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Citizen Kane: 75th Anniversary (BD) [Blu-ray]
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Additional Blu-ray options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
Blu-ray
September 13, 2011 "Please retry" | Special Edition | — |
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| — | $6.50 |
Watch Instantly with | Rent | Buy |
Citizen Kane | — | — |
Purchase options and add-ons
Genre | Drama |
Format | Blu-ray, NTSC |
Contributor | Agnes Moorehead, Paul Stewart, Georgia Backus, Ray Collins, Joseph Cotten, Harry Shannon, Sonny Bupp, Dorothy Comingore, Fortunio Bonanova, Herman J. Mankiewicz, Buddy Swan, Philip Van Zandt, Everett Sloane, Ruth Warrick, Erskine Sanford, Gus Schilling, George Coulouris, William Alland, Orson Welles See more |
Initial release date | 2016-11-15 |
Language | English |
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From the manufacturer
Citizen Kane: 75th Anniversary
Chronicling the stormy life of an influential publishing tycoon, when he dies news reporters scramble to discover the meaning of his final utterance.
Product Description
Citizen Kane: 75th Anniversary (BD)
Product details
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- Product Dimensions : 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 1.76 ounces
- Item model number : 43298295
- Director : Orson Welles
- Media Format : Blu-ray, NTSC
- Release date : November 15, 2016
- Actors : Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Warrick
- Subtitles: : English, French, Spanish
- Producers : Orson Welles
- Studio : Studio Distribution Services
- ASIN : B01LZ6R8U4
- Writers : Herman J. Mankiewicz, Orson Welles
- Country of Origin : USA
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #11,597 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #1,283 in Drama Blu-ray Discs
- Customer Reviews:
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But is it the best motion picture ever made? Perhaps. Most movie critics consider 1939 to be the greatest year in the history of American cinema, but 1941-the year "Kane" was made-is a close second. It's a story told almost entirely in flashback, as a group of reporters interview people to try to discover what Kane meant by his dying last word: "Rosebud." Kane's assistant Mr. Bernstein (Everett Sloane) (he's never given a first name; it's just "Mr. Bernstein" or "Bernstein") thinks it might have been a girl. "There were a lot of them in the early days." Kane's friend and partner Jed Leland (Joseph Cotten) says he read about Kane's "dying words" in the Enquirer (Kane's newspaper). "Well, I never believed anything I saw in the Enquirer."
Charles Foster Kane became a multi-millionaire quite by accident. As a boy, he lived with his parents in "Mrs. Kane's Boarding House" in Colorado. A boarder who couldn't pay his bill left Mrs. Kane a deed to a worthless (or so he believed) gold mine. It turned out to be the Colorado lode, one of richest mines in the world. And now we have a scene which has always disturbed me. Young Charles is playing in the snow with his sled and building a snowman when Mr. Thatcher (George Coulouris), a prominent banker, comes to visit. He's going to take the very rich Charles away with him on a train trip. What's more, the scene makes it very clear that Charles is never going to see his parents again. WHY? Mary Kane, who is so depressed one can barely look at her, is played by Agnes Moorehead, making her screen debut at the age of 40. But again, why is it necessary to separate Charles from his parents just because he's rich? No wonder he attacked Thatcher with a sled.
Fast forward to Kane, now 21, and completely independent from the firm of "Thatcher and Company." In a letter to Thatcher, he tells him he's not interested in oil wells, gold mines, etc., but would like to buy a bankrupt newspaper because, "I think it would be fun to run a newspaper." When the very rich and powerful confront a reality they don't like, they often use that money and power to try and change it. When Kane is confronted by his wife and his political opponent Gettys (Ray Collins)-Kane is running for governor-about his affair with Susan Alexander and Gettys tells him he won't print the story if Kane withdraws from the race, Kane totally refuses ("Nobody's going to tell me what to do!"). The people love him (Jed Leland: "You talk about the people as if you own them."), and will elect him no matter what he's done. He was wrong.
