Thu 21 Jun 2007
CITIZEN KANE loved for behind-the-scenes, as much as the film itself
Posted by jporro under 100 Years... 100 Movies - 10th Anniversary Edition[35] Comments
CNN has an interview with Bob Gazzale, the man who produces the 100 Years series for AFI, if your looking for answers as to why KANE again…? You can read the full article HERE .
From CNN.com:
In interviews for Wednesday’s special, filmmakers and others in Hollywood told AFI they loved the behind-the-scenes story of “Citizen Kane” as much as the film itself, said Bob Gazzale, who produced the AFI show.
“No one disputes it’s a great American film, but what you hear from the great artists of our day is the love they have for this ideal of a young maverick making a movie like this, that a 25-year-old Orson Welles changed the fabric of cinema, and that that ideal still holds today of this jewel everybody reaches for,” Gazzale said.
35 Responses to “CITIZEN KANE loved for behind-the-scenes, as much as the film itself”
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June 21st, 2007 at 9:56 am
My top three:
Casablanca
Forbidden Planet
Fightin’ Seabees
Of course, what do I know?
June 21st, 2007 at 12:17 pm
I thought that “Citizen Kane” was awful. I know I’m in the vast minority. The motion picture Academy had in right when they picked the far superior “How Green Was My Valley” as best picture of 1941.
How could junk such as Blade Runner, Unforgiven and The General be selected? How could the following be omitted besides Valley?
Mrs. Miniver, A Place in the Sun, Giant, Gentleman’s Agreement, I’ll Cry Tomorrow, Open City, La Strada, Lust for Life, From Here to Eternity, Love Me or Leave Me, Judgment At Nuremberg, The Color Purple, Life of Emile Zola, Random Harvest, Wilson, Going My Way, The Bells of St. Marys, The Blue Veil, All the King’s Men (1949), King’s Row (1942), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, San Francisco, The Heiress, With A Song in My Heart, The Desperate Hours, Song Without End, Terms of Endearment, Elmer Gantry, Oliver!, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, The Godfather Part 2, Since You Went Away, Summer Stock, Mildred Pierce, Ivanhoe (1953), Fiddler on the Roof,The 10 Commandments (1956),There’s No Business Like Show Business, The Goodbye Girl, The Turning Point,Blossoms in the Dust,The Valley of Decision.
These were pictures of quality. Now, the theater caters to a young bunch of morons who love violence and other nonsense.
Too bad that the stars of yesteryear are gone. Imagine, no films of Spencer Tracy, Susan Hayward, Anna Magnani, Greer Garson and several others were honored.
Let the next show detail better films.
June 21st, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Citizen Kane rocked everyone’s world in 1941. What, some upstart kid thought he was good enough to direct, period, let alone a big film? I can imagine the studio heads now, rolling their eyes, saying they’d rather an established director, like Michael Curtiz or George Cukor or William Wyler, would take over the film instead.
Nowadays, it’s a little different. Sure, you get farther if you’ve established yourself, but it’s a little easier for an up-and-coming filmmaker to start out.
June 21st, 2007 at 6:20 pm
for me its it happenes one night
June 21st, 2007 at 6:42 pm
I think the fact that Braveheart did not make the list, and yet Tootsie & Silence of the Lambs did make the list is TRULY DISTURBING. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed both of those movies, but Braveheart is a masterpiece next to those movies. I also noticed that there were no sports movies on the list (unless you count boxing). Are none of the great sports movies worthy???
June 21st, 2007 at 9:06 pm
I just don’t get why Citizen Kane was/is such a great movie. I thought that RKO 281, the film that shows what Welles went through to make Kane is a much better film.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:21 am
Citizen Kane has to remain number one for its innovation and sheer audacity.
And although no one loves Lawrence of Arabia more, I question the AFI criteria. Isn’t it a British film, not American? How to the films of David Lean or, say Stanley Kubrick qualify? Was there U.S. investment? Or is the list the Top 100 English-language films?
