You guys nailed it! You understood exactly what it all meant in the end. Thank you for having the patience and openness in watching an old, black & white movie that most of my fellow Americans would not have.
Said to be somewhat based on the life and times of American tycoon William Randolph Hearst, also considered by many to be the greatest American film of all. Hearst really credited a revolutionary approach to media and news and some would say he began the process of changing news from an objective interpretation of facts to a more flamboyant, and as he says in the movie "What I tell them to think" style. He also created Hearst Castle in California which if you visit their web site is indeed a palace and shrine to himself. To this day, one of the largest homes in the U.S. Orson Welles is a cinema genius the way Hearst was a media genius, whether you love or hate him.
Wasn't hearst the one who said that fomous quote to someone about starting a wat with Spain over cuba, "you provide me with the pictures, I'll provide the war"?
@xman559, it seem like he might have partially succeeded. Orson didn't seem to have quite the same power over his films as before. He never stopped being an incredible actor though.
Orson Welles at the age of 25 directed, produced, co-wrote, and starred in the greatest film ever. The revolutionary use of light and shadow, deep focus, angles, long shots, elevate this film to something beyond a movie. The performances, including Welles' transform this into art. The tragedy of a man who only wanted love, mainly because he couldn't give it. His heart was broken as a child, and he never recovered.
Sad thing about that is that the success of Kane weighted mightly on Orson Welles' shouders throughout his entire life. Having reached such a peak at a young age, how could he go forward without feeling he was going down? He grew anxious and very fat, haunted in later years by his own former glory. He still made other excellent movies, though.
@@Doutsoldome It didn't help that some people were kinda petty towards him because he was a "boy wonder." Unfortunately, the talent doesn't control the environment in Hollywood. The money people do. At that time, the talent had far less control over their careers, lives, and opportunities than they would get over the past 50 years. It's very probable that Orson Welles would've been a huge force with a great deal of freedom had he been in the business any time between the 70s and now. I wonder if he later identified with the character of Kane's second wife, who was forced to sing when she just wanted to be free; and she couldn't sing the way she'd enjoyed singing until Kane made it something to fear and despise?
The scene with Charles as a kid seen playing in the snow through the window, in the background, while his destiny is decided inside the house, in first plane, is ablosutely awesome. And it is elevated even more by its significance in the overall story. I do think that it is truly an example of competent cinema at its peak of expression capacity. This movie is not famous for nothing.
the movie focused alot on transitions between story through time. for a 1941 movie it had alot of things we see only later on implemented. was very good
One of my favorite films! From IMDB: Kane was sent to a boarding school at a young age after his mother struck it rich thanks to a mining claim that was signed over to her in lieu of rent. He came into his vast fortune at the age of 25 and promptly bought a newspaper. Your conclusions about his childhood and Rosebud are correct!
In the scene where Kane first meets Susan, if you look closely, the snowglobe is sitting on her vanity next to a picture of her as a child. He also mentions in that conversation that he was going to a warehouse to look through his mother's things. He says something like he was going there to look for his lost youth. So, this connects the snowglobe to the idea of childhood. Also, Susan putting jigsaw puzzles together mirrors we, the audience, and Mr. Thompson trying to put together the puzzle of Kane's life. We are given impressions of Kane from several different sources----Susan, Bernstein, Leland, Ramone, and Thatcher's diary. Each is like a different piece of the puzzle.
I first saw this back in high school. For most of the movie I was confused as HECK but the Rosebud revelation hit me like a bolt of lightning. To me, Kane is one of the best examples of a mystery movie that gets better and better the more you watch it. The first time around, it's such an intellectual puzzle. But when you know what he's missing, the story makes more sense and it's easier to focus on how emotional the film is; the despicable man is just an abandoned child at heart. Kane's story reflects what one recent writer (I forget her name) said about some rich folks' lives: their whole lives are affected by how they're raised with money. When a child's rich parents are away, they buy the child expensive things to make up for their absence. Because they've never known proper love and caring, they try to fill that hole in their heart by repeating what their parents did: getting more and more money, more and more power. I recommend giving the film another go when some time has passed! It has a LOT going on and you might view it quite differently.
5:30 somewhere in this scene they mention a “lode” and that this is the state of Colorado. Audiences back then would have made the connection since it was then more recent; gold was found on the property of the poor Kane family and this banker Thatcher will handle the mining of it as well as see to Charles’ education.
This is a great film and Orson Welles was fairly young when directed such a big movie 26 years old I believe that’s a lot of talent , thanks again I’ll probably comment more after I watch your reaction thanks
Love your reaction! I highly recommend watching The Third Man from 1949. Orson Welles didn't direct it, but it stars both him and Joseph Cotton again, and it's one of the greatest classic thrillers. One of my favorites.
Your take was spot on. I'm glad you kept to commenting on the story and didn't dwell on the technical aspects of the movie. Everyone else only talks about camera angles and lighting. That being said, the way they used the breakfast table to plot the disintegration of a marriage was brilliant.
yesss. it was a movie that moved quite fast on explaining things.. the only time i felt this is on Matrix. i had to re-watch it so many times.. and i think i will do with this one also
I agree. I am so tired of reactions and they are watching something riveting in the story, and all the can talk about is the angles and the lighting. I was watching a reaction to Casablanca, and of course, people are worried about being killed by the Nazi's, and the reactor is guessing as to what color Sam's jacket might be.
but i only realised that when they reveal it was the name of his sled... a true happiness who didn't need investment or appealing to other people.. but a thing he could call his and his alone
@@MJoy4Fun Just seeing this now, I have a recommendation for you, a 1999 movie based on the making of the film Citizen Kane. It's called "RKO 281", which was the studio's working title for the movie that became Citizen Kane. I really liked it, but not too many people saw it. Not suggesting a reaction video, just thinking you might enjoy it after seeing this film.
In the beginning when Kane was a child his mother found at that land that she owned was rich with gold ore and that's what led to her becoming wealthy and sending Charles off to live what she thought in those days would be a better life and giving Thatcher control over it all until Kane got older where that money, which was a huge in those days, was given control over it. The movie reveals this at a couple of points although it moved swiftly and doesn't overtly stress it, which makes the film more nuanced IMO because the story's not so much about rich and poor, but about people's Pont's of view about a particular person; we see 6 of these points of view while the investigative reporter tries to solve the mystery behind "Rosebud" which is the story's hook. This movie gets better with each viewing. In each flashback, you'll notice how the camera angles of each reflects that character's personality and point of view about Kane. Also my very good friend Dorothy's father composed the music for CITIZEN KANE, his first film score and he was a brilliant composer and his music also reflects each of these points of view. Really enjoyed your reaction. I actually jumped up in my seat when I saw it in my notifications. 👍
@@epsteinisms1483 , yes, he'd been working with Orson for a good while and was a natural for Welles' notion of music and sound design. There's an excellent documentary on Herrmann that has a sequence discussing that relationship. He was nominated for an Oscar for it, but the other Oscar he was nominated for won. It might be the first time in Oscar history a composer was competing with himself. The same happened with his scores for Obsession and Taxi Driver.
@@robertjewell9727 VERY interesting info! BTW - I'm aware that your OTHER friend's dad (Rózsa) also ran against himself in 1945...... Say, how do you know all these people?
The first shot of Susan Alexander singing in the opera house, and the camera slowly pans up, up, up, and then the guy holds his nose. It means that, as a singer, she stinks to high heaven.
Kudos on understanding Citizen Kane better then most :) Excellent job :) The biggest impact Citizen Kane had on the world of film, and why its considered one of the greatest films ever made, is because of the way it was made. Yes, there is the controversy of it being based on Hearst, but the technical aspects of the actual film we groundbreaking. No one was making films like that at the time. The way the story is told in a non-linear fashion (flashbacks, also played out of order so the audience pieces together the story like the main reporter); the cinematography of the movie (Welles DUG INTO THE FLOOR so the cameraman can get those low angel shots; ceilings were rarely seen in movies back then so sets were rarely built with them); the use of special fx in a lot of the shots (matte paintings; forced perspective), all this was revolutionary for its time. We see this stuff all the time now. Citizen Kane practically invented it for Hollywood.
It's great of you guys to take on this unique film. Just imagine, Orson Welles, 25 years old and without film experience, was given one of the first contracts in Hollywood where he was given complete control of a project. The hitch was he had to star in, direct, produce and write the film himself. He ended up bringing in a co writer and brought in a great cinematographer. All the ideas were his. He did an amazing job playing Kane from a young man to age 85. He had no preconceptions about film work, because he had never been involved in film, so he just used the camera in anyway he wanted. So many techniques, developed in this film, are now taken for granted and not even noticed. Great reaction!
