Melissa Colbert's thoughts on Citizen Kane
While I would not go so far as to say that Citizen Kane is one of my favorite movies of all time, I can appreciate what it brought to American cinema during the 1940’s. Welles’ message of wealth and life in the limelight causing such personal turmoil was one unfamiliar to people during that time. I feel that this message is relevant today, but it has lost the punch it once had because of the countless films since Wells' exposing the same pitfalls of trying to achieve the “American Dream”. In an age of computer graphics and high demand for bigger and better special effects and camera angles, it is no surprise that the typical American cannot appreciate what progress Citizen Kane represented in cinematography. Perhaps only those who have a deep appreciation and understanding of the art of film might consider this to be one of the greatest movies ever. Even though I was slightly let down by the film, one part of the movie that I enjoyed was when Welles is talking about how if had he stayed poor, he may have been a good man. You see his struggle throughout the course of the movie when he attempts to “buy love” and never really lets anyone in close enough to impact his life and his heart. It is sad to see his life slowly falling apart piece by piece and a part of me felt bad for him. Overall, I feel the movie is worth watching; however, I was disappointed that it did not live up to its hype.