Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

gavin6942 Documentary about the battle between Orson Welles and William Randolph Hearst over Welles' "Citizen Kane" (1941). Features interviews with Welles' and Hearst's co-workers also as a relatively complete bio of Hearst.This documentary covers two things. One is the creation of "Citizen Kane" and the troubles that Orson Welles went through to get people to see it. This is covered fairly well, and for a fictional version of the story people can watch "RKO 281" which is based on this documentary.The other part is just as interesting, and maybe even more so: the biography of William Randolph Heart. While a towering figure in his day and at the time "Citizen Kane" came out, he has left the public consciousness. Do half of the people in America even know who he is? Probably not. And yet he had a profound effect on journalism and culture. He should be celebrated.

Michael_Elliott Battle Over Citizen Kane, The (The American Experience) (1996) *** (out of 4) Season eight of The American Experience featured this documentary about the making of Orson Welles Citizen Kane, which would cause the director to do battle with William Randolph Hearst, the man Kane is based on. There's one huge problem with this film and that's that the film takes way too much time to dig into the actual making of the movie. We spend about an hour getting to know both Welles and Hearst, which is fine but I think too much time is spent here. We learn how Hearst ended up making his fortune (as well as losing) and how Welles became an overnight sensation with The War of the Words radio show. The most interesting aspects happen when we get to the making of the film and how Welles was running out of time to get a movie on the screen as many felt he'd never film anything. When the actual battle starts between the two men it's rather shocking and perhaps sad that neither Welles or Hearst had the decency to try and meet with one another to settle this thing instead of letting it take both of them over. The even sadder thing is that the movie Citizen Kane ended up being a bio of Welles as he ended up just like the character. I've often wondered if Welles got lost in the Kane character or perhaps he was the Kane character and this documentary makes it seem like he was the Kane character.

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews This is a feature-length documentary found on the DVD of Citizen Kane(not to be confused with the actual TV picture of a few years later, RKO 281, in spite of the latter sharing the title and evidently at least some of the premise). It's well-produced throughout and leaves little to be desired. It is more about the life and accomplishments of Hearst than Welles, but that can be argued as fitting, as that was whom the film in question was intended to be a biography of(if it turned out to be a bit of a misunderstood attempt at so, masterful effort though it is, and in the end actually is closer to the real persona, past and then-future of its maker). We are given a lot of insight into both of them, who they were, what drove them, their triumphs and defeat. It's all told rather well, with clips of the movie itself(as well as others, where it fits), interviews, past as well as current, with those who worked with them(and even one of Orson himself, from '82), footage from behind the scenes, stills and narration. A number of the many shocks the two caused, including the (in)famous War of the Worlds broadcast, are detailed, with witness accounts where possible. It's well-written and put together with expertise. This alone ought to be a strong point in favor of owning a copy of the piece itself. I recommend this to anyone who wants to know about one and/or the other of the mighty people, the controversy and their clash. 8/10

jaybabb -Maybe Spoilers herein-This film is a documentary about the conflict Between Orson Welles & William Randolph Hearst over the movie "Citizen Kane." There are interviews with many of the people involved with the film. Hearst was a powerful newspaper publisher who sensationalized the news. Many of the stories in his papers were made up. Welles was a radio and theatrical producer who also loved sensationalism. His plays & radio programs were like nothing else seen at the time. His "War of the worlds" broadcast scared the living daylights out of people since it sounded so real. Both men had at least one characteristic in common: They both believed that the ends justify the means. This is how they became successful and how in the end-destroyed themselves and each other.I have two thoughts regarding this battle: 1. I believe that if Hearst wouldn't have raised a racket over the film, The movie would have been destroyed. Because, People would not believe that Hearst was the kind of man Welles portrays. However, since he did raise a racket people wondered if the events depicted in "Citizen Kane" are true. Otherwise, he wouldn't have raised a racket. 2. These two men were their own worst enemies. There lifestyles and The way they conducted business would eventually come back to haunt them and it did. If you fly too high too soon, you will crash-what goes up MUST COME DOWN! The film "Citizen Kane" set these two on a collision course-they did 15 rounds in the ring and killed each other in the process.Both the newspaper and film industries can learn many lessons.1. The newspaper industry: Never let one man have that much control. There must be accountability here-It is irresponsible to make up stories about living people. In many cases(As he did with Orson Welles)if he didn't like you it was not pretty. This is not what the founding fathers had in mind when they gave us freedom of the press.2. The film industry: Never EVER give complete control to one man. While Welles made a brilliant film, it was about a real living person. Regardless how one feels about Hearst, the fact is it is irresponsible to portray him the way he did in the film.In short-another way of saying this for both: NEVER LET THE IMMATES RUN THE ASSYUM!!The only winner in this battle is the film itself. Perhaps Welles could have at least a little consolation over the fact-that this film is now considered one of the greatest films of all time. And in this day of the DVD format-this film will be forever Preserved. Thank God for that!