Like Murdoch , power greed egomania , but the film was based on Randolph Hearst who was the Rupert Murdoch of that time. He used his media empire to get the film to fail ,there is also a theory that rosebud was what Hearst called a certain part of his mistresses anatomy ,lol.
In the beginning when he pushes his new guardian with Rosebud , his father says he needs a good whipping and the mother said , that's why I'm getting him far away from you ! The reason for the whole story . For at least the 1st 40 years of my life this was considered the greatest movie ever made , according to all the Hollywood list. If you haven't seen it yet The Maltese Falcon it's right at the top of that list too. It stars Humphrey Bogart .
This movie was actually based on a real guy. If you want to be totally freaked out find out what 'rosebud' meant in real life. Kane's newsreel obituary explains why he was removed from home as a child. It caught you both off guard because you guys had never seen a newsreel before. In 1941 bits of news were played in movie theaters before the feature film. It was a chance to see what you may have only read about in the newspaper or heard on the radio.
If you look how movies were made before Citizen Kane, even the good ones, they all have a static feel about how the camera is set, how things are framed, and how linear the storytelling is. Orsen Welles changed all of that in a non-artsy-fartsy way. Hearst, whom this film is based off of, was one of the major plutocrats who used his influence to make cannabis illegal worldwide, by the way.
The manner in which this film was shot is extremely worthy of high praise, especially for it's time. Deep focus, lighting, camera movement, composition, camera angles, especially the low-angle shots facing upwards etc. Pioneering work by the great Gregg Toland that was highly influential. Landmark film of great importance.
So many people are intimidated or thrown off by the fact this is consistently named the greatest film of all time but it arguably earns that even being "old" and black and white. It's arguably the greatest film of all time depending on your metrics but by filmmaking influence as far as technique and the fact Welles was an auteur of movie making before that was a real recognized thing until the 1970's, it earns that status in my opinion. If "influence over the entire medium" is a metric, this is top 3 greatest films of all time. I'm a film nerd and I still can't get over how Welles pulled off the techniques he did much more the writing, pacing, direction, and his own acting.
You perfecty explained the meaning of rosebud. Charles Foster Kane was based on William Random Hearst, who led a life a lot like Kane. Hearst was determined to make this movie fail and would not let any of his newspapers carry ads for it - which was the main way people knew about new movies - and had his critics pan it. He pretty much succeeded but the greatness of this cinematic achievement has made this a concensus pick among movie critique as the greatest film in history. A lot of that was for the technical aspects and creative new ways of filming scenes. New camera lenses were made to give both long and short focus on different sides of the scene. Low angles were used to make Kane look larger than life which meant they had to build ceilings on some of the sets, which was usually never done. The non-linear story was new, showing the same scene from different angles depending on who was telling the story. This movie greatly influenced the history of cinema. It was a very expensive movie, too, and the studio entrusted a 25 year old Orson Wells who had never made or appeared in a movie before, to do whatever he wanted, after the sensation caused by his War of the World's radio broadcast. It was said that he was given an unlimited budget - and overspent it!
Orson Welles is a fascinating personality. I think he first came to national prominence when he famously directed his Mercury Theater group in the radio play War of the Worlds. That’s quite a story. Look it up if you never heard it. Citizen Kane is about man’s colosal pride and ego. The movie exaggerates these qualities in one man, but it is something we all wrestle with to different degrees.
in the 1930's he was performing on radio shows as an actor, to make money for his theater, & he hired an ambulance to drive around New York taking him to different radio studios, so he could act on as many shows in a day as he could
Somehow, Orson Welles was given total control of the film, meaning he had final cut and studio executives had no say in what he did. Unheard of, at the time and pretty rare even today. Which is why he was able to experiment and turn out a movie completely different than a typical studio movie. The techniques used still feel modern and surprising.
You guys are great! By the way, once you know that Rosebud is the sled, it becomes much more meaningful to remember that when Thatcher was going to take little Charlie away from his childhood home, Charlie hit him with the sled. How's that for symbolism?
I love Marian's comments after the movie. So astute and on the money mon. About losing love, "Why god don't give me richeness, because he wants you to stay away from THIS! Staying simple and humble you'll be happier." LOVE IT! Why did his family give him up as a boy? Kane's blood family was super poor and his dad was abusive. Remember the dad said the boy needs a 'THRASHING", that means beat him. So the mom sent him away. #gameovermon
Mental Pictures: Yes, but it seems to me that Kane (like a lot of kids), didn't care about being poor as long as they have the love of a family, or even just one parent. Kane's relationship with his father may have been complex, but I bet he loved his mother. Unfortunately, he likely didn't understand why she "sold" him. It was never the money that ruined him. It was his memories of his parents taking money to give him up. That day, playing on his sled (Rosebud), was the last happy day he ever had. Everything afterwards was a question mark - Why did they give me up? Didn't they love me? Doesn't it matter that we'll never see each other again? Was I bad? Why? At least, it seems to me
Another genius stroke by Welles, using all these wonderful actors he knew from the Mercury Theater. Joseph Cotton, Agnes Moorhead, etc., unknowns in Hollywood until this film, had great careers after.
You got it right Marian, money can not buy happiness. I have travelled to many countries and find the the people with the least are the people willing to offer food or help in so many ways. Love watching you both with real reactions. Keep it up.
Thank you so much for reacting to this film. You folks are aces and fivers in my book. There is a very good documentary, "The Battle Over Citizen Kane," that was shown on the PBS series, "American Experience," about the lives of Hearst and Welles and their eventual clash over this film. It's well worth a watch. [I apologize to everyone who read this comment before I corrected the title of the documentary.]
@@tcanfield Well, this is embarrassing. I got my documentaries mixed up. I am so sorry. The one I should have mentioned was, "The Battle Over Citizen Kane," which was also an episode of "American Experience."
@@geraldmcboingboing7401 BTW, it seems that AE archives apparently don’t go back that far (96’). I couldn’t get to it on my phone or Apple TV PBS app tonight. Maybe tomorrow I’ll try again with my laptop. At least there’s a good 10 min YT vid about those guys and a bunch of short clips from the doc. Thanks anyway !
@@tcanfield I originally copied it from TV to a VHS tape. Then I bought the 2-disc 70th anniversary edition of the movie and the second disc was "The Battle..." I checked Amazon and there are several sellers offering used copies. If you decide to go that route, you might first ask the seller to see how many discs are in the package. Good luck!
Please play close attention to the family dynamic before he's shipped off. Yes, the father says Charlie deserves a thrashing (he doesn't say he'll thrash him, just that Charlie deserves one). Otherwise, the father seems more warm and engaged while the mother seems cold and distant--both great performances. Given what we learn at the end, it's a very important scene. Two very different ideas of what's the best upbringing for young Charlie. Also interesting to note that Rosebud is both a source of enjoyment and a weapon. Finally: after the newsreel, this arguably becomes a musical comedy for 45 minutes. It almost certainly deserves it stature as the greatest American movie.
You had the patience to get to the end and understand exactly what this film was trying to say,. Bravo. Another B&W film with a fab ending: The Third Man. Take a look.
I appreciate you're checking out some of the great films of cinema history. Said to be one of if not the best film in American movie history. Orson Welles was a cinematic genius. Other classic movies to check out are: 1944 Double Indemnity 1944 Gaslight 1945 Mildred Pierce 1949 White Heat .😀👍
This movie is based on the life of media mogul Randolph Herst… So this movie is also directed as a subliminal to people in the know at the Time….. Rosebud was the nickname he gave to his girls Va Jay Jay and known to the aristocratic crowd-at the time. They made a movie about this movie called “RKO 281” and just to throw in one that sort of related to the Age. “The Cats Meow”
It's important to remember that films were mostly shot, and edited like stage plays before this came out. The use of dramatic cuts like wipes, and fades was something Wells made a standard in Hollywood from than on. He kind of invented the modern motion picture.
This is absolutely not true. You have no idea what you are talking about. Citizen Kane was innovative, but not in any of the ways you mention. Your first sentence is incorrect. Your second sentence is incorrect. Your third sentence is incorrect. Somebody must be feeding you a lot of hooey that you are regurgitating here. Or you’re just making stuff up without any knowledge of the topic.
