Ep. #3 - What's So Great About Citizen Kane?

It tops a large number of critic's best movies of all time lists.

But is it really so great?

A story about a kid who comes into money and then dedicates himself to accumulating more wealth and power for the rest of his life at the cost of friends, lovers and any joy at all. His life becomes a mystery to be solved and possibly a fate to be avoided.

Sounds like a real crowd-pleaser, huh?

And it's in black and white.

And it's from a first-time director in his early 20s who was known to be a bit cocky.

And it insulted real public figures when it came out (who tried to kill it).

And it was a box office failure.

The critics liked it, it was nominated for nine Academy awards, but lost 8 of them (and the director was even boo-ed at the ceremony!).

It was quickly shelved, but then was re-released a few years later after the heat had died down.

This time it was hailed as inventive, innovative and impressive and it's reputation grew to the point where it now is considered the pinnacle of moviedom.

But why?

Listen to the podcast and see if you agree with the answer to the question:

What's So Great About Citizen Kane? (click here)