RKO 281 (1999) (TV)

Director:

Benjamin Ross

Writers (WGA):

Richard Ben Cramer (documentary The Battle Over Citizen Kane) (in part) and
Thomas Lennon (documentary The Battle Over Citizen Kane) (in part) ...

Release Date:

20 November 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

Orson Welles produces his greatest film, Citizen Kane, despite the opposition of the film's de facto subject, William Randolph Hearst.

Plot Keywords:

Hollywood | Wisconsin | Film Making | Film Industry | Anti Semitism

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 7 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Liev Schreiber	...	Orson Welles
James Cromwell	...	William Randolph Hearst
Melanie Griffith	...	Marion Davies
John Malkovich	...	Herman J. Mankiewicz
Brenda Blethyn	...	Louella Parsons
Roy Scheider	...	George Schaefer
Liam Cunningham	...	Gregg Toland
Fiona Shaw	...	Hedda Hopper
Anastasia Hille	...	Carole Lombard
Roger Allam	...	Walt Disney
Simeon Andrews	...	John Houseman
William Armstrong	...	Mr. Lewis
Jay Benedict	...	Darryl Zanuck
Ron Berglas	...	David O. Selznick
Paul Birchard	...	Top Brass #2

Also Known As:

RKO 281: The Battle Over Citizen Kane (USA) (video box title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some graphic sexual images.

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Finland:S | France:U | Norway:7 | USA:R | Spain:7

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Sign, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Home Box Office (HBO)

Trivia:

In the shot of Orson cutting the Citizen Kane script, one of Kane's lines is "Who knows what lurks in the hearts of evil men? The Shadow knows!" This was the classic introduction played at the beginning of every episode of Welles' famous radio program, "The Shadow".

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Welles and Mankiewicz are discussing the origin of the word "Rosebud," it is clear that both actors are mouthing the word "vagina", but in the audio, they both say "pussy".

Quotes:

Marion: Screw you, Mr. Kane!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 57th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

I Can't Get Started

entertaining, but seems too simple

I didn't know the history of the making of Citizen Kane, and while I enjoyed this movie quite a bit, I still doubt that I know much about it. The movie is attractive, I imagine that it's more or less factually correct, and the cast is generally good, but it doesn't feel "real". Hardly anything is ever as black and white as most of the movie, and even more to the point, the character doesn't manage to capture any of the "zing" that Wells had even as an old man. It's fun, but don't expect too much...