Citizen Kane is one of my favorite films of all time. If you haven't seen it, you might also want to check out the movie HBO put out several years ago about the making of Citizen Kane--RKO-281. Fucking brilliant.
I concur with FunkyHeadHunter, RKO was a cool movie. Liev Schrieber did a hell of an Orson Welles, considering he looks and sounds nothing like him.
Another cool one is "Five Minutes Mister Welles," a short film written and starring Vincent D'Onofrio. It's about Welles during the making of The Third Man. Apparently D'Onofrio was unhappy with his Welles impression in Ed Wood, and wanted another shot. It's on Youtube.
Showed it this week to the high school Film Studies course that I teach; they thought it was too slow. I was even more bummed when they whined during The Magnificent Ambersons this morning. Dag, I thought that I was getting somewhere when they loved John Ford (especially Liberty Valence). They really like Cagney too, so maybe all hope is not lost...
@Wanda "What Cagney film did you show them? I was pretty shocked when I took a liking to 'Public Enemy'"
I showed that one, as well as Angels with Dirty Faces, bits of The Roaring Twenties, and, for fun, some highlights from Yankee Doodle Dandy. I got a whole new appreciation for Cagney rediscovering him through the kids' eyes.
@Andrew I totally agree; hell, most of Welles' pictures have something to recommend (for example, the mirrors in Lady from Shanghai)
Ebert actually did the commentary track on the DVD. If you haven't watched it with the commentary on, it's worth it.
ReplyDeleteCitizen Kane is one of my favorite films of all time. If you haven't seen it, you might also want to check out the movie HBO put out several years ago about the making of Citizen Kane--RKO-281. Fucking brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI concur with FunkyHeadHunter, RKO was a cool movie. Liev Schrieber did a hell of an Orson Welles, considering he looks and sounds nothing like him.
ReplyDeleteAnother cool one is "Five Minutes Mister Welles," a short film written and starring Vincent D'Onofrio. It's about Welles during the making of The Third Man. Apparently D'Onofrio was unhappy with his Welles impression in Ed Wood, and wanted another shot. It's on Youtube.
I once heard "Purple Rain" and "Citizen Kane" in the same sentence. I think it happened when Siskel & Ebert reviewed PR.
ReplyDeleteThat should've been enough for me to check out CK. I have no idea why I still haven't seen this classic. :-/
Showed it this week to the high school Film Studies course that I teach; they thought it was too slow. I was even more bummed when they whined during The Magnificent Ambersons this morning. Dag, I thought that I was getting somewhere when they loved John Ford (especially Liberty Valence). They really like Cagney too, so maybe all hope is not lost...
ReplyDelete@bklyn6
ReplyDeleteit actually is a pretty good movie, though sadly so good that Orson Welles could never live up to it again!
There is a pretty decent HBO Original Movie with Liev Schreiber titled, "RKO 281" about the making of the movie. Netflix!!!
@jknola What Cagney film did you show them? I was pretty shocked when I took a liking to "Public Enemy".
it actually is a pretty good movie, though sadly so good that Orson Welles could never live up to it again!
ReplyDeleteI gotta disagree with that. Touch of Evil and Chimes at Midnight are just as good as Kane, if not better. His Othello is pretty great as well.
@Wanda "What Cagney film did you show them? I was pretty shocked when I took a liking to 'Public Enemy'"
ReplyDeleteI showed that one, as well as Angels with Dirty Faces, bits of The Roaring Twenties, and, for fun, some highlights from Yankee Doodle Dandy. I got a whole new appreciation for Cagney rediscovering him through the kids' eyes.
@Andrew I totally agree; hell, most of Welles' pictures have something to recommend (for example, the mirrors in Lady from Shanghai)
@jknola
ReplyDeleteIf you're getting them into John Ford, you should see/show "The Long Gray Line".
You would have to special order it, but it's still one of the better films you're going to find
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048312/
Love that film. "Rosebud." Classic.
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