Lady! Please!

RKO 281 is an HBO film about the making of Citizen Kane. It takes one of the most interesting stories from Hollywood’s studio era and a top tier cast, and does the worst thing it can do, makes it boring. The main problem is the script. The film starts with Orson Welles as a child, for some reason, lighting the candles on his birthday cake in his mother’s bedroom while she’s on her death bed. She calls him to her bed, telling him to step into the light. After a short conversation, she tells him to blow out the candles on his cake and make a wish, emphasizing that he needs to do it in one breath because he only has one chance. This kind of on the nose metaphor happens a lot at the beginning of the film. A later scene has Welles at a party held by William Randolph Hearst. During dinner, the conversation moves to Welles talking about bullfighting. Every time he talks about the bull, the camera focuses on Hearst. When he’s talking about the bullfighter, the camera focuses on him. If you’re unfamiliar with the story behind the making of the movie, you might Liev Schreiber does an admiral job as Welles, showing his innocence, hubris and self-centeredness. James Cromwell brings a level of sympathy to Hearst that most accounts of the man avoid these days. The entire cast does well with what they’re given, minus a couple of odd line readings from John Malkovich as Herman Mankiewicz, the screenwriter of Kane. Once Hearst learns about the film and tries to stop its release, it becomes a bit more interesting. But that’s such a small portion of the film that it doesn’t help much. Someone interested in the story of the film would be better served by watching the documentary The Battle Over Citizen Kane, which this movie was based on.

I’m doing a movie challenge with some friends on facebook where we watch and (maybe) review movies based on certain categories. I haven’t used this site much lately, so I figured I would cross-post those reviews here.

This one is not just a rewatch, but my favorite film. I could not tell you the amount of times I’ve seen this movie. Also, I’ve loaded my list with so many dramas, I needed to start with something relatively lighter.

Humphrey Bogart is Rick, the gruff, cynical owner of a bar/illegal gambling house in Casablanca during World War II. His ex-lover, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), comes to town with her husband, a Czech resistance fighter, looking to buy two letters of transit that had been stolen from German soldiers. This creates problems for all three, as Ilsa learns that Rick has the letters they’re looking for.

The main emotional punch of the movie comes from the fact that many of the people involved were European immigrants who came to the U.S. to escape the Nazis. This is particularly noticeable in the “dueling anthems” scene. German officers, most of whom were played by Jewish refugees, are singing a German song about defending their country from a French invasion. This quickly becomes drowned out by the other patrons and staff singing “La Marseillaise.” All emotions displayed in that scene are entirely real.

This movie should not be as good as it is. It kind of stumbled into its greatness through a combination of one of Warner Bros. most prolific directors (though producer Hal Wallis’ second choice for the job), a script that was being finished during the filming, and stars who didn’t really get along. It also went over budget by about $100,000.

I’m posting the list first, cause why not.

This is my list for now. I tried to pick as many movies as I could that I hadn't already seen. Only 5 of my picks are rewatches.

Movies with the same actor: Persona, Autumn Sonata (Liv Ullmann)

Movies based on books: Once Upon a Time in America

Movies with a female lead: A Woman Under the Influence

Movies about sex or relationships: Summer with Monika

Movies about Hollywood or television: A Face in the Crowd RKO 281

Movies based on historical events or a real person: Aguirre, The Wrath of God Andrei Rublev

Anime Movies: Akira

Movie and Its Sequel: True Grit Rooster Cogburn