Rick's Cafe Americain

What constitutes a great movie or the greatest of all movies?  Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane is the consensus pick as the “best” movie of all time, but, as Rick oh so eloquently demonstrated, not everyone is enamored with this film.  So, is Citizen Kane one of those movies that lands on the lists of all time greats more because of nostalgic memories and its influence on future filmmakers, than because of its ability to stand the test of time as a great movie in any era?  Or is Rick off his rocker? I am here to tell you—it is definitely the latter.

As a writer and indie film maker I insist that CK holds up today more so than any other film produced at that time. Why? Orson Wells is a genius. The techniques he employed in CK have been passed along to generations of film makers… and it might seem ordinary to some, but at the time, it was edgy and groundbreaking. It makes my Top 10 list easily! Nice write up.

Blech.  Maybe I should rewatch CK - I’ve been told that by more than one person - but I was bored to tears.

Citizen Kane struck me as technically excellent but horribly tedious.  I’m not a filmmaker; I am more interested in being entertained than impressed.

I have to agree with Ugarte here. I’ve watched it a couple of times and while some parts are great, the tedium of the rest makes it hard to watch. I will say, however, that I can get through it and it is definitely not a “bad” movie. I’m not sure I’d rate it as the best though.

Everytime I try to watch a “great” movie I always feel let down. It could just be that they are built up so much that they could never live up to my expectations. For example, a more recent example is “2001”. I absolutely hate this movie. I have tried to watch it probably six times. I want to like it, but I just cannot get into it. 2001 is hard to get though. The 20 minute long scene with no dialog is painful.

Then again, maybe it’s just me. I like to watch movies to be entertained, not necessarily for the “art” of it.

Just a quick comment, as time is short today. I’m a broken record on this, but unless you see a film as it was intended to be seen, on the BIG SCREEN, you really haven’t seen it. I waslucky enough to see it first in a movie palace and was blown away. Size of screen shouldn’t affect the story but it does influence your overall perception of the film. Amore modern example is “Moulin Rouge”. Many of those (but not all) who’ve only seen it on a 27” screen wonder what the noise is all about.
Anyway, I’ve found that even among people of very similar tastes, there is at most only an 80% overlap on what is to them “an amazing film”. “Memento” is another example.
P.S. the reverse psychology was a useful tool.