"You don't love me, you just want me to love you back'' that was the whole truth about Kane. He was afraid of being abandoned like his parents did it to him - my theory on why he remembered Rosebud in his last moments was because losing that one thing even after all these years was the thing that haunted him most and it was the symbol of the happiest moment in his life. Also, I think he disregarded people's opinion on his wife's ability and criticism was because if he sided with them, she would leave him. That was all he was concerned about, to even give up his principles just to not be abandoned by someone who ''loves'' him back. You see how she reacted when she got critcism right? The reveal at the end really made me feel like this movie was soooooo deep, man. Also, I think he aimed to be the most successful man in America and collected all those things because he was trying to fill the hole left in his heart since the day he was taken away from his parents as collatral by the banker, or he was sold to be that. His father reassured him that he would become a rich successful man one day, but in reality, that wasn't his ambition at all, since his happiness was in simple things - his sled, his parents loving him back. He was just a pitiful man, and the rest was his karma coming back to bite him in the end. His definition of love was material because that is how he was raised and molded, but Rosebud wasn't about materialism. This movie perfectly goes with the saying by Joker in Dark Knight, (please react to the Dark Knight Trilogy if you haven't seen it because Joy will LOOOOOVE it!) "In their last moments, people show you who they really are.'' Loved this reaction and everything you guys do! Thanks!
You're right, Kane was wounded by that first loss in childhood, and he was driven by fear of loss for the rest of his life. The scenes where he really goes berserk are when people leave him - his first wife walks away from him down the stairs, and he is just overcome with rage. He's screaming at Jim Gettys, but I think he's really screaming because he's being abandoned again. The same thing when Susan leaves him. You can even see a hint of it when Leland asks to go to Chicago. Kane refuses at first, then Leland says "Then I have no choice but to...." and he's clearly about to quit, and then Kane quickly says Alright, you can go to Chicago. That's actually out of character for him, but I think he did it because he couldn't bear to have another person he cared about abandon him. It was the only way to stop Leland from cutting all ties with him.
This was a very innovative film for its time. Many credited the veteran cinematographer Gregg Tolandinstead of the very young Welles ( who directed as well as played Kane) , but Toland said he was following Welles’s vision for the film.
A great reaction to a great, great movie. One interesting thing that I only noticed after watching it a few times is that each person's reminiscence is colored by his/her own relationship with Kane, so none of those scenes can be taken at face value. They are all versions of the truth.
Speaking of Wm. R. Hearst, his lady friend was an actress named Marion Davies. Rosebud was what he called a particular part of her anatomy. Guess which one.
Rosebud was William Randolph Hearst pet name for his Mistress' private part. No joke. She was a singer. Just look at the rose on the burning sled and you will see what I'm taking about.
This first film Welles directed set him up for a lot of pain to make more movies. The newspaper tycoon he was parodying, Hearst, wouldn't advertise the film across the whole country and tried to stop screenings. Also, the singer in the film was meant to be the actress Marion Davies, Hearst's long-time mistress. It was rumored that Rosebud was Hearst's nickname for her clitoris.
This Movie also opened audience speculation to Hearsts open affair with actress Marion Davies. I once heard that his nickname for her was "Rosebud" due to a part of her anatomy. When her career went into a slump she became a problem drinker, but remained loyal to Hearst. As Hearst grew old and heavily in debt she stayed by his side until his death.
Citizen Kane is loosely based on the life of William Randolph Hearst, a wealthy and powerful newspaper publisher. Hearst hated the movie and tried to keep it from being made. When he failed at that, he did what he could to destroy Orson Welles' career. At this, he partly succeeded. What angered Hearst the most was the portrayal of Susan Kane, who was based on Hearst's wife Marion Davies. Xanadu was based on Hearst's home in San Simeon, California. It's called Hearst Castle, and is now a museum (it's currently closed due to the pandemic). The place was designed by architect Julia Morgan. The Third Man is another movie starring Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten. It's one of my favorite movies, and is on many critics' lists of best films. I'd love for you to react to it.
According to Kenneth Anger in his book "Hollywood Babylon", the name "Rosebud" came from Hearst's nickname for a certain part of Marion Davies' anatomy.
Citizen Kane is based loosely on a real person William Randolph Hearst who was an American newspaper tycoon. Hearst held a lot of political weight and tried to stop this movie from being made. Hearst born in 1863 died in 1951. Hearst built a castle mansion which is a major tourist location today.
You two do a great job here ! As a new subscriber, I’m really enjoying your content and commentary. Here’s something linked to this movie that might interest you : America’s involvement in the Spanish-American War was heavily influenced by the opinionated newspaper coverage of the incident that started it , namely the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor .(The actual reason for the disaster was an accidental explosion in the boiler, but it was spun as caused by mines planted by Cuba. )The Hearst newspapers were instrumental in spreading this false story that led to the war and the eventual handing over of The Philippines to the US.
It's easy to miss that Kane's family became rich because it turned out they were living where there was a gold mine. They mention "the Colorado Lode" in the newsreel section. So Thatcher is the banker who is managing all the money - and Kane's mom basically appointed him to be his guardian.
There are so many classic movies I would or could recommend (American & World Cinema), but I'll only give 10 titles (American Cinema): ''The Public Enemy'' (1931), ''The Postman Always Rings Twice'' (1946), ''Shane'' (1953), ''The Night of the Hunter'' (1955) & ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' (1957). (World Cinema): ''M'' (1931), ''Bicycle Thieves'' (1948), ''La Strada'' (1954), ''Seven Samurai'' (1954) & ''Rififi'' (1955) Greetings from The Netherlands.
Now you need to watch "RKO 281". It tells the story of Orson Wells writing and filming "Citizen Kane". It will also reveal what Rosebud was (it aint a sled)
I love you guys! I love how you discuss the movie at the end and explore what things really mean at a human level. That's what I love about your channel. Being so wealthy is often a curse that makes people sell their souls and happiness for the sake of more money, more money than they can even use.
William Randolph Hearst was so pissed off about this film that he tried to have it buried, but he wasn't succesful .. Orson Wells and his DP invented new lenses and shooting techniques for this movie. Read about Hearst Castle, which is what Xanadu is based on.
Welles' masterpiece still resonates after 80 yrs in so many ways - groundbreaking in cinematography and foretellling how the media controls people overall. "Yellow journalism" may be the backdrop but the metaphor of the American Dream being curdled (wanting something you cannot buy: love) is really the crux of the story. Amazing that he was only 26 but very sad how his professional career snowballed into a downward spiral he never recovered from, sadly largely due to his own ego. Great reactions and how you were able to connect the dots.
There is so much to love about this movie. First of .. it is too slow compared to modern film making. But the rest .. oh my goodness, it is perhaps the most important film ever made. This is where we see all the technical mastery of cameras and compositions for the first time. The lighting, the deep focus .. extraordinarily long takes without cuts but also a more modern and mature subject matter. Cuts back and forth in time .. a stunningly brilliant script, a genius director (Orson Welles) and myriads of great actors, including Orson Welles himself, he did not just direct film.. he also played Kane!! First time I saw it I thought it was way to slow and complicated but I could not forget it, and gave it another try. I re-watch it about once a year now .. been doing it for ten years. Everything you see in modern cinema .. more or less .. was invented here in Citizen Kane. It is the first modern film. There's camerawork in it that still makes people wonder "how did he do that .. that is an impossible take" .. like the camera panning up and over the roof, through the neon sign and down through the skylight. There was no CGI back then. It was also blocked/censored from distribution for about 20 years because it was supposedly about William Randolph Hearst ..it is complicated. It is part of legend now. And the ending of Citizen Kane inspired Steven Spielberg's ending of "Raiders of the Lost Arc". There is so much more to say about it .. I could go on for days. I am just happy to see someone (you two) reacting to it. Thanks and Cheers 🍺
The backstory of Citizen Kane is just as legendary as the movie. How Orson Welles was in fued with William Hurst and how hard Wells had to fight to get this film made.
Definitely watch this one a couple more times to really get it all. Awesome reaction too. "Rosebud" has become an iconic word over the years. Someday watch the documentary about the making of Orson Wells masterpiece here, as it's story is more intriguing in many ways especially the real story behind Rosebud! For a couple more excellent classics around this time "Grapes of Wrath" (1940) about the Great Depression, Dust Bowl Era and stars Henry Fonda you're familiar with, and for a nice fantasy/musical from 1939 "The Wizard of Oz". And if you're in for a great scifi B&W from 1951 do "The Day the Earth Stood Still", one if the best of the '50s which was the decade science fiction movies really took off. 😎
He was always a child, and his reaction when his 2nd wife left him, was the continuation of the tantrum he threw when he was taken from his parents. He found the snowglobe, which took him back to that moment, and he yearned for that innocence. Hence, when he died, it was like a mortally wounded soldier saying "mama".
