Movie Notes: Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane (1941)
Director: Orson Welles

It took me a few viewings of Citizen Kane before I could appreciate it as entertainment.  Knowing that it has been declared "the best movie" by so many people actually gets in the way of just enjoying it for its own sake on its own merits.  It's not only an interesting movie, it's an entertaining one.

It's technical brilliance is well documented, but the element of the movie that I want to mention here is that it strikes me as a very honest film by Welles.  I like art that seems to mirror the inner reality of my life, and I think Kane does that because Welles exposes his own troubled soul in exploring the life of Charles Foster Kane.  Where the movie seems a bit cold is where he perhaps withdrew a little to protect himself.

The Lady from Shanghai

The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
Director: Orson Welles

This is a beautifully directed, gorgeously shot, and bizarre little movie by the wunderkind himself.  It's 90 minutes of confusion, discomfort, and a bad Irish accent by Orson Welles.

Still, it's pretty good.  Really, only the accent and the plot drag the movie down.  Everything else is fascinating.  Apparently this film suffered dreadfully at the hands of the studio - its current length is far from Welles' vision, and the cut footage has never been found.  So, it might not be his fault that the movie can be confusing.  Especially disconcerting were the giant jumps in time (from the Caribbean to Acapulco, months later, in a flash).