In Reply to: Re: Your opinion/My opinion? posted by highendman on December 14, 2001 at 13:39:12:
>>> "I don't know how you could possibly call Citizen Kane UNDERRATED when many critics hail it as the greatest movie of all time." <<<Well, it isn't underrated now, but during it's first run it couldn't find an audience in spite of much critical praise for it's cinematography. Of course that praise wasn't from critics working for Hearst papers, since his papers refused to run ads for the film. BTW, I don't actually believe Kane has ever been overrated.
>>> "The greatest movie of all time and an utter bore to the population at large (rightly or wrongly)." <<<
When I first saw Kane back in my college days as part of a film studies program I was far from bored; I was mesmerized! Of course audiences today are far less accepting of B&W films and the stagier dramatic styles prevalent in earlier eras. That doesn't mean that I'm taking a slap at the stark realism of today's cinema, but as a society I think that we'll have lost a great deal if we ever reach a point where we can't view classic films in the context of when they were made without classifying them as quaint novelties.
>>> "Perhaps I'll give it another watch. I haven't seen it in many years." <<<
The best way to watch Citizen Kane is to try clearing your mind of the Rosebud "McGuffin" the reporter is chasing. Focus instead on the story as a tragic tale of a life wasted in poverty, not poverty in respect to the wealth Kane never had to seriously concern himself with, but rather poverty in regards to having his humanity stripped from him as a child and growing to adulthood without ever again experiencing parental love and compassion. On this level the film becomes more of a human allegory with contemporary applications rather than a thinly veiled semi-biographical one about Hearst.
>>> "Another UNDERRATED pick: Groundhog Day. wonderful story." <<<
Hey, if you can watch Groundhog Day over and over again, you should be able to resurrect a little Kane too! ;^)
FTR, I will definitely be checking out Loch Ness. And thanks, highendman, for sharing your thoughts!
Cheers,
AuPh
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Follow Ups
- Re: Your opinion/My opinion? - Audiophilander 00:37:40 12/15/01 (0)