Make sure you see the other films of Orson Wells, several of them are better than Citizen Kane as films. "The Trial" is a summary of all his techniques, it is the most haunting and dreamlike of his films. "Chimes At Midnight" is a completely new Shakespeare play, all written by Shakespeare, but never seen before this film (he patched together a story from several different plays, and the story is more relevant and timely than the story in the original plays!), "F For Fake" is a RUclips video essay made 4 decades before the idea existed, it's the prototype for all video essays and creative nonfiction, and it's probably the film most ahead of it's time. "Lady From Shanghai" Is a labyrinthian film noir sprinkled with atom-bomb paranoia and amphetamine abuse, it was made in 1948(!) and it feels like 1968. "Othello" and "Macbeth" are solid Shakespeare adapation, and "Touch of Evil" is the first real 60s movie, a precursor to psycho and Marlene Dietrich's immortal role. "The Other Side of the WInd" is a gay-themed film shot in 1975 (and only fully assembled completed and released in 2019). "The Magnificent Ambersons" you might want to skip, as it is mutilated beyond repair from Welles' vision. Of the minor works, Mr. Arkadin, The Immortal Story, and Journey Into Fear are worthwhile great films, all unique and interesting, even though they don't have the perfection of the great classics I listed first.
Kane is an example of greatness and neglect. Neglected in childhood, we wants to become great in the hopes this will make people love him. But in the process the striving for greatness mixed with unlimited resources he becomes narcissistic, exactly because of what was pointed out, that he didn't have a healthy amount of love at the beginning. Even the parents tended to display personality dysfunctions that would in some ways have set him on a similar path even if he'd stayed, but the family being separated pretty much sealed the deal. Everyone else around him are relegated to witnesses, either as enablers or becoming exiles once they buck against his decisions. Kane's a hard character to pigeon hole; capable of nobility and grandiosity, but unable or unwilling to take responsibility or admitting that he was wrong, all because at some point he's frozen in time deep down mentally as a kid. Lack of love creates difficulty in growing past that stage. The unlimited wealth only ensures his soul is stillborn in that respect.
If you can find a copy of "RKO 281", it will be easier to understand "Citizen Kane". RKO is RKO pictures which was the Hollywood studio where Citizen Kane was made. It goes into detail how the film was made and shows the feud between Willian Randolph Hearst and Orson Welles. You will also discover what "Rosebud" really meant. And although it might be said that you can ride it, it sure as shootin' ain't no sled!
I always enjoy your responses. The HBO Movie “RKO-281”, with an All-Star Cast, tells the behind the scenes madness, and struggles, to both make the movie “Citizen Kane”, and to survive the intense backlash from William Randolph Hearst against Orion Welles and RKO Studios. 🍸
34:40 Your explanation of "Rosebud," in the context of the film as allegory is correct, yet with Orson Welles as the consummate ass "Rosebud," is far more lewd. In the end the joke was on Welles. He became the character he parodied.
i really love your channel. Please keep on going. "On the Waterfront" is something that you will enjoy. Marlon Brando "the Godfather" plays an immaculate role.
The real Hearst (Kane) tried everything he could to delay or kill release of this film. The story behind the making and release is almost as interesting as the movie.
Others have pointed out this is roughly based on William Randolph Hearst's life, who did everything he could to sink this film. One of the things he no doubt objected to is where they got the word "Rosebud" from. The filmmakers discovered that it was Hearst's pet name for a part of his wife's sexual anatomy, and they decided to put it in the film. As Welles once said, it was a basic Freud reference - Kane spent his life trying to get back to the security of his mother's womb.
Orson Welles also made a 1938 radio drama broadcast of HG Wells Book "War of the Worlds". (Tom Cruise also did a movie about the book that I love) on Halloween Night. It was so realistic that many listeners thought it was real and went into a wild panic!! Some packed up their families and tried to find a safe hiding place. It caused utter mayhem. I believe there's a movie about that radio broadcast. He ended up doing a tongue in cheek apology on the radio a few days after the drama aired. Here's a link about it: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(1938_radio_drama)
This is one of the best movies of all time. If you can, watch the Blu ray with the Roger Ebert commentary. You learn quite a bit about how the movie was made.
You got it correct, but the ending was so significant because even Kane himself couldn't quite figure out what it was he needed to fill the hole in his life, perhaps his last word meant he did in the end?
You Must Watch "RKO 281". It tells the true story of the making of the movie. I strongly suggest you watch that movie! It is a really good telling of everything behind the making of this movie and how hard Hearst worked to keep it from being shown in any theaters Ever! and why! It's a really good movie. You will like to watch it! For sure.
not a real story, but it was based on a true life person who tried to stop the movie from being made because he thought it was about him. also, one of the most spoiled movie endings.
Taken out of context of the History of Cinema, nobody can understand the importance of Citizen Kane. It may be fun to see people struggle, but it's basically just frustrating to watch people learn nothing. It's a bit like people looking at the Mona Lisa and saying: "I don't see what's so great about it." Why does Citizen Kane stand apart from every other movie of its day? Watch a documentary or read a book or listen to a lecture about it. Don't try to do it yourself because you haven't seen enough of the movies preceding it to give you the context you need -- including the silents.
Your reaction was a long time ago, but I don't see anyone answering your primary question of why (besides his father's possible abuse) Kane's mother would have given him to a bank to raise. At the turn of the last century, class division was nearly iron clad, and the elite had a strict set of rules and customs and accents that excluded anyone lower in class than themselves. Kane's mother knew that if he was to be one of the richest men in America he would NEVER be accepted by his peers unless he went to the right schools, spoke with the right accent, knew all the right people, and knew all the rules of dress, etiquette and manners that the elite grew up knowing. There would be NO WAY he would be accepted if it had been known who his parents were and how they behaved (like average middle class people). That's why she sent him away to be surrounded by the elites. It doesn't make much sense today, where the very rich are often slobs like the rest of us, but back then Kane would have been an outcast if he was raised by his own middle/lower class parents. Obviously, it didn't turn out well for him anyway. Really enjoyed your reaction!!
This isn't a true story but if I recall gold was found on one kane's mothers land which is why she was able to hire Thatcher to who was a established financial banker who became his guardian
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You guys nailed it! You understood exactly what it all meant in the end.
Thank you for having the patience and openness in watching an old, black & white movie that most of my fellow Americans would not have.
You two understood "Citizen Kane" better than 95% of the people I've ever talked to about it. You are VERY good reactors! Thank you.
Said to be somewhat based on the life and times of American tycoon William Randolph Hearst, also considered by many to be the greatest American film of all. Hearst really credited a revolutionary approach to media and news and some would say he began the process of changing news from an objective interpretation of facts to a more flamboyant, and as he says in the movie "What I tell them to think" style. He also created Hearst Castle in California which if you visit their web site is indeed a palace and shrine to himself. To this day, one of the largest homes in the U.S. Orson Welles is a cinema genius the way Hearst was a media genius, whether you love or hate him.
Wasn't hearst the one who said that fomous quote to someone about starting a wat with Spain over cuba, "you provide me with the pictures, I'll provide the war"?
Hearst tried his hardest to stop the movie from being made. He also spent the rest of his life trying to destroy Wells career.
@@AI_Image_Master
He doth protest too much.😉
@xman559, it seem like he might have partially succeeded. Orson didn't seem to have quite the same power over his films as before. He never stopped being an incredible actor though.
Orson Welles at the age of 25 directed, produced, co-wrote, and starred in the greatest film ever.
The revolutionary use of light and shadow, deep focus, angles, long shots, elevate this film to something beyond a movie.
The performances, including Welles' transform this into art.
The tragedy of a man who only wanted love, mainly because he couldn't give it.
His heart was broken as a child, and he never recovered.
Sad thing about that is that the success of Kane weighted mightly on Orson Welles' shouders throughout his entire life. Having reached such a peak at a young age, how could he go forward without feeling he was going down? He grew anxious and very fat, haunted in later years by his own former glory. He still made other excellent movies, though.
@@Doutsoldome It didn't help that some people were kinda petty towards him because he was a "boy wonder." Unfortunately, the talent doesn't control the environment in Hollywood. The money people do. At that time, the talent had far less control over their careers, lives, and opportunities than they would get over the past 50 years. It's very probable that Orson Welles would've been a huge force with a great deal of freedom had he been in the business any time between the 70s and now.
