1. Citizen Kane (1941) Rosebud... Director: Orson Welles Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten & Agnes Moorehead Oscars: Best Writing/Original Screenplay

Synopsis: Citizen Kane chronicles the eccentric life of newspaper tycoon, Charles Foster Kane, from a carefree childhood to a forlorn death. The crux of the movie focuses on uncovering the meaning of Kane's cryptic dying word: Rosebud. First-time director Orson Welles loosely modeled the fictional C.F. Kane after real-life newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, much to the dismay of Hearst.

He said: I can see why every Hollywood big shot, from David O. Selznick to Army Archer, loved this film. But, truth be told, it moved WAY too slow for me, and it wasn't a particularly pleasant movie to watch. Two things that gained Kane critical acclaim were inventive plot techniques & cutting-edge camera work. Incorporating old-time newsreels into the film as a storytelling tool was a stroke of genius. Also, Kane was one of the first flicks to extensively use a broken narrative. It starts at the end with C.F. Kane uttering "Rosebud," eventually flashes forward to his childhood and then plods its way through his enigmatic life story using a series of flashbacks. Also, any director worth his popcorn salt would tell you that Kane revolutionized the art of cinematography with its vast array of camera angles and lighting techniques.

She said: Yeah, I guess the camerawork was pretty good for the 1940s, but the film just didn’t do it for me. It was missing something. You know, what Citizen Kane could REALLY use is a likable, “yumable” character.

He said: Yumable? Now, that’s gotta be a chick thing. I agree there was no one to root for in the movie, but I felt that Kane had a couple other more significant flaws. First, the storyline wasn’t exactly peppy. The mystery behind Rosebud's meaning couldn't conquer my heavy eyelids. There's no way I should be dozing off during AFI's #1 movie.

She said: Hey, I’m usually the one that falls asleep during the movies.

He said: Yeah, that’s putting it pretty mildly, Sleeping Beauty. Back to what I was saying, besides being a tad boring, I thought Kane had really poor sound quality. I couldn't hear but half the dialogue, and then the score music came in too loud over top of it. We kept cranking the volume to hear what was going on, only to have the salt scared off our popcorn by the sudden, loud music transitions.

She said: Yeah, I was having trouble hearing the movie over your snoring. One thing I really did like about the movie was its moral that money doesn’t necessarily buy happiness.

He said: Don’t think that I didn’t notice that crack about my snoring. Anyway, I agree with your take on the general meaning of the film: The uselessness of money, power and success in the face of unhappiness. Kane also showed that some of life's greatest pleasures are also some of its simplest, like little C.F. Kane sledding in the snow as a child.

She said: In a nutshell, the cinematography was impressive for its time, and the film’s moral really spoke to me. A major problem is that I knew the meaning of “Rosebud” going in, so it ruined the climax of the film for me. Not a movie you can watch over and over.

He said: Citizen Kane is not the kind of movie you pop in the VCR on a rainy Saturday when you have nothing to do. Citizen Kane is not to be enjoyed, but rather appreciated. Although, its not one of my favorites, Kane has influenced filmmakers probably more than any other movie. For that reason, I think I’ll find a place to put Kane in my top 100, probably somewhere in the 90s.