To quote Leland once again, Kane "spent his whole life trying to prove something." After Emily Monroe Norton (Ruth Warrick), Kane's first wife, dies in a car accident, he marries Susan Alexander (Dorothy Comingore), and tries to turn her into an opera singer, a hopeless task. (He even builds her an opera house.) Finally, her singing teacher has had enough. "Some people can sing. Some can't. IMPOSSIBLE! IMPOSSIBLE!" Mr. Kane intervenes, and reminds Sigor Matiste (Fortunio Bonanova) that he runs a few newspapers and can easily destroy his reputation. Once again money and power defeat reality.
Now, I don't really think it's fair to say that Susan Alexander and Marion Davies, Hearst's mistress, are one and the same person. Susan was an inept singer, Marion a successful and talented actress for 20 years. She never married Hearst, nor did she ever leave him. She also claimed that she never saw "Citizen Kane," and had nothing negative to say about Mr. Welles.
Finally, if you want to understand how the mind of a really powerful man works, look at how Kane dealt with Leland when he was giving Susan's performance a bad review. Leland was too drunk to finish it, so Kane did it for him, writing a bad notice. Kane spent his whole life "trying to prove something."
Earlier, Mr. Bernstein told us that Lane and Leland have not spoken for years. Then Leland walks into the room where Kane is typing Susan's notice, and we have the following dialogue:
Kane: Hello Jedediah.
Jed: Hello, Charlie. I didn't know we were speaking.
Kane: Sure, we're speaking Jedediah. You're fired.
Unlike the baffled reporters, we know what "Rosebud" means as soon as Kane drops the snow globe. He's thinking about his youth in his parents' boarding house, a poor boy riding a sled and building snowmen. The only time in his life when he was really happy.
It's always hard to read or watch a "classic" without having huge expectations - and perhaps not just enjoying the film. That's true for books you're required to read in high school as well as for movies. You might really have enjoyed reading "Pride and Prejudice" - but if you're forced to read it and told "this is a great book!" you might not enjoy it at all.
Let me say first why this is a classic. There are a TON of visual puns, lighting effects, production effects, that had never been used before. The in-focus effects were spectacular when this movie came out. It was an incredible groundbreaker - one that inspired thousands of other filmmakers. If you weren't around in 1941, then in essence everything you watch is "based" on this. It's like praising Edgar Allen Poe for writing mysteries, if you love mysteries that exist now. They draw their origin from that spectacular start.
If you were born after 1941, you might say "well that's interesting, but I don't have to like the pyramids of Egypt to like modern architecture. I like Van Halen even though some of their songs were really written by classic blues artists 40+ years earlier; I don't like the blues original songs. I like current stuff and don't care about what it was based on."
That is of course true, and a human trait. So if you're not a fan of "tracing the roots" of movies you love, let's just take the movie itself as a standalone entity - as the story of a man.
Orson Wells made this as his very first movie - and he not only acted in it but also directed it. He was a newbie. He did some amazing things in his very first attempt every to make a movie. To start with, you as the viewer are really "drawn in" to the movie in a way that most movies don't do. The interviewer is usually in the lower right, i.e. sort of where you, the audience, are sitting. You and the interviewer are both directly talking to and interacting with the people on the screen.
Kane was "stolen" from his family at a very young age - raised by strangers, sent off to schools and training. He grew up alone, with only some friends to keep him company. He decides when just out of college to run a newspaper, sort of a lark. He has great ideals - to help the little man. Once he gets a taste of power and public affection, he gets addicted to it. He begins to create stories that don't really exist, to "make world events happen". He starts to manipulate the people around him to get him more and more attention. When he gets abandoned, you feel sorry for him - but you also know it's completely his own fault.