I wonder if he later identified with the character of Kane's second wife, who was forced to sing when she just wanted to be free; and she couldn't sing the way she'd enjoyed singing until Kane made it something to fear and despise?
@Randy White Maybe, but I'm talking about his self perception and how the early success affected his life.
@randywhite3947
Please suggest what those 4 or 5 times are.
The scene with Charles as a kid seen playing in the snow through the window, in the background, while his destiny is decided inside the house, in first plane, is ablosutely awesome. And it is elevated even more by its significance in the overall story. I do think that it is truly an example of competent cinema at its peak of expression capacity. This movie is not famous for nothing.
the movie focused alot on transitions between story through time. for a 1941 movie it had alot of things we see only later on implemented. was very good
One of my favorite films! From IMDB: Kane was sent to a boarding school at a young age after his mother struck it rich thanks to a mining claim that was signed over to her in lieu of rent. He came into his vast fortune at the age of 25 and promptly bought a newspaper. Your conclusions about his childhood and Rosebud are correct!
In the scene where Kane first meets Susan, if you look closely, the snowglobe is sitting on her vanity next to a picture of her as a child. He also mentions in that conversation that he was going to a warehouse to look through his mother's things. He says something like he was going there to look for his lost youth. So, this connects the snowglobe to the idea of childhood. Also, Susan putting jigsaw puzzles together mirrors we, the audience, and Mr. Thompson trying to put together the puzzle of Kane's life. We are given impressions of Kane from several different sources----Susan, Bernstein, Leland, Ramone, and Thatcher's diary. Each is like a different piece of the puzzle.
Also, Marion Davies, upon whom Susan was based (if Kane was indeed modeled after Hearst), was known to have a passion for jigsaw puzzles. 🙂
I first saw this back in high school. For most of the movie I was confused as HECK but the Rosebud revelation hit me like a bolt of lightning. To me, Kane is one of the best examples of a mystery movie that gets better and better the more you watch it. The first time around, it's such an intellectual puzzle. But when you know what he's missing, the story makes more sense and it's easier to focus on how emotional the film is; the despicable man is just an abandoned child at heart.
Kane's story reflects what one recent writer (I forget her name) said about some rich folks' lives: their whole lives are affected by how they're raised with money. When a child's rich parents are away, they buy the child expensive things to make up for their absence. Because they've never known proper love and caring, they try to fill that hole in their heart by repeating what their parents did: getting more and more money, more and more power.
I recommend giving the film another go when some time has passed! It has a LOT going on and you might view it quite differently.
5:30 somewhere in this scene they mention a “lode” and that this is the state of Colorado. Audiences back then would have made the connection since it was then more recent; gold was found on the property of the poor Kane family and this banker Thatcher will handle the mining of it as well as see to Charles’ education.
This is the "Citizen Kane" of movies.
I laughed way too hard at this.
More so than any other Citizen Kane, that’s for sure.
This is a great film and Orson Welles was fairly young when directed such a big movie 26 years old I believe that’s a lot of talent , thanks again I’ll probably comment more after I watch your reaction thanks
Its the worst movie i have ever seen but ok.
Love your reaction! I highly recommend watching The Third Man from 1949. Orson Welles didn't direct it, but it stars both him and Joseph Cotton again, and it's one of the greatest classic thrillers. One of my favorites.
Your take was spot on. I'm glad you kept to commenting on the story and didn't dwell on the technical aspects of the movie. Everyone else only talks about camera angles and lighting. That being said, the way they used the breakfast table to plot the disintegration of a marriage was brilliant.
yesss. it was a movie that moved quite fast on explaining things.. the only time i felt this is on Matrix. i had to re-watch it so many times.. and i think i will do with this one also
I agree. I am so tired of reactions and they are watching something riveting in the story, and all the can talk about is the angles and the lighting. I was watching a reaction to Casablanca, and of course, people are worried about being killed by the Nazi's, and the reactor is guessing as to what color Sam's jacket might be.
You hit the nail on the head my friend, rosebud was his last happy memory.
but i only realised that when they reveal it was the name of his sled... a true happiness who didn't need investment or appealing to other people.. but a thing he could call his and his alone
@@MJoy4Fun Just seeing this now, I have a recommendation for you, a 1999 movie based on the making of the film Citizen Kane. It's called "RKO 281", which was the studio's working title for the movie that became Citizen Kane. I really liked it, but not too many people saw it. Not suggesting a reaction video, just thinking you might enjoy it after seeing this film.
In the beginning when Kane was a child his mother found at that land that she owned was rich with gold ore and that's what led to her becoming wealthy and sending Charles off to live what she thought in those days would be a better life and giving Thatcher control over it all until Kane got older where that money, which was a huge in those days, was given control over it. The movie reveals this at a couple of points although it moved swiftly and doesn't overtly stress it, which makes the film more nuanced IMO because the story's not so much about rich and poor, but about people's Pont's of view about a particular person; we see 6 of these points of view while the investigative reporter tries to solve the mystery behind "Rosebud" which is the story's hook. This movie gets better with each viewing. In each flashback, you'll notice how the camera angles of each reflects that character's personality and point of view about Kane. Also my very good friend Dorothy's father composed the music for CITIZEN KANE, his first film score and he was a brilliant composer and his music also reflects each of these points of view.
Really enjoyed your reaction. I actually jumped up in my seat when I saw it in my notifications. 👍
@Robert Jewell
Bernard Herrmann has come up quite a lot lately in reaction videos! Imagine writing your first film score and it's for "Citizen Kane"!
@@epsteinisms1483 , yes, he'd been working with Orson for a good while and was a natural for Welles' notion of music and sound design. There's an excellent documentary on Herrmann that has a sequence discussing that relationship. He was nominated for an Oscar for it, but the other Oscar he was nominated for won. It might be the first time in Oscar history a composer was competing with himself. The same happened with his scores for Obsession and Taxi Driver.
Also, Kane’s mother implies that his father was abusive and that is why she is sending him away. She believes she is protecting him.
@@samqualls1339 yes, that's right! "Where you can't get at him..."
@@robertjewell9727
VERY interesting info!
BTW - I'm aware that your OTHER friend's dad (Rózsa) also ran against himself in 1945......
Say, how do you know all these people?
The first shot of Susan Alexander singing in the opera house, and the camera slowly pans up, up, up, and then the guy holds his nose. It means that, as a singer, she stinks to high heaven.
Kudos on understanding Citizen Kane better then most :) Excellent job :) The biggest impact Citizen Kane had on the world of film, and why its considered one of the greatest films ever made, is because of the way it was made. Yes, there is the controversy of it being based on Hearst, but the technical aspects of the actual film we groundbreaking. No one was making films like that at the time.
The way the story is told in a non-linear fashion (flashbacks, also played out of order so the audience pieces together the story like the main reporter); the cinematography of the movie (Welles DUG INTO THE FLOOR so the cameraman can get those low angel shots; ceilings were rarely seen in movies back then so sets were rarely built with them); the use of special fx in a lot of the shots (matte paintings; forced perspective), all this was revolutionary for its time. We see this stuff all the time now. Citizen Kane practically invented it for Hollywood.
It's great of you guys to take on this unique film. Just imagine, Orson Welles, 25 years old and without film experience, was given one of the first contracts in Hollywood where he was given complete control of a project. The hitch was he had to star in, direct, produce and write the film himself. He ended up bringing in a co writer and brought in a great cinematographer. All the ideas were his. He did an amazing job playing Kane from a young man to age 85. He had no preconceptions about film work, because he had never been involved in film, so he just used the camera in anyway he wanted. So many techniques, developed in this film, are now taken for granted and not even noticed. Great reaction!
Like Murdoch , power greed egomania , but the film was based on Randolph Hearst who was the Rupert Murdoch of that time. He used his media empire to get the film to fail ,there is also a theory that rosebud was what Hearst called a certain part of his mistresses anatomy ,lol.
In the beginning when he pushes his new guardian with Rosebud , his father says he needs a good whipping and the mother said , that's why I'm getting him far away from you ! The reason for the whole story . For at least the 1st 40 years of my life this was considered the greatest movie ever made , according to all the Hollywood list. If you haven't seen it yet The Maltese Falcon it's right at the top of that list too. It stars Humphrey Bogart .
AFI the American film institute still has it as #1. On the 10th anniversary edition in 2007 it still was #1
This movie was actually based on a real guy. If you want to be totally freaked out find out what 'rosebud' meant in real life. Kane's newsreel obituary explains why he was removed from home as a child. It caught you both off guard because you guys had never seen a newsreel before. In 1941 bits of news were played in movie theaters before the feature film. It was a chance to see what you may have only read about in the newspaper or heard on the radio.
