Product Details

• Actors: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead, Ray Collins, Dorothy Comingore
• Directors: Orson Welles
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Turner Home Ent
• DVD Release Date: September 25, 2001
• Run Time: 119 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (890 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00003CX9E
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,103 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Citizen Kane (Two-Disc Special Edition)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Arguably the greatest of American films, Orson Welles's 1941 masterpiece, made when he was only 26, still unfurls like a dream and carries the viewer along the mysterious currents of time and memory to reach a mature (if ambiguous) conclusion: people are the sum of their contradictions, and can't be known easily. Welles plays newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane, taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. The result is that every well-meaning or tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event. Written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz, and photographed by Gregg Toland, the film is the sum of Welles's awesome ambitions as an artist in Hollywood. He pushes the limits of then-available technology to create a true magic show, a visual and aural feast that almost seems to be rising up from a viewer's subconsciousness. As Kane, Welles even ushers in the influence of Bertolt Brecht on film acting. This is truly a one-of-a-kind work, and in many ways is still the most modern of modern films from the 20th century. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

The story of an immensely wealthy newspaper publisher, as he is remembered by his friends and former wife after his death. Loosely based on the life of William Randolph Hearst. Frequently called the greatest film of all time.
No Track Information Available
Media Type: DVD
Artist: WELLES/COTTEN/COMINGORE/MOOREH
Title: CITIZEN KANE
Street Release Date: 09/24/2002
Domestic
Genre: DRAMA

See all Editorial Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

543 of 574 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A vanguard motion picture June 5, 2000

By "flickjunkie"

Format:VHS Tape

Probably the most unfortunate thing that ever happened to `Citizen Kane' was that it found itself atop the AFI top film list. Now, no one can simply enjoy the film. Everyone feels compelled to scrutinize it and make a decision about its greatness. Asking whether `Citizen Kane' is the best film of the century is like asking if Marilyn Monroe was the most beautiful woman. It depends on whom you ask.

`Citizen Kane' is not the most entertaining film I've ever seen, but it is certainly one of the most important. It is a vanguard motion picture and a gargantuan achievement for Orson Welles. If you consider the fact that Welles was a 24 year old Hollywood outsider who had only done radio and theater when he landed the contract for this film, you begin to appreciate what a big deal it was. This was during a time when a few studios controlled every film that was made. How many 24 year old actor/directors can you name today, even in a world where independents abound?

The story is based on the life of William Randolph Hearst. Writer Herman Mankiewicz had an up-close look at Hearst as he had been an occasional house guest at the Hearst mansion. The similarities were striking, right down to the paramour whose career Hearst promoted, who loved to do jigsaw puzzles. The fact that this film was released at all is a marvel in itself. Hearst went on a personal campaign to crush the film and enlisted every powerful friend he had to stop it. Louis B. Mayer offered RKO $800,000 to destroy the print. John D. Rockefeller ordered the Radio City premier cancelled. All of Hearst's newspapers were forbidden to mention the film.

Hollywood was uniformly against it and Welles was branded an insolent maverick. The film was snubbed by the Academy.... It was nominated for 9 Oscars and won only best screenplay. The film turned out to be a commercial failure, losing $150,000. With all the forces stacked against it, we are lucky to be having this best film debate at all.

The story has a simple moral; that money and power can't buy happiness. We see Kane's progress from a happy child, to an idealistic young journalist intent on helping the common man, and finally to a bitter and angry old man whose innocence has slipped from him. One of the most effective scenes that illustrated this was the two minute overlay of breakfast conversations with his wife. It starts with cooing lovers and progresses through increasing levels of discord. It ends in silence with the two reading separate newspapers, her disdain for him subtly indicated by her choice of the hated Chronicle as her newspaper.

What is so remarkable about this film is the filmmaking. Director after director has pointed to some aspect of this film as having influenced them. The use of shadows and various perspective shots was not unprecedented in 1941, but never before had they been used with so much dramatic impact. What was unprecedented was that `Citizen Kane' was the first film ever to depart from the strict narrative format, which moves forward chronologically. The film starts at the end and jumps around in time based upon the perspective of the person who is telling his or her story about Kane. So the next time you see a flashback, remember it started here.

