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How did Citizen Kane become the Dark Souls of cinema?

Dardan Sandiego

Dardan Sandiego

Member
Oct 26, 2017
25,226
Explain this to me, Era.

Do people genuinely feel that Citizen Kane is the measuring stick for what constitutes as good cinema?

Or is it just people on video game message boards evoking a moderately well known film to try to give their opinions more credence?

Bonus question: Which movie or director do you use inflate your opinions on movies when posting on Era? Is it Godard or Zvyagintsev? Are you more of a 8½ person or do you prefer Rashomon? Do you go for better known classics like Barry Lyndon or for the real obscure shit like Thor 2: The Dark World?
 
Platy

Platy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
21,900
Brazil
It was an incredibly well directed movie that became hard to watch because people sleep when they see a black and white movie

Kurosawa is the best one to show you know the movies because he is japanese like kojima
 
Ducarmel

Ducarmel

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,688
The polling for citizen cane was as thorough as it can be, but I do have to ask would Dark Souls really be considered the greatest video game of all time? I doubt a world wide poll of critics, scholars, etc of best video game of all time Dark Souls would come even close to number 1.

I also believe Citizen Cane has been dethroned and Vertigo has the top spot.
 
Spenny

Spenny

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,975
San Diego-ish
Jesus Christ that title.

And yes it is great fucking cinema. The direction and the cinematography are both fucking breathtaking and innovative.
 
Rover

Rover

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,976
I uh...

Okay, taking this title in good faith, I don't think Citizen Kane is the Dark Souls of cinema. The comparison doesn't work.

It would be more apt to say Alien is the Dark Souls of cinema, or something, because of the subtlety to its lore and how it came out around a time where it belonged to a certain genre but reinvented a lot of its conventions.



Fuck, what are we doing here
 
Brian McDoogle

Brian McDoogle

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,927
It's a recognizable American movie that has been considered one of the best, if not the best, movies ever made by reputable publications and critics and filmmakers, and has such been a signpost that many people recognize for nearly 80 years.

And if anything is the Dark Souls of cinema, it'd probably be something like Mulholland Drive.
 
Apathy

Apathy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,677
So now it feels like it's a joke to compare movies to citizen Kane and it being the best movie ever. The movie itself IS important, because of techniques and shots it had to create at that time. I wouldn't call it the best movie ever anymore, but for a long time it held that moniker.
 
OP
OP
Dardan Sandiego

Dardan Sandiego

Member
Oct 26, 2017
25,226
does watching citizen kane make me a better movie watcher the same way finishing dark souls makes me a better gamer?

asking for a friend
 
ThousandEyes

ThousandEyes

Banned
Sep 3, 2019
1,388
as much as I hate to admit,the most influential film in cinematic history, and I freaking hate that it is

is probably Birth of a Nation
 
voOsh

voOsh

Member
Apr 5, 2018
1,498
Citizen Kane is far from my favorite film of all time but it is surely the most influential film of all time. Particularly the cinematography used was unlike anything done before on such a scale. Little things we take for granted now like up-angle shots that show the ceiling were not commonplace before CK (most sets weren't even built with ceilings). Another cinema innovation we can credit to CK is using flashbacks and non-linear storytelling techniques.

So while I can't say CK is on my personal top 10 or anything like that I can appreciate that, without it, we wouldn't have films as they are today. Also the Roger Ebert commentary track for CK is fantastic and where I learned the most about the film. Check it out if you're interested.
 
yogurt

yogurt

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,768
Ignoring the clickbaity title ...

Citizen Kane is an incredibly well acted and directed film that holds up better than 99.5% of films released before 1960. Watch Citizen Kane and then watch any other random movie released in the 1940s and you'll see just how fantastic the acting, pacing, and cinematography are.

I love Dark Souls, but it does not hold the same place in the medium. I'm not if anything does.
 
Latpri

Latpri

Banned
Apr 19, 2018
761
Citizen Kane’s masterwork status is more about how it was made than what it’s about.

it codified a lot of rules about cinematography in an era where most movies could be described as filmed plays.
 