If you look how movies were made before Citizen Kane, even the good ones, they all have a static feel about how the camera is set, how things are framed, and how linear the storytelling is. Orsen Welles changed all of that in a non-artsy-fartsy way. Hearst, whom this film is based off of, was one of the major plutocrats who used his influence to make cannabis illegal worldwide, by the way.
The manner in which this film was shot is extremely worthy of high praise, especially for it's time. Deep focus, lighting, camera movement, composition, camera angles, especially the low-angle shots facing upwards etc. Pioneering work by the great Gregg Toland that was highly influential. Landmark film of great importance.
So many people are intimidated or thrown off by the fact this is consistently named the greatest film of all time but it arguably earns that even being "old" and black and white. It's arguably the greatest film of all time depending on your metrics but by filmmaking influence as far as technique and the fact Welles was an auteur of movie making before that was a real recognized thing until the 1970's, it earns that status in my opinion. If "influence over the entire medium" is a metric, this is top 3 greatest films of all time. I'm a film nerd and I still can't get over how Welles pulled off the techniques he did much more the writing, pacing, direction, and his own acting.
You perfecty explained the meaning of rosebud.
Charles Foster Kane was based on William Random Hearst, who led a life a lot like Kane. Hearst was determined to make this movie fail and would not let any of his newspapers carry ads for it - which was the main way people knew about new movies - and had his critics pan it. He pretty much succeeded but the greatness of this cinematic achievement has made this a concensus pick among movie critique as the greatest film in history. A lot of that was for the technical aspects and creative new ways of filming scenes.
New camera lenses were made to give both long and short focus on different sides of the scene. Low angles were used to make Kane look larger than life which meant they had to build ceilings on some of the sets, which was usually never done. The non-linear story was new, showing the same scene from different angles depending on who was telling the story. This movie greatly influenced the history of cinema.
It was a very expensive movie, too, and the studio entrusted a 25 year old Orson Wells who had never made or appeared in a movie before, to do whatever he wanted, after the sensation caused by his War of the World's radio broadcast. It was said that he was given an unlimited budget - and overspent it!
Orson Welles is a fascinating personality. I think he first came to national prominence when he famously directed his Mercury Theater group in the radio play War of the Worlds. That’s quite a story. Look it up if you never heard it.
Citizen Kane is about man’s colosal pride and ego. The movie exaggerates these qualities in one man, but it is something we all wrestle with to different degrees.
in the 1930's he was performing on radio shows as an actor,
to make money for his theater,
& he hired an ambulance to drive around New York taking him to different radio studios, so he could act on as many shows in a day as he could
Somehow, Orson Welles was given total control of the film, meaning he had final cut and studio executives had no say in what he did. Unheard of, at the time and pretty rare even today. Which is why he was able to experiment and turn out a movie completely different than a typical studio movie. The techniques used still feel modern and surprising.
You guys are great! By the way, once you know that Rosebud is the sled, it becomes much more meaningful to remember that when Thatcher was going to take little Charlie away from his childhood home, Charlie hit him with the sled. How's that for symbolism?
i guess he hit him with the sled made him pay for the future dark gray... sad and ironic
FINALLY! for the first time a reaction of the GREATEST MOVIE EVER!
I love Marian's comments after the movie. So astute and on the money mon. About losing love, "Why god don't give me richeness, because he wants you to stay away from THIS! Staying simple and humble you'll be happier." LOVE IT!
Why did his family give him up as a boy? Kane's blood family was super poor and his dad was abusive. Remember the dad said the boy needs a 'THRASHING", that means beat him. So the mom sent him away. #gameovermon
Mental Pictures: Yes, but it seems to me that Kane (like a lot of kids), didn't care about being poor as long as they have the love of a family, or even just one parent. Kane's relationship with his father may have been complex, but I bet he loved his mother. Unfortunately, he likely didn't understand why she "sold" him.
It was never the money that ruined him. It was his memories of his parents taking money to give him up. That day, playing on his sled (Rosebud), was the last happy day he ever had. Everything afterwards was a question mark - Why did they give me up? Didn't they love me? Doesn't it matter that we'll never see each other again? Was I bad? Why?
At least, it seems to me
@@LA_HA Trump is the modern-day equivalent of Kane.
@@garyglaser4998 Interesting. How so?
@@garyglaser4998 No, he isnt.
@@paulcarfantan6688 Yes. He is.
I’m a big fan of movies from the 40s and 50s and it does my heart good to see young people enjoy them as well.
This movie was a trend-setting event for filmmakers. And it was the first film Orson Welles ever made. He directed, produced and starred in it.
Another genius stroke by Welles, using all these wonderful actors he knew from the Mercury Theater. Joseph Cotton, Agnes Moorhead, etc., unknowns in Hollywood until this film, had great careers after.
You got it right Marian, money can not buy happiness. I have travelled to many countries and find the the people with the least are the people willing to offer food or help in so many ways. Love watching you both with real reactions. Keep it up.
Thank you so much for reacting to this film. You folks are aces and fivers in my book. There is a very good documentary, "The Battle Over Citizen Kane," that was shown on the PBS series, "American Experience," about the lives of Hearst and Welles and their eventual clash over this film. It's well worth a watch. [I apologize to everyone who read this comment before I corrected the title of the documentary.]
Thanks for the tip. I didn’t notice they had that. I’ll be checking it out shortly !
@@tcanfield Well, this is embarrassing. I got my documentaries mixed up. I am so sorry. The one I should have mentioned was, "The Battle Over Citizen Kane," which was also an episode of "American Experience."
@@geraldmcboingboing7401 BTW, it seems that AE archives apparently don’t go back that far (96’). I couldn’t get to it on my phone or Apple TV PBS app tonight. Maybe tomorrow I’ll try again with my laptop. At least there’s a good 10 min YT vid about those guys and a bunch of short clips from the doc. Thanks anyway !
@@tcanfield I originally copied it from TV to a VHS tape. Then I bought the 2-disc 70th anniversary edition of the movie and the second disc was "The Battle..." I checked Amazon and there are several sellers offering used copies. If you decide to go that route, you might first ask the seller to see how many discs are in the package. Good luck!
The woman who played Kane’s mother, Agnes Moorehead, played Samantha’s mother “Endora” in the TV Series, Bewitched.
Please play close attention to the family dynamic before he's shipped off. Yes, the father says Charlie deserves a thrashing (he doesn't say he'll thrash him, just that Charlie deserves one). Otherwise, the father seems more warm and engaged while the mother seems cold and distant--both great performances. Given what we learn at the end, it's a very important scene. Two very different ideas of what's the best upbringing for young Charlie.
Also interesting to note that Rosebud is both a source of enjoyment and a weapon.
Finally: after the newsreel, this arguably becomes a musical comedy for 45 minutes.
It almost certainly deserves it stature as the greatest American movie.
Rosebud meant something different than a sled in real life, and that is what enraged William Hearst.
You had the patience to get to the end and understand exactly what this film was trying to say,. Bravo. Another B&W film with a fab ending: The Third Man. Take a look.
I appreciate you're checking out some of the great films of cinema history. Said to be one of if not the best film in American movie history. Orson Welles was a cinematic genius. Other classic movies to check out are:
1944 Double Indemnity
1944 Gaslight
1945 Mildred Pierce
1949 White Heat
.😀👍
Good list!
This movie is based on the life of media mogul Randolph Herst… So this movie is also directed as a subliminal to people in the know at the Time….. Rosebud was the nickname he gave to his girls Va Jay Jay and known to the aristocratic crowd-at the time. They made a movie about this movie called “RKO 281” and just to throw in one that sort of related to the Age. “The Cats Meow”
It's important to remember that films were mostly shot, and edited like stage plays before this came out. The use of dramatic cuts like wipes, and fades was something Wells made a standard in Hollywood from than on. He kind of invented the modern motion picture.
exactly my thoughts! if u ask me.. the story of the movie was if not average but bellow that. but the way movie was made?? 10 out of 10 hats on
This is absolutely not true. You have no idea what you are talking about. Citizen Kane was innovative, but not in any of the ways you mention. Your first sentence is incorrect. Your second sentence is incorrect. Your third sentence is incorrect. Somebody must be feeding you a lot of hooey that you are regurgitating here. Or you’re just making stuff up without any knowledge of the topic.
