What amazes me the most about Citizen Kane is despite its cultural ubiquity is that is still remains a great movie on its own strength and merits. I had never actually seen it until a few weeks ago, but in a sense I had with all the references and sort of allusions that have been made about it since its release.
I think there is an attitude amongst people that “Older” cinema is more of an artifact and cannot be viewed as anything other than some oddity from the past. In a way I can understand that, older movies tend to have theatricality that is no longer common in today’s cinematic output. I never get that impression that this particular movie is some bizarre relic from the history of film. It’s vibrant and alive and essentially creates the language of modern film, and was sort of created by people who didn’t know better.
I really enjoyed this movie. The richness in the shadows, the opulence that was hinted at, and the wonderful way the camera let us in to the world of Charles Foster Kane. I also enjoyed the fact the we never got to see the reporters face, and he becomes a stand in for the audience. We never really know Kane, but I think that was sort of the point.
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