Citizen Kane Minute #24 – The End

3 responses to “Citizen Kane Minute #24 – The End”

1. Congratulations at getting here! Quite a journey!
   On re-watching, I wonder if it was made today that the movie would end on the sight of Rosebud burning up. Because that’s the ‘punch’.
   But I think Welles, by pulling back and showing us Xanadu with the plume of smoke, is saying (again) that Rosebud is important but isn’t IMPORTANT. That shot going to back to the No Trespassing gives us, as viewers, time to chew over the reveal. But also reminds us Kane was much much more.

   I did want to say one more thing. Thank you.
   Because of this show, I have an even better understanding and appreciation of this film. But I can also enjoy this film more.
   As I said before, I spend so much time when I watch this trying to figure out if some shot ‘means something’ or was just a cool way to do things. When watching the movie I often found I have been mulling over something in my mind so much that I have missed actual minutes of the film. It is that ‘homework’ feel to the movie.
   Anyways, because of this show, I have been able to really view/review/chew the movie in the 5 minute chunks. The result? Well when I went to see the movie at the Fathom Events showing, I just sat back and watched it. I didn’t need to mull things over because I had done all that recently.
   I just sat back and watched the movie … for the first time in a long time …
   And loved it. Appreciated it even more.

   Thanks Rob. I owe you one.

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2. Rob, congratulations and condolences on finishing the film, five minutes at a time. All your guests have been great, but having Todd as the guest for the end of the movie was a perfect finishing touch. I mean, he’s a genuine student of film who’s absolutely ape over Citizen Kane (Yeah, I said it. Pun totally intended. Whatcha gonna do about it, hmm?)

   Seriously, though, it’s true confession time. I, uhhh, still haven’t seen the film. Yeah, that’s right. I got about seven episodes into the podcast and stopped, because your evil scheme had born fruit. I genuinely wanted to see Citizen Kane. But I wanted to see it with my family, or at least any members that would be interested. I’d already talked enough about the podcast to get my wife curious. I thought at least one or two of my mostly grown daughters would be easy mar–uh, I mean, willing participants. Adding audience members made it even more of a scheduling challenge than leisure activities usually are, so it hasn’t happened yet.

   And see, I really enjoyed the podcast, so I started to miss it. I mean, the film sparked intelligent discussion of all kinds of issues, both public and personal. For example, I think you and Terry had some of the most insightful analysis of modern news media I’ve heard in years. (There’s a lot more I would’ve added, but it would have been less thoughtful and more rant-y.) And your discussion of certain current public figures who are somewhat analogous to Kane helped me process a little of what we’ve all experienced these last five or six years. So, I gave in to temptation and caught up on the back episodes, and I don’t regret it.

   I do have one nit to pick with my fellow Airman, Ted Kilvington: It wasn’t Shakespeare who said, “There is nothing new under the sun,” it was King Solomon in Ecclesiastes, so the quote’s about 2,500 years older than The Bard. Solomon’s one of my favorite authors, so I’ll spring to his defense. And I had one note on the picnic in the Everglades: I’ve spent a lot of time in inland Florida. Pterodactyls wouldn’t seem any more out of place in that real life setting than they did in the film. Honestly, some of the waterfowl have barely evolved.

   Now I have high hopes of seeing the film this weekend. If you like, I can let you know what the family and I think of it. I’ll be coming at it from a different perspective, having heard about it in great detail, but never having seen it before. Most distinctively, I will not have seen it in college. The school-sponsored movies I saw as an undergrad included The Great Santini, Dr. Strangelove, <Twelve O'Clock High, and The Great Escape. The last one was introduced by a former resident of Stalag Luft 3 who stuck around to answer questions after the movie. Like you, my experience in higher education was exceptionally vocationally focused.

   My thanks to you and all your guests for an informative, entertaining, and thought-provoking ride. I didn’t know Welles, but I suspect he would’ve enjoyed it.

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3. FYI During our Spring 2022 semester I’m going to be teaching “Introduction to Film” again for the first time in many years. Previously, the students watched a film per week in class together but now it’s made a available on an in-house streaming service. It allows for more class time discussions & lecture. FWIW here’s my tentative list of films for the course (in random order):
   1. Citizen Kane
   2. The Maltese Falcon
   3. City Lights
   4. Stagecoach
   5. Pillow Talk
   6. Coffy
   7. Singing’ In the Rain
   8. Psycho
   9. On the Waterfront
   10. All Quiet on the Western Front
   11. Easy Rider
   12. The Adventures of Robin Hood
   13.Rebel Without a Cause
   14. Baby Face
   15. Sullivan’s Travels

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