebud is, but the reveal doesn't really help us How did Kane's life go so wrong?
I couldn't find a free streaming service. The film is a technical masterpiece, an arresting story with excellent acting. I recognize the achievement, but it doesn't move me emotionally. This was Welles" first film, in the estimate of critics and directors it is his best. Welles wasn't portraying himself in the film. Most actors wanted to work with him; Charlton Heston insisted that Welles direct "A Touch of Evil" as a condition of his signing on to star. Both Wise and Toland were fans. You really need to watch this on a big screen; the next best thing is to get a DVD with lots of extras.