Citizen Kane

Watched it 9/15 & 16/ 2014. Nearly two hours long! (Then watched the special about Orson Welles and William Randolph Hurst on 9/17 . . . )

This is one of those legendary titles I've gotten tired of hearing about and finally requested from the library. It was debuted in 1941 (May 1). In a way, I want to watch it again and play closer attention. Or perhaps I would enjoy more reading some of the commentary and analysis of it. <Spoiler!> I had picked up from many different sources over the year that "Rosebud" was significant and that it was Kane's sled. I didn't "get" that until I watched the movie.>

VERY interesting tidbit in the actor interviews. Ruth Warrick, who played the first Mrs. Kane, talked about working with Orson Wells and shared advice he gave her. She said that he told her the most important thing in life was to find your heart's desire and then follow it. "Because that's what the Lord created you to do and to be." She said he also told her "all the education you'll ever need is if you know the Bible - I mean really know it, not just read it now and then."

Orson Welles co-wrote, starred, and directed (?) Citizen Kane. It tells the story of a boy who becomes the owner of a successful gold mine and is sent by his mother to get an education and be the ward of a banker.The movie begins with Kane's death and a group of reporters who try to figure out what his final word - Rosebud - meant.


William Randolph Hearst . . . is the person on whom Citizen Kane was modeled.There is so much happening here! It seems weird to think about these dead men having been so passionate about their work and their lives. Hurst's actions in journalism and Welles' influence in theatre - they seem more alike than different! Megalomaniacs both.