Brian McDoogle

Brian McDoogle

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,927
ThousandEyes said:
as much as I hate to admit,the most influential film in cinematic history, and I freaking hate that it is

is probably Birth of the Nation
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Birth of a Nation is also incredibly boring and doesn't hold up at all to something like Kane, which is partly why people use Kane as the signpost and not BoaN (that, and the whole racism thing). Birth of a Nation is an miserable slog to get through. Critics and filmmakers and fans still love Kane. Only lunatics and bad people still talk about and praise Birth of a Nation.

Wait a sec.

Birth of a Nation is the Dark Souls of video games!
 
ThousandEyes

ThousandEyes

Banned
Sep 3, 2019
1,388
Brian McDoogle said:
Birth of a Nation is also incredibly boring and doesn't hold up at all to something like Kane, which is partly why people use Kane as the signpost and not BoaN (that, and the whole racism thing). Critics and filmmakers and fans still love Kane. Only lunatics and bad people still talk about and praise Birth of a Nation.

Wait a sec.

Birth of a Nation is the Dark Souls of video games!
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Click to shrink...
thats not entirely true... many film critics "praised" BOTN in the sense of its massive technical achievements it brought to film, while recognizing the abhorent racism of it
 
ToddBonzalez

ToddBonzalez

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,132
Brian McDoogle said:
Birth of a Nation is also incredibly boring and doesn't hold up at all to something like Kane, which is partly why people use Kane as the signpost and not BoaN (that, and the whole racism thing). Birth of a Nation is an miserable slog to get through. Critics and filmmakers and fans still love Kane. Only lunatics and bad people still talk about and praise Birth of a Nation.

Wait a sec.

Birth of a Nation is the Dark Souls of video games!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I was forced to watch Birth of a Nation 3 separate times in college (separate courses in the Film/Media, History, and American Studies depts.), but never Citizen Kane, so in academia, maybe it's still considered more important? Could just be my myopic experience though.
 
Brian McDoogle

Brian McDoogle

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,927
Platy said:
It was an incredibly well directed movie that became hard to watch because people sleep when they see a black and white movie

Kurosawa is the best one to show you know the movies because he is japanese like kojima
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Yeah, but you have to say you only like the non-Samurai Kurosawa movies to be real cool.

ToddBonzalez said:
I was forced to watch Birth of a Nation 3 separate times in college (separate courses in Film/Media, History, and American Studies depts.), but never Citizen Kane, so in academia, maybe it's still considered more important? Could just be my myopic experience though.
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I'm not being serious.
 
shaneo632

shaneo632

Member
Oct 29, 2017
19,842
Essex, UK
It's an extremely well crafted movie from a directorial/writing/acting/editing/cinematography standpoint. It pioneered deep focus cinematography we take for granted now and is one of the richest character studies ever put to film. What has probably allowed it to endure for so long is its intense relatability; even this piece of shit magnate just wants to go back to when he was a kid and he could play with his damn sled without doing any Adult Shit.
 
Dreamwriter

Dreamwriter

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,042
Citizen Kane was the first movie to feel like a "modern" movie, it pioneered a lot of techniques and ideas that are backbones to how movies are filmed today. Does it stand up in comparison to other movies made since then, not in my opinion, but Citizen Kane modernized film making.

Maybe call it the "Super Mario Brothers" of cinema :)
 
Ducarmel

Ducarmel

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,688
Dardan Sandiego said:
does watching citizen kane make me a better movie watcher the same way finishing dark souls makes me a better gamer?

asking for a friend
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Depends its like studying art or music history if your really interested in the scholarly aspect of film history and film making Citizen Kane will be a joy to watch.

If not Citizen Kane will most likley do nothing for you.
 
Grouch Douglass

Grouch Douglass

Member
Nov 9, 2017
3,278
Speaking of Barry Lyndon, it is a great period piece with some of the best cinematography I have ever seen. Music and acting is top-notch, especially considering Ryan O'Neal is considered to have authored one of the worst acting performances in cinematic history.
 
Brian McDoogle

Brian McDoogle

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,927
Grouch Douglass said:
Speaking of Barry Lyndon, it is a great period piece with some of the best cinematography I have ever seen. Music and acting is top-notch, especially considering Ryan O'Neal is considered to have authored one of the worst acting performances in cinematic history.
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I don't think he's that bad in the movie. In fact, I kind of find him endearing in it. I'm ultimately happy he got cast instead of Redford.
 
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