These aren't just random vague events that are happening in outer space. They are very personal events happening to a "real person" - this was of course based on real life events of that era. Not only that, but they could happen to any of us. We all have tasks that we do, that bring us joy. We all have the potential to have growth with our dreams - but if we got that growth, would we do "good" with that power, or would we start to be tainted? If we had power over those we love, would we use it 100% for their own good, or would we do subtle things that made US happy and not necessarily them? How many parents, for example, pushed kids to go to a particular college because it appealed to the parent, even if it wasn't the perfect match for the child's personality?
This obviously isn't a hack and slash movie with a lot of combat and violence. It's a movie about the trade-offs we all make as we go for our dreams, find success, find failure, try to make love work. This isn't the story of a 23 year old having a fun college life. It's the story of the full life of a man - from sad, lonely young child, to idealistic young man, to a sad, lonely old man.
The way life affects us - and the way in which our choices affect our life - are universal concepts that are really important to pretty much every human being. It might be that some particular humans might not care yet. Certainly I remember for example when I was a teenager that I didn't give a lot of thought to the nebulous "long off future". Now that I'm a bit older, though, the thoughts of choices made, opportunities missed and long term goals are very important to me. Citizen Kane is a very touching portrayal of one man's journey through the years.
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As for the Blu Ray itself, the quality is very impressive given the age of the movie. The restoration is carefully done, and the contrast is as it should be (dark blacks) instead of the more washed out look some of the previous releases had. The level of detail is fantastic, and the sets and matte paintings used to construct them appear even more impressive once you can see the full details. Overall, it is a noticeable step up from the DVD releases (as expected). The sound, mixed from a mono source, doesn't quite have the same pop as modern sound does, but that is to be expected, and it still does a wonderful job,
The only disappointment I had with the film is the extras. In terms of what they offer, they're quite excellent -- we get things like commentary, as well as the initial trailer and scenes from the screening, but the real gems are the 'The Battle Over Citizen Kane' documentary and the 'RKO 281' HBO movie, both of which chronicle the creation and release of the movie. Unfortunately, what brings them down is that they're both in standard definition, which is a bit jarring given the gorgeous high-def picture of Citizen Kane itself.
Overall, this is a fantastic release package for an even more impressive movie, and is absolutely worth checking out if you haven't experienced Citizen Kane before.
And last but not least, it is a film where the language not just back and support the story, but complete it and sometimes replace the classic narration through a supermodern visual language, like the fantastic sequence reassuming the whole story between Kane and his wife in few quick scenes all set in the same room and linked by camera pans and ellipsis. And Kane is also photographically evocative and impressive, is grand in its character, the lines of his dialogues and monologues, the impact of shots and scenes, the reckless representation of journalism and politics as well as the collusion between business and war. It is too much for a film but still you can find it cold, calculated, not engaging, like often Welles seems to be.
But you can't ignore it and, if you do, you will not recognize it in all the films that came after, up to now, and not able to tell the copy from the original. Because a lots of things come from this film.
This edition is the best available, it does not just present a fantastic blu ray transfer, but it is full of extras and has a great box and an interesting little book inside.
