Citizen Kane Blu-Ray Orson Welles

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

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

USA 1941

The Criterion Blu-ray and 4K UHD of Citizen Kane is reviewed HERE

Orson Welles’ timeless masterwork is more than a groundbreaking film. Presented here in a magnificent 70th anniversary digital transfer with revitalized digital audio from the highest quality surviving elements, it is also grand entertainment, sharply acted and superbly directed with inspired visual flair. Depicting the controversial life of an influential publishing tycoon, this Best Original Screenplay Academy Award Winner (1941) is rooted in themes of power, corruption, vanity—the American Dream lost in the mystery of a dying man’s last word: “Rosebud.”

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 1st, 1941 - USA

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

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

Check out more in "The Library"

Comparison:

Warner - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Universal Pictures (UK) - Region 0 - PAL vs. Warner (3-disc Ultimate CE) - Region FREE - Blu-ray

DVD Box Covers			Released by Criterion on Blu-ray in November 2021: and in 4K UHD:
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	Warner Home Video Region FREE - Blu-ray
		Warner also offer an identical Blu-ray package (entitled 70th Anniversary) WITH the inclusion of The Magnificent Ambersons on DVD for about $10 more - exclusive to Amazon.
Runtime	1:59:20	1:54:16 (4% PAL speedup)	1:59:23.823
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	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 32,071,793,601 bytes Feature: 30,815,545,344 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 30.65 Mbps
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes
Bitrate: Warner
Bitrate: Universal
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 821 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 821 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Polish 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Subtitles	English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and none	English, Spanish, French and none	English (SDH), Czech, French, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, 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	Release Information: Studio: Warner Home Video 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 32,071,793,601 bytes Feature: 30,815,545,344 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 30.65 Mbps Edition Details: Disc One: Bonus Disc: American Experience: The Battle Over Citizen Kane Documentary (see below) Bonus Disc: RKO 281 (see below) Commentary by Peter Bogdanovich Commentary by Roger Ebert Opening: World Premier of Citizen Kane Vintage Featurettes (1:08) Interview with Ruth Warrick (5:40) Interview with Robert Wise (3:04) 'The Production' (15:01 in total) Storyboards Call Sheets Still Photography with Commentary by Roger Ebert 'Post Production' (5:11) Deleted Scenes Ad Campaign Press Book Opening Night 10/30/38 Mercury Theatre Broadcast of War of the Worlds (Audio Only) 10/28/40 KTSA, San Antonio Broadcast of H.G. Wells Meets Orson Welles (Audio Only) Theatrical Trailer (3:46) 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 Disc Three: "RKO 281" (1999) Color (1.78:1) Single-sided, single-layered disc (SS-SL) Dolby Digital English 2.0 English, French, Spanish subtitles Cast and Crew Bio static screens Static menu with 12-chapter scene-selection • Number of discs: 3 Package includes a book, booklets and title cards etc. Blu-ray Release Date: September 13th, 2011 Custom Digipack Chapters 31

Comments:

The Criterion Blu-ray and 4K UHD of Citizen Kane is reviewed HERE

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

NOTE: We have added The Magnificent Ambersons DVD to our existing comparison HERE.

ADDITION: Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - September 11': Looks like we got exactly what we had hoped back in 2003! - "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...".

Warner's new 1080P Blu-ray transfer is thick with marvelously textured grain - looking positively film-like, especially, in comparison to Warner DVD. The image is authentically darker and I don't see us losing any detail (the rain in Bernstein's office has returned!) - even beside the boosted Warner SD transfer. It no longer appears cropped and is, of course, in theatrical running time. The audio is lossless, original mono exporting some perceived depth - sounds solid. Extras include everything from the 2002 package plus a third disc (the film RKO 281 from 1999) and a wonderful hardcover book, a souvenir program, title cards and more! We strongly suggest paying the extra $10 for the Blu-ray set (found HERE) called the '70th Anniversary Edition' (an Amazon Exclusive) with The Magnificent Ambersons on SD which we will eventually obtain and add to our existing DVD comparison.

I'm going to work my way through much more of this incredible package and report more (example - I am assuming the second disc 'The Battle Over Citizen Kane' is the exact single-layered one as in the 2002 release). We also assume this transfer etc. is the exact same as in the Ambersons included one (found HERE) - but we will report if we find any discrepancies. As for now this has our recommendation!

***

ON THE DVDs: The Universal PAL edition has aptly been called the "Technical Edition" of Citizen Kane on DVD. It shows wonderful film grain. 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.

The Universal version is less smooth in comparison (look at the newspaper text in the first large capture). I found the PAL version so dark that it actually eliminates some 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)

Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray

RKO 281 DVD as included with the Blu-ray package

Universal - PAL version opens with a Board Certification card:

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

Subtitle Sample from Blu-ray