Citizen Kane Orson Welles

(aka "American" or "John Citizen, U.S.A")

USA 1941

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 sub-consciousness. 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

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 1st, 1941 - USA

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Associated Reading (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)


This is Orson Welles by Orson Welles, Peter Bogdanovich, Jonathan Rosenbaum	Orson Welles on Shakespeare: The W.P.A. and Mercury Theatre Playscripts by Orson Welles, Simon Callow, Richard France	Orson Welles: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers (Paperbacks)) by Orson Welles, Mark W. Estrin	The Trial by Franz Kafka	Orson Welles : The Stories of His Life by Peter Conrad	Rosebud : The Story of Orson Welles by David Thomson	Encyclopedia of Orson Welles (Great Filmmakers) by Chuck Berg, Tom Erskine, John C. Tibbetts, James M. Welsh, Thomas L. Erskine	Chimes at Midnight: Orson Welles, Director (Rutgers Films in Print) by Bridget Gellert Lyons

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DVD Comparison:

Warner - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Universal Pictures (UK) - Region 0 - PAL

(Warner - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal - Region 0 - PAL - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Boxset View (for R1 is 3 disc set with same transfer as 2 disc)
Distribution	Warner Home Video Region 0 - NTSC	Universal Pictures (UK) Region 0 - PAL
Runtime	1:59:20	1:54:16 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.40 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.90 PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes
Bitrate: Warner
Bitrate: Universal
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Subtitles	English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and none	English, Spanish, French and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner Home Video Aspect Ratio: Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1 Edition Details: Single-sided, dual-layered disc (SS-DL) Dolby Digital mono (English) English, Spanish, French, Portuguese subtitles, and English closed-captioning Audio commentary by Peter Bogdanovich Audio commentary by Roger Ebert Four-minute theatrical trailer with footage different from the film Newsreel footage (one minute) from the New York premiere, in May, 1941 Storyboards gallery (three minutes) Call sheets gallery (50 seconds) Eleven-minute stills gallery with commentary by Roger Ebert One-minute gallery of material relating to a deleted scene Gallery of advertising and poster art (90 seconds) Original press book gallery (45 seconds) Gallery of stills and materials relating to the film's opening night (90 seconds) Seven-screen bio of Welles Fifteen-screen production history of Kane Six screens of "postscripts" on post-Kane careers of participants Two-screen list of awards and honors Cast and crew credits Animated, musical home menu with 31-chapter scene-selection Disc Two: "The Battle Over Citizen Kane" Black and white and color Full frame (1.33:1) Single-sided, single-layered disc (SS-SL) Dolby Digital English 2.0 English subtitles and close captioning Welles filmography Web link to PBS material about the documentary Advertisement for WGBH catalog Ads for other WGBH documentaries Static menu with 11-chapter scene-selection • Number of discs: 2 DVD Release Date: September 24, 2002 Dual DVD Digi-pak with slipcase Chapters 31	Release Information: Studio: Universal Pictures Studio Aspect Ratio: Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1 Edition Details: Disc One: Re-mastered and restored feature Audio commentary by Film Historian Ken Barnes Original theatrical trailer (4 mins) Disc Two: Anatomy Of A Classic' documentary presented by Film Critic Barry Norman (49 mins). 'Restoration Comparison' featurette (9 mins) What Kane Cost' - the original budget 'The War Of The Worlds': a featurette that looks at the furor caused by Orson Welles' radio adaptation in which some Americans believed a Martian landing was actually taking place (57 mins) 12 cast and crew profiles Stills gallery 'The Original Film Budget' featurette 'Original 1945 Orson Welles recording of Oscar Wilde's 'The Happy Prince' with Bing Crosby and music by Bernard Hermann (13 mins) DVD Release Date: July 21st, 2003 Bookstyle case with transparent plastic holder and photos behind Chapters 20 NOTE: None of the special features come with captions or subtitles

Comments:

The Universal PAL edition has aptly been called the "Technical Edition" of Citizen Kane on DVD. It shows wonderful film grain, but suffers in the sharpness department. The Warner NTSC version has been brightened, enough for scholars to notice in some shadowy scenes. The sound in the Warner is quite poor where the Universal has been beefed up a bit. The Ken Barnes commentary on the PAL edition focuses quite heavily on the technical aspects which is certainly important and illuminating. Bogdanovich and Ebert's commentary on the Warner is likewise interesting and informative. I can't rightly say one is "better" than the other, but I personally enjoyed the Warner more.

I can't get past the sharpness issue. The Universal version is quite hazy in comparison (look at the newspaper text in the first large capture). I found the PAL version so dark that it actually eliminates information from the screen (see the head on the right side of the 3rd large capture). I can't help but feel the Universal is saturated as well as having the PAL speedup issue which is not adhering to an original viewing experience. I expect the debate with "Kane" scholars can go on indefinitely. What would have been best would be the integrity and film grain of the Universal (and sound!) and the detail and clarity of the Warner... and the Extras of both... and no PAL speedup.. and no cropping. I expect that true buffs (and there are many!) should buy both versions. It is nice at least for the rest of us to have a choice.

- Gary W. Tooze

NOTE (from this HTF Forum thread - Andrew Markworthy): the scene in Bernstein's office (Chapter 9 in the R2 edition, I think Chapter 10 in the R1) there is rain coming down pretty heavily outside, which you can see through the window - or at least, you *should* be able to see it. In the R1 version, you can see the rain coming down in the top third of the window, but after that the rain seems to disappear. The allegation is that the digital clean-up was over-zealous and erased the rain, thinking it was visual noise.

Okay, cut to the chase - in the new R2 version you can see *exactly* what's going on. Outside is a light source that makes the upper third of the rain brighter, so it's far easier to see. The lower two thirds are visible, but in contrast, this portion is much dimmer than the top third (indeed, you see rather more of the rain running down the window). I think that what Greg Tolland (the cinematographer) was trying to do here was to give an impression of an illuminated sign or logo outside the window, as you see on the side of big corporate HQ buildings. These are always placed high up on buildings, and of course Bernstein, being the big cheese, will have an office high up the building. I think this is yet another example of the meticulous planning that went into CK, right down to the subtle reinforcement by visual cues. It didn't have to be there, but it just adds that slight extra edge.

DVD Menus

(Warner - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal - Region 0 - PAL - RIGHT)

Disc 2

(Warner - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal - Region 0 - PAL - RIGHT)

Universal - PAL version opens with a Board Certification card:

Screen Captures