Citizen Kane may have been dethroned by Vertigo in the 2012 Sight & Sound poll but it’s still…you know…Citizen Kane. Here at The Film Stage we’ll take any opportunity to further study Orson Welles‘ American masterpiece and today we have two extensive documentaries that chronicle Kane’s production.
The first documentary, narrated by film critic Barry Norman, traces the rise of Kane’s key collaborators including the film’s auteur, Orson Welles, screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, and composer Bernard Herman. Norman, whose scholarly approach to individual shots in Kane may remind you of your old film professor, highlights pinnacle moments in the film with enthusiasm and insight.
The second documentary, The Complete Citizen Kane, is filled with anecdotes neatly derived from Hollywood lore. Production was marked by a pair of spies working on set, Welles taunting RKO with magic tricks, and voiceover actors demanding twenty five thousand dollars (an exorbitant sum in the 40s).
Perhaps the most noteworthy takeaway from both these documentaries, however, is a renewed appreciation for a film already fiercely championed and loved. It may be time to pop in your copy of the film and rediscover the many joys Kane offers. Over seventy years later, it’s remains a cinematic creation that fascinates and enthralls even though the many layers of its construct have been seemingly all exposed and overanalyzed.
Check out both below, thanks to No Film School, and if you’ve never seen the film, or would like to revisit, it’s streaming for free on Amazon Prime:
What are your thoughts on Welles’ towering work?