Weggefährten, Zeitzeugen, Reporterkollegen, Fosters Ex-Frau, Freunde, Feinde...aus deren Erzählungen werden in nicht-chronologischen Rückblenden wie in einem Puzzle Stationen aus dem Leben Kanes geschildert. Wie in einem Puzzle wird auch der Zuschauer gezwungen, sich daraus sein eigenes Bild von Kane zusammenzusetzen ohne wirklich einer obkektiven Wahrheit näherzukommen. Virtuos wird dabei Gregg Tolands Kamera quasi zum "Miterzähler" des Films. Welles und Toland arbeiteten zum ersten Mal mit Tiefenschärfe und speziellen Weitwinkelobjektiven, die Perspektiven verzerrten und es ermöglichten, Figuren im Vordergrund abzubilden, während der Hintergrund genauso "scharf" war. Dabei konnten Personen mal als "Riesen", mal als "Zwerge" erscheinen, prägnante Gegenstände in den Vordergrund gerückt,Räume tiefer gezeigt und Schnitte weitgehend vermieden werden, indem man die Tiefe des Raumes ausnutzte und ganze Einstellungen ohne Schnitte in einem einzigen Raum filmte.Überblendungen, schnelle Montagefolgen (die an Eisenstein erinnern), unterschiedliche Filmgeschwindigkeiten, die Bewegungsabläufe entweder verzögerten oder schneller werden ließen, wurden als Stilmittel eingesetzt, Kontraste erzeugt. In einer Szene etwa befinden sich Kane und sein bester Freund Leland in den Büros des Zeitungsverlages. In dieser Szene scheint die Kamera förmlich im Boden versunken zu sein, durch diese Untersicht wirkt der Raum überdimensional riesig (ebenso Kane, während Leland "klein" im Hintergrund gelassen wird). Tolands Bildersymbolik spiegelt ständig in Darstellung der subjektiven Größe oder den Bewegungen von Kane seine Gemütszustände wieder: mal gigantisch als "Riese" einen ganzen Raum ausfüllend, mal "klein" und aus Untersicht, mal kindlich und in den letzten Szenen geradezu statuenhaft erstarrt, als ihn seine Frau verläßt (die ihm übrigens ganz treffend sagt, sie habe sich nicht anders gefühlt als die vielen Statuen und Kunstgegenstände, als "Eroberung" und Sammlerobjekt für Kanes eigene Befriedigung). Die Kamera ist ständig in Bewegung und wechselt ständig die Perspektiven. Neu war auch eine der Anfangssequenzen des Films, wo in einer fiktiven "Wochenschau" ein Nachruf auf Kane gezeigt wird. Welles wird hier in einige "echte" Szenen mit Hitler oder Winston Churchill "hineinkopiert", diese "halbdokumentarischen" Tricks hatte man so noch nicht gesehen, und sie wirken total realistisch (Woody Allen's "Zelig" greift diese Methode - mit Sicherheit auch als Hommage an Welles - wieder auf). Die Kameraperspektiven lassen Welles mal als "groß und machtvoll", mal als "winzig und gescheitert" erscheinen, sie prägen im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes subjektive Charakterzeichnungen. Sensationell war auch Welles'eigene schauspielerische Leistung: er, damals erst 25, durchlief dabei in überzeugender Maske und Gestik alle Altersstufen bis hin zum 70jährigen. Die Tonspur ist mit Halls, Echos, unterschiedlichen Lautstärken, überbetonten Geräuschen ebenfalls sehr prägnant und erfindungsreich eingesetzt, daneben gibt es fast stumme Szenen, die eine ganze Episode rein visuell erzählen.Nie weiß der Zuschauer mehr als der ermittelnde Reporter (der im ganzen Film nur von hinten gezeigt wird), erst ganz zum Schluß macht die Kamera den Zuschauer zum Mitwisser und enthüllt uns die wahre Bedeutung des Wortes "Rosebud" - und damit auch viel über die Psyche von Kane, über die tiefliegenden Gründe seiner Besessenheit und seines beruflichen und privaten Scheiterns.Denn was ein Mensch macht und wie er sich entwickelt, liegt oft in der Kindheit begründet. Welles spielt ebenfalls mit der Zeit, manche Ereignisse dehnt er aus, manche verkürzt er wie unter einem Brennglas, etwa diejenige Szene, in der in zwei Minuten der Zerfall von Kanes Ehe nur an einem einzigen Alltagsritual deutlich wird: beim Frühstück. Frisch verheiratet, unterhalten sich die beiden angeregt, cut - die zweite Frühstücksszene zeigt das Verhältnis deutlich abgekühlt, Emily macht ihm deutlich, daß sie sich vernachlässigt fühlt, in der dritten fällt kein Wort, Kane liest seine Zeitung und Emily das Konkurrenzblatt.
