I've watched Citizen Kane maybe twice and the thought of watching it again leaves me cold - as if it were a chore. I have watched this maybe ten times over the years and if I started watching it right now I couldn't stop.
shareOpposite here, I think. I plan on checking out a special edition of Citizen Kane next week and watching the film in its entirety again after not seeing it for several years. It used to be a favorite of mine, a film I could watch over and over, though that may no longer be the case. I may view it differently now; I'll have to see.
I just watched How Green Was My Valley and thought it was simply good, but I have no real desire to see it again. It seems very much like the type of film the Academy would heavily reward.
CITIZEN KANE, much admired, is perhaps the most relentlessly unpleasant movie ever made.
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Most of Citizen Kane's big reputation happened retrospectively. over time it got practically canonized but it was only moderately successful in it's day. There was also a campaign against it by the Hearst newspapers. All told, it's a film that especially appeals to critics, directors and people deep into film, but the general public has never really loved it.
shareI have watched Antonioni's L'eclisse a half dozen times and Rocco and His Brothers at least that many times so I guess 'I like film'.
shareI had the opposite reaction. "Kane" is one of those films that pulls me in every time, even if if I'm only flipping channels and catch a glimpse. "HGWMV" does not, it's a compelling story but IMHO the filmmaking is... flat, at least compared to "Kane".
But it might not be a matter of technique, filmgoing is an emotional experience after all. If as person identifies with the miners of HGWMV and not with the rich bastards of "Kane", that person will love the former film more than the latter.
I am watching it now.
shareYes, it’s not Citizen Kane, but it’s still a lovely film and far from a bad choice.
And nobody ever brings up the fact that - the very next year - Orson’s The Magnificent Ambersons lost to Mrs Miniver - a far greater gap in quality right there!
**For the record I’d pick Ball of Fire or The Little Foxes as Best Picture of 1941, although I’d give Welles Best Director.