Citizen Kane (1941) ***** [CC UHD Double Feature Pt. 1]

Citizen Kane (1941) (one of my Top 100 Films—Top 10, actually) continues to age well and remains as impressive, engaging, and relevant as ever. It's a treat to be able to watch this film, which I've seen many times, in the best possible home video quality via The Criterion Collection's 4K UHD, with a wealth of new special features, and contained in beautiful packaging.

I love the mystique and legend of CK's central character, Charles Foster Kane (mostly based on William Randolph Hearst), built up over the course of the film through flashbacks, interspersed with investigative present day (1941) scenes. I love the cast, which includes Orson Welles's Mercury players—himself, along with Joseph Cotten (charming and dashing as ever), Ray Collins (thoroughly despicable), Everett Sloane (the likable yes-man), Agnes Moorehead (intense as Hearst's mother), and more. And, of course, Gregg Toland's cinematography never ceases to amaze, Bernard Herrmann's score perfectly compliments the mystery, and the story by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Welles is still fascinating and nuanced. 

This 80+ year-old film has a better grip on American culture, ego, and politics than most films these days. Is Citizen Kane the greatest film ever made? I’m not sure how that question can even be answered and how one would adequately attempt to equate such a thing. It seems like a foolish task. But there is no denying that it is one of the very greatest films ever made and there is no overstating its influence on cinema.

You can find my Orson Welles Feature Films Ranked list here.