Am Schluß erkennen wir zwar, was eine tiefe Verletzung für Kane bedeutet hat, trotzdem bleibt uns der Mensch Kane weitgehend ein Rätsel wie für den Reporter - weil Welles uns durch seinen Subjektivismus abwechselnd Sympathien und Antipathien für Kane zuweist und wieder entzieht. Wenn wir überhaupt mit einer Figur des Films sympathisieren sollen, dann ist es wahrscheinlich Leland, der eine aufrichtige ethische Haltung darüber hat, was Journalismus bedeuten soll und Kane ständig daran erinnert. Neben den unterschiedlichen Einschätzungen über die Person Kanes schwankt der Film konsequenterweise ständig zwischen Ernsthaftigkeit, (Real-)Satire, überschwenglichen und traurigen und zuweilen bizarren und grotesken Szenen, er ist visuell dermaßen "voll", daß man ihn mehrere Male sehen muß, um zu erfassen mit welchen Mitteln Welles uns seine Vorstellung von Materialismus und Reichtum vermittelt. Erst beim mehrmaligem Sehen erfaßt man auch Welles'Hinweise auf die Lösung des Rätsels Rosebud: In einer Szene mit Mr. Bernstein brennt im Hintergrund ein Kaminfeuer, das schon auf den an ein Krematorium erinnernden Ofen, in dem privater Plunder von Kane am Filmende verbrannt werden,hindeutet. Die Glaskugel mit Schnee und der Blockhütte taucht mehrere Male im Film auf. Doch viele Zuschauer haben vermutet, daß diese Glaskugel, die an Kanes Kindheitsabschiedsszene vor dem winterlichen ärmlichen Blockkhaus seiner Eltern erinnert, aus eben jenen in einem Laherhaus verstauten Besitztümern Kanes stammt. Irrtum: Schaut man aufmerksam hin, so kann man in einer Szene bei Susan Alexander zuhause (in der Sequenz als sich beide kennenlernen) auf dem Garderobentisch deutlich jene Glaskugel erkennen. Mehrmals führt uns Kane mit versteckten oder offensichtlichen Bildern und Kameraeinstellungen in die Irre. Die Raffinessen vor allem auch der Tonspur kann man besser in der Originalfassung erfassen, die deutsche Synchronisation ist für meine Begriffe nicht immer glücklich. Und das einzige Manko dieser hervorragend restaurierten Fassung ist eben leider auch, daß der Soundtrack von Bernard Herrmann immer noch nicht vollständig wiedergegeben wird, denn auch die Musik als "subjektiven Stimmungserzeuger" hat Welles überzeugend integriert. Der Film hat seinen bleibenden Wert auch als Essay über Macht, den Verlust von Idealen und als kritische Abrechnung mit dem american way of life. Kane macht nichts anderes als sich den Liebesentzug, den er in seiner Kindheit erfahren hat, durch zu einer regelrechten Profilneurose gesteigertes Geltungsbewußtsein zurückzuholen. Macht, Einfluß und Besitz werden ihm wichtiger als ehrlicher Journalismus - eigentlich treibt er seine Zeitung und die Entwicklung seines Imperiums von Anfang an wie einen Eroberungsfeldzug voran. Und nicht zufällig gemahnt sein Name (und das Schloß Xanadu, daß er sich erbaut hat) an einen anderen Machtbesessenen: Kublai Khan.
Und wer sich auf die Kino-Magie, die oft ihre eigenen Gesetze hat, einläßt, sieht auch mit einem Lächeln über die wohl größte Logik-Lücke der Filmgeschichte hinweg.
Das Wort "Rosebud", welches Charles Foster Kane kurz vorm Exitus flüstert, hat NIEMAND außer ihm selbst gehört... Ein findiger Reporter hatte das auch schon 1941 erkannt und Welles darauf angesprochen. Welles sagte: "Erzählen Sie das ja niemandem weiter!"