The makeup was revolutionary. Welles often went through four hours or more of makeup to be properly aged for each scene. The film also launched a number of brilliant careers. Besides Welles, Joseph Cotton and Agnes Moorehead went on to long and prominent film careers.

If `Citizen Kane' is not the best film of the century it is certainly one of them. Its influence on a generation of filmmakers cannot be ignored in the equation. People who watch this film and ask, "What's the big deal?" are comparing it with modern films that have borrowed from this film's techniques and undergone 60 years of evolution. It's like going back to Kitty Hawk and saying, "What's the big deal, the flight only lasted a few seconds."

There is only one rating to give to a film of such monumental importance. It is the consummate 10. Read more ›

819 of 900 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Ok...everyone relax!!!! October 19, 1999

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape

I had no intention of writng a review, but after reading several I couldn't stop myself.

It seems like most of the people here are falling into two camps, the "Film Snobs" and the " Folks whose brains have been rotted by MTV, etc..."

The comments of the"MTV people" seem to be typified by this quote I picked from out of many bad reviews: "Maybe you intellectual, artsy types go for this, but give me Star Wars any day!"

Where the "Snobs" counter back with:

"I cannot think of another film which so challenges the viewer time and time again. I still pick up little nuances, incredible effects and camara angles, and overlapping dialog on subsesquent showings. Gregg Toland's camerawork is justifiably among the most memorable in film."

Oh boy!

I, of course believe Citizen Kane is a great film, but I believe both sides in this argument are missing the point.

I really wish those who defended this movie spoke about it in human terms, rather then talk about the camera work, or Welles' age or it's "impact" on film history.

It is great because (if you let it)it will tell you a deeply emotional story.

It is no accident that the very first and very last image of the film are the same. A locked gate with a sign that says,"No Trespassing." For in this movie, Kane is a guy with a virtual "no trespassing" sign around his neck. He is a man who wants so deeply to control those around him, to FORCE them to love him, that he allows nobody close. He essentially locks out all hope of love!

Give it a chance...don't expect Star Wars. Pay no attention to the camera work and special effects, they are beside the point.... Welles is talking about the very saddest, deepest, loneliest part of us all...you might find something to relate to....if you are patient. Read more ›

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Hmm...Worth the Upgrade From the Standard Disc Version? Depends! February 6, 2012

By Frederick Baptist

Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase

This 70th Anniversary Blu-ray release of arguably the best film of all time is a bit of a mixed bag especially for those who already have the standard disc version Citizen Kane (Two-Disc Special Edition). My copy of the standard disc upscales very well in 1080p on my blu-ray player and while the picture quality is very good and bright, there are still very faint white spots in some frames for example in the scene where the reporter is reviewing the manuscript in the vault. The sound quality is also good there but this blu ray version has a vastly superior sound quality coming in DTS mono. The strange thing is that when it comes to the picture quality, the blu-ray shows a lot more grain when compared with the vault scene in the standard version and while the white spots are virtually a thing of the past, the lighting is pretty dark and at the end when the reporters leave Xanadu, you can hardly see a thing on the blu-ray while you can still make out the faces on the upscaled standard disc. As the second disc on the "Battle for Citizen Kane" is virtually identical to the one on the standard release there is nothing to compare among the two here. The booklet packaging with the colour photos and pages is nice but other than that, there is nothing really to distinguish between the blu-ray and the standard dvd release.

Better sound quality but arguably slightly better picture quality when compared to the upscaled standard disc and equal special features except for the better blu-ray book packaging makes it a tough call on whether or not to double dip. For me, I kinda regret doing it as the improvements do not "wow" me enough....

You will have to decide about "upgrading" but if you don't already have this film in any form, you might as well get this blu-ray. As for me, I wish I didn't as my Special Edition 2-disc Standard DVD release upscales well enough so much so that I don't feel ready to part with it the way I do with other blu-ray upgrades that I have done. Read more ›