"You don't love me, you just want me to love you back'' that was the whole truth about Kane. He was afraid of being abandoned like his parents did it to him - my theory on why he remembered Rosebud in his last moments was because losing that one thing even after all these years was the thing that haunted him most and it was the symbol of the happiest moment in his life. Also, I think he disregarded people's opinion on his wife's ability and criticism was because if he sided with them, she would leave him. That was all he was concerned about, to even give up his principles just to not be abandoned by someone who ''loves'' him back. You see how she reacted when she got critcism right?
The reveal at the end really made me feel like this movie was soooooo deep, man.
Also, I think he aimed to be the most successful man in America and collected all those things because he was trying to fill the hole left in his heart since the day he was taken away from his parents as collatral by the banker, or he was sold to be that. His father reassured him that he would become a rich successful man one day, but in reality, that wasn't his ambition at all, since his happiness was in simple things - his sled, his parents loving him back. He was just a pitiful man, and the rest was his karma coming back to bite him in the end.
His definition of love was material because that is how he was raised and molded, but Rosebud wasn't about materialism. This movie perfectly goes with the saying by Joker in Dark Knight, (please react to the Dark Knight Trilogy if you haven't seen it because Joy will LOOOOOVE it!) "In their last moments, people show you who they really are.''
Loved this reaction and everything you guys do! Thanks!
You're right, Kane was wounded by that first loss in childhood, and he was driven by fear of loss for the rest of his life. The scenes where he really goes berserk are when people leave him - his first wife walks away from him down the stairs, and he is just overcome with rage. He's screaming at Jim Gettys, but I think he's really screaming because he's being abandoned again. The same thing when Susan leaves him. You can even see a hint of it when Leland asks to go to Chicago. Kane refuses at first, then Leland says "Then I have no choice but to...." and he's clearly about to quit, and then Kane quickly says Alright, you can go to Chicago. That's actually out of character for him, but I think he did it because he couldn't bear to have another person he cared about abandon him. It was the only way to stop Leland from cutting all ties with him.
He had his childhood taken away …
This was a very innovative film for its time. Many credited the veteran cinematographer Gregg Tolandinstead of the very young Welles ( who directed as well as played Kane) , but Toland said he was following Welles’s vision for the film.
A great reaction to a great, great movie. One interesting thing that I only noticed after watching it a few times is that each person's reminiscence is colored by his/her own relationship with Kane, so none of those scenes can be taken at face value. They are all versions of the truth.
When I die, my last words will be: "Game over man."
Very, very, very well done. Thank you. Love this movie. Love your reaction. Kudos.
Speaking of Wm. R. Hearst, his lady friend was an actress named Marion Davies. Rosebud was what he called a particular part of her anatomy. Guess which one.
Rosebud was William Randolph Hearst pet name for his Mistress' private part. No joke. She was a singer. Just look at the rose on the burning sled and you will see what I'm taking about.
This first film Welles directed set him up for a lot of pain to make more movies.
The newspaper tycoon he was parodying, Hearst, wouldn't advertise the film
across the whole country and tried to stop screenings.
Also, the singer in the film was meant to be the actress Marion Davies,
Hearst's long-time mistress. It was rumored that Rosebud was
Hearst's nickname for her clitoris.
This Movie also opened audience speculation to Hearsts open affair with actress Marion Davies. I once heard that his nickname for her was "Rosebud" due to a part of her anatomy. When her career went into a slump she became a problem drinker, but remained loyal to Hearst. As Hearst grew old and heavily in debt she stayed by his side until his death.
U guys are wise to do the classics...because most do the same movies over & over again
Citizen Kane is loosely based on the life of William Randolph Hearst, a wealthy and powerful newspaper publisher. Hearst hated the movie and tried to keep it from being made. When he failed at that, he did what he could to destroy Orson Welles' career. At this, he partly succeeded. What angered Hearst the most was the portrayal of Susan Kane, who was based on Hearst's wife Marion Davies.
Xanadu was based on Hearst's home in San Simeon, California. It's called Hearst Castle, and is now a museum (it's currently closed due to the pandemic). The place was designed by architect Julia Morgan.
The Third Man is another movie starring Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten. It's one of my favorite movies, and is on many critics' lists of best films. I'd love for you to react to it.
According to Kenneth Anger in his book "Hollywood Babylon", the name "Rosebud" came from Hearst's nickname for a certain part of Marion Davies' anatomy.
Citizen Kane is based loosely on a real person William Randolph Hearst who was an American newspaper tycoon. Hearst held a lot of political weight and tried to stop this movie from being made. Hearst born in 1863 died in 1951. Hearst built a castle mansion which is a major tourist location today.
You two do a great job here ! As a new subscriber, I’m really enjoying your content and commentary. Here’s something linked to this movie that might interest you : America’s involvement in the Spanish-American War was heavily influenced by the opinionated newspaper coverage of the incident that started it , namely the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor .(The actual reason for the disaster was an accidental explosion in the boiler, but it was spun as caused by mines planted by Cuba. )The Hearst newspapers were instrumental in spreading this false story that led to the war and the eventual handing over of The Philippines to the US.
It's easy to miss that Kane's family became rich because it turned out they were living where there was a gold mine. They mention "the Colorado Lode" in the newsreel section. So Thatcher is the banker who is managing all the money - and Kane's mom basically appointed him to be his guardian.
There are so many classic movies I would or could recommend (American & World Cinema), but I'll only give 10 titles (American Cinema): ''The Public Enemy'' (1931), ''The Postman Always Rings Twice'' (1946), ''Shane'' (1953), ''The Night of the Hunter'' (1955) & ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' (1957). (World Cinema): ''M'' (1931), ''Bicycle Thieves'' (1948), ''La Strada'' (1954), ''Seven Samurai'' (1954) & ''Rififi'' (1955) Greetings from The Netherlands.
All great ones.
Rosebud...I understand now...thanks to you guys
Great Reaction To One Of My All Time Favorite Movie's, Everyone 😊
Now you need to watch "RKO 281". It tells the story of Orson Wells writing and filming "Citizen Kane". It will also reveal what Rosebud was (it aint a sled)
I love you guys! I love how you discuss the movie at the end and explore what things really mean at a human level. That's what I love about your channel.
Being so wealthy is often a curse that makes people sell their souls and happiness for the sake of more money, more money than they can even use.
Good job. It's about time somebody reacted to this film.
William Randolph Hearst was so pissed off about this film that he tried to have it buried, but he wasn't
succesful .. Orson Wells and his DP invented new lenses and shooting techniques for this movie.
Read about Hearst Castle, which is what Xanadu is based on.
ohh i researced a bit. very insightful and amazing. Hearst Castle seem to be a cruel person if i read it correctly.
Welles' masterpiece still resonates after 80 yrs in so many ways - groundbreaking in cinematography and foretellling how the media controls people overall. "Yellow journalism" may be the backdrop but the metaphor of the American Dream being curdled (wanting something you cannot buy: love) is really the crux of the story. Amazing that he was only 26 but very sad how his professional career snowballed into a downward spiral he never recovered from, sadly largely due to his own ego. Great reactions and how you were able to connect the dots.
There is so much to love about this movie. First of .. it is too slow compared to modern film making. But the rest .. oh my goodness, it is perhaps the most important film ever made. This is where we see all the technical mastery of cameras and compositions for the first time. The lighting, the deep focus .. extraordinarily long takes without cuts but also a more modern and mature subject matter.
Cuts back and forth in time .. a stunningly brilliant script, a genius director (Orson Welles) and myriads of great actors, including Orson Welles himself, he did not just direct film.. he also played Kane!!
First time I saw it I thought it was way to slow and complicated but I could not forget it, and gave it another try. I re-watch it about once a year now .. been doing it for ten years. Everything you see in modern cinema .. more or less .. was invented here in Citizen Kane. It is the first modern film. There's camerawork in it that still makes people wonder "how did he do that .. that is an impossible take" .. like the camera panning up and over the roof, through the neon sign and down through the skylight. There was no CGI back then. It was also blocked/censored from distribution for about 20 years because it was supposedly about William Randolph Hearst ..it is complicated. It is part of legend now. And the ending of Citizen Kane inspired Steven Spielberg's ending of "Raiders of the Lost Arc".
There is so much more to say about it .. I could go on for days. I am just happy to see someone (you two) reacting to it.
Thanks and Cheers 🍺
The backstory of Citizen Kane is just as legendary as the movie. How Orson Welles was in fued with William Hurst and how hard Wells had to fight to get this film made.
31:54- The man smoking the pipe is Alan Ladd.
