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Directed by Orson Welles. Screenplay by Herman J. Manceiwicz & Orson Welles. Starring Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton, Agnes Moorhead, Everett Sloane, Dorothy Comingore, Ruth Warwick, Ray Collins.
?? minutes.
Okay, I know what you're thinking. "Joey's smoked one two many bong-hits if he expects me to think that Citizen Kane, the supposedly-greatest-movie-ever-made is a drug movie."
Let me tell you a couple of things. First of all, there's no such thing as "too many bong hits."
And secondly, if you think Citizen Kane isn't a choice movie to watch while you're bombed, then you've never seen it - or you've never seen it bombed.
I first watched Citizen Kane out of a sense of duty. It's been voted the greatest movie ever multiple times, and every film geek in the world seems to endlessly reference it. I avoided it for ages, expecting it to be a snooze; after all, it's an "important" movie about a newspaper tycoon. I expected something dry and serious and "worthy" and dull as soap.
Man, was I wrong. Citizen Kane is two hours of nonstop fun!
Welles was twenty four when he co-wrote, produced, directed and starred in Citizen Kane. He was no stranger to partying all night, and given that he partied in - among other places - Harlem, we can assume he was no stranger to dope. I doubt making a drug movie was on his mind when he made Citizen Kane, his first feature-length film (he's previous directed a short film called Hearts of Age, and filmed some inserts for his theatrical productions that never made it into the actual plays) but watching it when you're stoned is a real treat, 'cause Welles pulls out every trick of sound & image that was available in 1941, and he does it all with a tremendous sense of style and energy.
The audio track is as important as the visuals in Citizen Kane; remember that Welles was at least as well known as an innovator in radio as in the theatre (his War of the Worlds broadcast is probably what he's still most famous for). There's a constant clashing of sound effects, carefully modulated voices, and the fantastic music of Bernard Herrmann.
If nothing else, it'll wake you up if you get too stoned and fall asleep.
There's plenty to look at, as well. Gregg Toland's brilliant black & white cinematography constantly utilises deep focus - that is to say, everything in frame is always in focus, a trick that's extremely difficult now, let alone over forty years ago. This allows us to see every element of design clearly. And what design it is, a lot of it clearly inspired by German expressionism, but forever taking it in its own directions in service of the story.
The story itself is told in a masterfully-constructed series of flashbacks prompted by the recollections of various characters, allowing us a portrait of the central character, Charles Foster Kane (played at various ages by Welles in a phenomenal granstanding performance) taken from many angles. It almost qualifies as that staple of druggie films, the Mind-Fuck Movie. However Welles would surpass Kane in terms of sheer mind-fuck several times, most notable in Mr. Arkadin and F For Fake.
Spark up a joint, inhale, and believe the hype.
I give it ten out of ten.
© 2003 Joey Narcotic.