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:41 am
I can’t believe that The Quiet Man didn’t even make the list this year, let alone the Top 10. This film has consistently rate high for decades. It’s crazy, IMO.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:53 am
Casablanca is the greatest movie ever made and still passes the time test. Citizen Kane is boring, outdated, and overrated. It amazes me how the great academy award winners were knocked off this list ,and how movies that were rated lower than them on the previous list stayed on and moved up.You are totally out of touch with reality!And by the way where is Fargo,Mystic River or The Usual Suspects?
June 22nd, 2007 at 9:39 am
While I would agree that Citizen Kane is the quaint essential choice in terms of technical achievements and a must for any student going into the film industry, how many viewers today have actually say they have seen or even heard of the movie? I have seen at least 60 of the top 100, and in my 47 years I can only recall maybe once seeing Citizen Kane on one of the classic movie channels. In Contrast, It’s a Wonderful Life, Casablanca, or The Ten Commandments are shown at least once almost every year. That makes me ask how can a movie like The Ten Commandments, with such an outstanding cast and nominated for 7 Oscars, not be on the list. The one film that has truely stood the test of time is Gone with the Wind. Casablanca is a close second.
June 22nd, 2007 at 10:03 am
While I agree that Citizen Kane is a cinematic masterpiece, I am curious if those who voted for it recalled the purpose of film. It isn’t just for demonstrating innovative cinematography, it is intended to entertain an audience. Naiive as this may sound, it was what film was originally intended for. Perhaps a different film such as Casablanca would be a better choice for the greatest movie ever made. Not only does it demonstrate cinematic perfection, but it still captivates and interests audiences to this day.
June 22nd, 2007 at 12:30 pm
How did Doctor Zhivago not make the top 100? It should make the top 10! Titanic at #83….It should be in the top 25 at least! Gladiator should be in the top 100….
June 23rd, 2007 at 12:46 am
30 best films:
1 Unforgiven
2 Manhattan
3 Psycho
4 A perfect world
5 broadway danny rose
6 The birds
7 It´s a wonderful life
8 jaws
9 Rocky
10 Alien
11 Letters from iwo jima
12 Lawrence of arabia
13 Silence of the lambs
14The crowd.
15 the shop around the corner
16 Flags of our fathers
17 the apartment
18 the outlaw josey Wales
19 halloween
20 rear window
21 man`s favorite sport?
22million dollar baby
23 the exorcist
24 dirty harry
25 the big sleep
26 escape from alcatraz
27 singin`in the rain
28 the beguiled
29 the band wagon
30 Mystic river.
June 24th, 2007 at 1:01 am
Citizen Kane was and is outstanding. But this list is appalling. It must be a list of American movies only because where are all the foreign films? Breathless, La Strada, anything by Wim Wenders, Herzog and Fassbinder, anything by Eisenstein?
As for American films where is Brokeback Mountain, American Beauty, Lost in Translation, and of course Fargo? Those are just recent films that were ommitted. There are dozens left out from the past.
I cannot take seriously any list that has Rocky, Titanic, and Forrest Gump on it.
June 24th, 2007 at 10:33 am
I forgot to add: How could AFI omit “For Whom the Bell Tolls?” That’s one of the greatest love stories ever.
Thank the lord that you omitted “Dances With Wolves.” That film was really for the dogs.
June 24th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Schindler’s List and The Godfather can wrestle for number one while Citizen Kane should be ousted. After all, if a film is to be crowned king for its technical achievements then where is Birth of a Nation? I recall one actor saying how every frame in Citizen Kane is deliberatley conveying something through its aesthetics. Well, what about Barry Lyndon? Furthermore, what’s so special about Vertigo? Sure, the color saturation is brilliant, but the film itself lacks the “creative juice” and intensity Hitchcock infused Psycho with. Truth be told, this new list is even worse than the last. But I am pleased to find other movie watchers who’re as confused as I am about the reign of Citizen Kane.