Definitely watch this one a couple more times to really get it all. Awesome reaction too. "Rosebud" has become an iconic word over the years. Someday watch the documentary about the making of Orson Wells masterpiece here, as it's story is more intriguing in many ways especially the real story behind Rosebud! For a couple more excellent classics around this time "Grapes of Wrath" (1940) about the Great Depression, Dust Bowl Era and stars Henry Fonda you're familiar with, and for a nice fantasy/musical from 1939 "The Wizard of Oz". And if you're in for a great scifi B&W from 1951 do "The Day the Earth Stood Still", one if the best of the '50s which was the decade science fiction movies really took off. 😎
Thank you for this reaction. Perfect summary at the end. Please react to more films by Orson Welles. He is an extraordinary director.
Youre very welcome, thank you so much for watching our vids 😊😊👍😍
@@MJoy4Fun you're welcome:)
He was always a child, and his reaction when his 2nd wife left him, was the continuation of the tantrum he threw when he was taken from his parents. He found the snowglobe, which took him back to that moment, and he yearned for that innocence. Hence, when he died, it was like a mortally wounded soldier saying "mama".
Make sure you see the other films of Orson Wells, several of them are better than Citizen Kane as films. "The Trial" is a summary of all his techniques, it is the most haunting and dreamlike of his films. "Chimes At Midnight" is a completely new Shakespeare play, all written by Shakespeare, but never seen before this film (he patched together a story from several different plays, and the story is more relevant and timely than the story in the original plays!), "F For Fake" is a RUclips video essay made 4 decades before the idea existed, it's the prototype for all video essays and creative nonfiction, and it's probably the film most ahead of it's time. "Lady From Shanghai" Is a labyrinthian film noir sprinkled with atom-bomb paranoia and amphetamine abuse, it was made in 1948(!) and it feels like 1968. "Othello" and "Macbeth" are solid Shakespeare adapation, and "Touch of Evil" is the first real 60s movie, a precursor to psycho and Marlene Dietrich's immortal role. "The Other Side of the WInd" is a gay-themed film shot in 1975 (and only fully assembled completed and released in 2019). "The Magnificent Ambersons" you might want to skip, as it is mutilated beyond repair from Welles' vision. Of the minor works, Mr. Arkadin, The Immortal Story, and Journey Into Fear are worthwhile great films, all unique and interesting, even though they don't have the perfection of the great classics I listed first.
Well at least YOU upvoted your comment 😂
@@andreshernandez1180 No, I have a 'friend' who does that for me. I don't know who it is.
Rosebud….
yes - rosebud was his sled.
Hope you pick another Classic. Not too many do though.
Kane is an example of greatness and neglect. Neglected in childhood, we wants to become great in the hopes this will make people love him. But in the process the striving for greatness mixed with unlimited resources he becomes narcissistic, exactly because of what was pointed out, that he didn't have a healthy amount of love at the beginning. Even the parents tended to display personality dysfunctions that would in some ways have set him on a similar path even if he'd stayed, but the family being separated pretty much sealed the deal. Everyone else around him are relegated to witnesses, either as enablers or becoming exiles once they buck against his decisions. Kane's a hard character to pigeon hole; capable of nobility and grandiosity, but unable or unwilling to take responsibility or admitting that he was wrong, all because at some point he's frozen in time deep down mentally as a kid. Lack of love creates difficulty in growing past that stage. The unlimited wealth only ensures his soul is stillborn in that respect.
If you can find a copy of "RKO 281", it will be easier to understand "Citizen Kane". RKO is RKO pictures which was the Hollywood studio where Citizen Kane was made. It goes into detail how the film was made and shows the feud between Willian Randolph Hearst and Orson Welles. You will also discover what "Rosebud" really meant. And although it might be said that you can ride it, it sure as shootin' ain't no sled!
I always enjoy your responses. The HBO Movie “RKO-281”, with an All-Star Cast, tells the behind the scenes madness, and struggles, to both make the movie “Citizen Kane”, and to survive the intense backlash from William Randolph Hearst against Orion Welles and RKO Studios. 🍸
This is my number 1 favorite movie of all time.
34:40 Your explanation of "Rosebud," in the context of the film as allegory is correct, yet with Orson Welles as the consummate ass "Rosebud," is far more lewd. In the end the joke was on Welles. He became the character he parodied.
i really love your channel. Please keep on going. "On the Waterfront" is something that you will enjoy. Marlon Brando "the Godfather" plays an immaculate role.
Thank you! Will do!
I love this film! Happy you did a review. It was enjoyable.
Instant upvote for Citizen Kane!
The real Hearst (Kane) tried everything he could to delay or kill release of this film. The story behind the making and release is almost as interesting as the movie.
Others have pointed out this is roughly based on William Randolph Hearst's life, who did everything he could to sink this film. One of the things he no doubt objected to is where they got the word "Rosebud" from. The filmmakers discovered that it was Hearst's pet name for a part of his wife's sexual anatomy, and they decided to put it in the film. As Welles once said, it was a basic Freud reference - Kane spent his life trying to get back to the security of his mother's womb.
Orson Welles also made a 1938 radio drama broadcast of HG Wells Book "War of the Worlds". (Tom Cruise also did a movie about the book that I love) on Halloween Night. It was so realistic that many listeners thought it was real and went into a wild panic!! Some packed up their families and tried to find a safe hiding place. It caused utter mayhem. I believe there's a movie about that radio broadcast. He ended up doing a tongue in cheek apology on the radio a few days after the drama aired.
Here's a link about it:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(1938_radio_drama)
This is one of the best movies of all time. If you can, watch the Blu ray with the Roger Ebert commentary. You learn quite a bit about how the movie was made.
Kane is supposed to be loosely (some parts not so loosely) based on the real American newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst.
You got it correct, but the ending was so significant because even Kane himself couldn't quite figure out what it was he needed to fill the hole in his life, perhaps his last word meant he did in the end?
A fantastic movie! Thank you for the classic reactions!
Great Film ! by Great Reactors ! ❤️
was one of his kind
The Wizard of Oz is older!
such a masterpiece! coming here soon
You Must Watch "RKO 281". It tells the true story of the making of the movie. I strongly suggest you watch that movie! It is a really good telling of everything behind the making of this movie and how hard Hearst worked to keep it from being shown in any theaters Ever! and why! It's a really good movie. You will like to watch it! For sure.
not a real story, but it was based on a true life person who tried to stop the movie from being made because he thought it was about him.
also, one of the most spoiled movie endings.
If you have ever seen the cartoon the simpsons ,montgomery burns is based on kane.
This film has as many special effects as Star Wras and the like. Very few sequences do not have some sort of effect.
Taken out of context of the History of Cinema, nobody can understand the importance of Citizen Kane. It may be fun to see people struggle, but it's basically just frustrating to watch people learn nothing. It's a bit like people looking at the Mona Lisa and saying: "I don't see what's so great about it." Why does Citizen Kane stand apart from every other movie of its day? Watch a documentary or read a book or listen to a lecture about it. Don't try to do it yourself because you haven't seen enough of the movies preceding it to give you the context you need -- including the silents.
"Citizen Kane," though innovative was produced by the studio that could least afford innovation-RKO.
that makes it even more impressive
@@MJoy4Fun Well, Kane bankrupted RKO.
Your reaction was a long time ago, but I don't see anyone answering your primary question of why (besides his father's possible abuse) Kane's mother would have given him to a bank to raise. At the turn of the last century, class division was nearly iron clad, and the elite had a strict set of rules and customs and accents that excluded anyone lower in class than themselves. Kane's mother knew that if he was to be one of the richest men in America he would NEVER be accepted by his peers unless he went to the right schools, spoke with the right accent, knew all the right people, and knew all the rules of dress, etiquette and manners that the elite grew up knowing. There would be NO WAY he would be accepted if it had been known who his parents were and how they behaved (like average middle class people). That's why she sent him away to be surrounded by the elites. It doesn't make much sense today, where the very rich are often slobs like the rest of us, but back then Kane would have been an outcast if he was raised by his own middle/lower class parents. Obviously, it didn't turn out well for him anyway.
Really enjoyed your reaction!!
This is a tough movie to wrap your brain around after only one viewing. You need to watch it at least twice to start connecting the dots.
This isn't a true story but if I recall gold was found on one kane's mothers land which is why she was able to hire Thatcher to who was a established financial banker who became his guardian
i see. we kinda figure it out.. they fail to properly present that one aspect in the movie if i am not wrong
@@MJoy4Fun They briefly cover the gold mine in the newsreel at the beginning of the film.