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RKO 281 (1999) (TV)
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Overview
User Rating:
Writers (WGA):
Richard Ben Cramer (documentary The Battle Over Citizen Kane) (in part) andThomas Lennon (documentary The Battle Over Citizen Kane) (in part) ...
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Release Date:
20 November 1999 (USA) morePlot:
Orson Welles produces his greatest film, Citizen Kane, despite the opposition of the film's de facto subject, William Randolph Hearst. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
Won Golden Globe. Another 7 wins & 15 nominations moreNewsDesk:
West Wing, Sopranos Are Top Emmy Nominees(From Studio Briefing - Film News. 20 July 2000)
User Comments:
Not the movie it should have been... moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| 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 |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for language and some graphic sexual images.Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
83 minLanguage:
EnglishAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Dolby DigitalCertification:
Iceland:L | Australia:M | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Finland:S | France:U | Norway:7 | USA:R | Spain:7Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The title refers to the production number given by RKO to Citzen Kane. moreGoofs:
Revealing mistakes: When Welles is shown crossing out dialogue in the "Citizen Kane" script, he is actually marking up pages from the "RKO 281" script! moreSoundtrack:
I'm Gettin' Sentimental Over You moreFAQ
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RKO 281 is based on the making of Orson Welles's masterpiece, Citizen Kane, but unlike the movie it portrays, RKO 281 lacks Welles's fiery signature of creativity. The movie itself is well-filmed, with elaborate backdrops and a captivating depth of the 30's period in which it was shot. However, the plot outside this remarkable backdrop, is sadly quite shallow.
Outside of the obvious battle between Welles (played by Liev Schrieber) and media magnate William Randolph Hearst (played by James Cromwell), we have no sense of any underlying motivation for the story. This is pretty sad considering the film they wished to portray was none other than one of the greatest films of alltime, setting many of the technical standards used today. Indeed, the viewer is given little more than a fleeting glimpse of Citizen Kane's production, and only a few of the most blindingly obvious innovations in the film (such as slanted camera angles). The disturbing part of these remarkably few revelations is that they come after 50 minutes of a historically unrelenting plot outlining everything from the land-lease law to Hollywood gossip rags of the 30's. I also found it odd that they never mentioned that Citizen Kane was booed at the 1941 Oscars, of which most he was snubbed.
The black-and-white confrontation of the movie is little more than grey-and-grey. Welles apparently doesn't want to make the movie because Kane represents the hollowness of greed, but because he feels that Hearst is a hypocrite. Hearst is not so much egnimatic and soulless as Kane, but more of a helpless withered shadow of a man. This attack of Hearst's character is never truly resolved, because the story never makes it clear that Citizen Kane was based on Hearst, but isn't about Hearst.
Sadly, there is one more note I wish to add. The actors in this movie seemed like 8th graders forced into a Shakespearian play, they either misunderstood the meaning of this picture, or failed to connect emotionally. As Shakespeare in Love taught us, even the Bard's works can be made interesting with the right mindset. This could have been a great movie, but fell far short.