June 24th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
If Lord of the Rings and The Sixth Sense can make it this early on (with their dubious merits) then where is The Departed, I ask you?
June 24th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
The film-making technique of Citizen Kane is impressive to the point to being obtrusive. Rosebud is the most famous device in film history but it does not succeed in making Charles Foster Kane a coherent character. The film lacks heart.
By the way, since when is Lawrence of Arabia an American movie?
June 25th, 2007 at 8:13 am
what about any of the sergio leone flicks??? those would kick singing in the rain and wizard of oz’s butt anyday. Or maybe Fight Club,or any star wars movies,or the fact that movies like goodfellas and pulp and blade runner are stuck behind the titanic??
June 26th, 2007 at 10:03 am
I have to agree that “Brokeback Mountain” should have been one of the newer films added. It’s beautifully acted and filmed – everything a “movie going experience” should be.
My pick for #1 would be “Casablanca”. Each time I see this, it never fails to remind me what great writing does for a film. Not to mention expert film making and acting. To me, it’s a better example of the “best American” film. “Kane” is good, but most folks today can’t sit through it. I don’t go for this talk that it made the top spot because of the events surround its making. If that were the case, then there are any number of other films that would qualify.
I’m very thrilled that more silent films made the cut. Although I’m saddened that “The Crowd” didn’t make it. That’s an amazing film.
And “Oz” slipping to #10? Come on! What better example of an American film that you could show ANYONE in the universe and they would enjoy ? Garland’s “Over The Rainbow”, as performed in the film is still the best version. Sheer magic.
A few others:
“A Star Is Born” (1954): Look at this film, then look at the other films released in 1954, and you’ll see just how one-of-a-kind it really is.
“The Big Parade” (1925): Another silent film that’s so much better than “Intolerance”.
“Beauty And The Beast” (1991): Probably Disney’s best animated film. This or “Sleeping Beauty”, which is my personal favorite.
I was also disappointed that no other computer animated film other than “Toy Story” made the cut. “Finding Nemo” is another “for all ages” film. “Toy Story”, while notable for being the first computer animated film, pales in comparison. Ditto “The Incredibles”.
The great thing about these lists is that it gets people talking, and prompts people to see many of the film on the list they’re not familiar with.
January 28th, 2008 at 1:50 am
Movies that should be considered for next years list
Crash
The Notebook!
GODFATHER PART II! (and I dont even like gangster movies)
January 28th, 2008 at 2:15 am
Casablanca
Citizen Kane
Wizard Of Oz
Gone With the Wind
City Lights
Vertigo
2001 a space odyssey
Indiana Jones the last crusade
Saving private Ryan
The Notebook
January 28th, 2008 at 2:17 am
The Fact that An American in Paris made the first list in 98 just proves that the list is too conservative
January 28th, 2008 at 2:18 am
I would watch tootsie or Jaws before shindlers list
January 28th, 2008 at 2:20 am
I would watch Ben-Hur before I would watch Yankee Doodle Dandy. In fact, I will never see Yankee Doodle Dandy
January 28th, 2008 at 2:21 am
I would watch BLADE RUNNER, TOY STORY, & BEN-HUR Before sofie’s choice
January 28th, 2008 at 2:23 am
I would watch FOREST GUMP Before the overatted ROCKY
January 28th, 2008 at 2:24 am
I bought and watched THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, I fell asleep during it.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:25 am
I would show Wizard of Oz to anyone doesn’t matter what age, before citizen kane
January 28th, 2008 at 2:26 am
40 year guys finds GODFATHER entertaining no one else does
January 28th, 2008 at 2:26 am
Titanic is the most overated movie ever.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:27 am
More people have seen it’s a Wonderful life than Shindler’s List or on the Waterfront
January 28th, 2008 at 2:28 am
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD changes peoples lives.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:30 am
CARY GRANT, most overated actor ever, what about JAMES DEAN?
January 28th, 2008 at 2:31 am
In conclusion, it seems that they have a lot of the right movies on the list just not in the right order.