Citizen Kane may have found its moment again, given the relevance of its cautionary tale to our present political and media landscape. Thank you for a great tribute to the greatest cinematic masterpiece ever.
The movie's so good that you can be forgiven for not mentioning Bernard Herrmann, who's score for "Kane" was nominated for an Academy Award but LOST TO HIMSELF! see below
Bernard Herrmann was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Score of a Dramatic Picture for his work on Citizen Kane (1941). He lost the award to All That Money Can Buy (also known as The Devil and Daniel Webster), for which he won the Oscar in 1942.
Herrmann's score for Citizen Kane is considered groundbreaking for its instrumentation and use of aural techniques. He used a variety of instruments, including organs, pianos, harps, horns, trumpets, tubas, and percussion. He also used electric instruments like the guitar, cello, and bass, and was the first to use an electric violin in a film. Herrmann also used two theremins, one for high pitches and one for low.
Herrmann also composed the score for Orson Welles's The Magnificent Ambersons (1942).
Thanks for reminding me Mark. Herrmann was one of Welles most important collaborators: Herrmann met Orson Welles at CBS where he wrote or arranged scores for radio shows in which Welles appeared or wrote, such as the Columbia Workshop, Welles's Mercury Theatre on the Air and Campbell Playhouse series (1938–1940), which were radio adaptations of literature and film.
When Welles gained his RKO Pictures contract, Herrmann worked for him. He wrote his first film score for Citizen Kane (1941) and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Score of a Dramatic Picture. The aria from the fictional opera Salammbo, which Kane's wife Susan Alexander (Dorothy Comingore) performs, was also composed by Herrmann.
Thank you for resurrecting Welles for me. I adored the man, genius maverick megalomaniac that he was. I had not thought about him in a long while and your loving essay put a little heat back in my belly! May be time for a Welles retrospective in my living room.
You are totally right about Kane, a breathtaking masterpiece that hits in the gut every time. I'm waiting for one about a fictitious Trump after he's dead. Where is Welles when he need him? I loved Godfather 1 and 2 almost as much but they're not quite as breathtakingly revolutionary. Thanks for the review.
Agreed - CITIZEN KANE is pure cinematic gold; from the alchemy of superb screenplay, wonderful casting, superb direction - all the elements coming together perfectly. MOST excellent blogpost, Bret!
Citizen Kane may have found its moment again, given the relevance of its cautionary tale to our present political and media landscape. Thank you for a great tribute to the greatest cinematic masterpiece ever.
Wonderful piece.
The movie's so good that you can be forgiven for not mentioning Bernard Herrmann, who's score for "Kane" was nominated for an Academy Award but LOST TO HIMSELF! see below
Bernard Herrmann was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Score of a Dramatic Picture for his work on Citizen Kane (1941). He lost the award to All That Money Can Buy (also known as The Devil and Daniel Webster), for which he won the Oscar in 1942.
Herrmann's score for Citizen Kane is considered groundbreaking for its instrumentation and use of aural techniques. He used a variety of instruments, including organs, pianos, harps, horns, trumpets, tubas, and percussion. He also used electric instruments like the guitar, cello, and bass, and was the first to use an electric violin in a film. Herrmann also used two theremins, one for high pitches and one for low.
Herrmann also composed the score for Orson Welles's The Magnificent Ambersons (1942).
Thanks for reminding me Mark. Herrmann was one of Welles most important collaborators: Herrmann met Orson Welles at CBS where he wrote or arranged scores for radio shows in which Welles appeared or wrote, such as the Columbia Workshop, Welles's Mercury Theatre on the Air and Campbell Playhouse series (1938–1940), which were radio adaptations of literature and film.
When Welles gained his RKO Pictures contract, Herrmann worked for him. He wrote his first film score for Citizen Kane (1941) and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Score of a Dramatic Picture. The aria from the fictional opera Salammbo, which Kane's wife Susan Alexander (Dorothy Comingore) performs, was also composed by Herrmann.
And that ARIA was deliberately written in a higher key than it could be comfortably sung, to guarantee that Comingore would struggle to sing it.
Thank you for resurrecting Welles for me. I adored the man, genius maverick megalomaniac that he was. I had not thought about him in a long while and your loving essay put a little heat back in my belly! May be time for a Welles retrospective in my living room.
You are totally right about Kane, a breathtaking masterpiece that hits in the gut every time. I'm waiting for one about a fictitious Trump after he's dead. Where is Welles when he need him? I loved Godfather 1 and 2 almost as much but they're not quite as breathtakingly revolutionary. Thanks for the review.
You just named three of my favorite movies! and I await the day when the newspaper headline is: Trump Dead. It can't happen soon enough.
Agreed - CITIZEN KANE is pure cinematic gold; from the alchemy of superb screenplay, wonderful casting, superb direction - all the elements coming together perfectly. MOST excellent blogpost, Bret!