Reading: Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze by Kenneth Robbeson
Music: The Exiles
TV/Movie: Citizen Kane
Link o' the Day: website with the script to Citizen Kane

A very nice weekend!

Again, that perfect balance of relaxing and productive. I got a good amount of work done, and I got to relax at times as well. Operation Clean Office had a decent weekend as well. In addition to recovering my art desk, I got my work desk not only cleaned, but organized. Not just the desk surface, but all the shelves and drawers as well. The bookshelves are starting to shape up. And more of the floor has been cleared.

I have a rug, apparently. Who knew?

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I finally watched Citizen Kane yesterday. I should have seen this movie a very long time ago, but for one reason or another had kept getting missed. I can't feel too bad. There are folks over at the IFC channel who haven't seen it yet. Hopefully they, too, have rectified the situation.

So... best movie ever, or... best movie ever?

Well.... it's certainly great. Stupendous even. Best? Dunno. For epic films of the era, Lawrence of Arabia still has my vote. But I can see how Citizen Kane had such a huge impact on film as an art form and on culture overall. Certain scenes leap out because they've been paid homage to in hundreds of other films. Camera angles. Montages. Overlays. Storytelling conventions.

Orson Welles was ahead of his time. He suffered for it, but we benefited.

As for the whole "Rosebud" thing, it's making me re-think my stance on the "statute of limitations in regards to film endings." For instance, if you didn't know how King Kong or Jaws ends, or who Luke Skywalker's father was, or even who shows up at the very end of Robin Hood: Prince of thieves then "tough titties." You should have seen this movie by now. You can't yell "Spoiler!" if you hear an unwelcome detail at this late date.

But I think I'm changing my position.

Thirty years ago, I read a Peanuts cartoon in which Lucy reveals to Linus the significance of the name "Rosebud" in Citizen Kane, thus ruining Linus's enjoyment of the film.

Ha ha ha. Big deal.

Well, fast forward to 2008 and I'm watching Citizen Kane for the first time, and the identity of Rosebud is a major part of the biographical mystery of Charles Foster Kane. But thanks to Lucy van Pelt, I already knew who Rosebud was. Dammit.

A pretty damn fine movie just the same, but I can't help but wonder what I'd have thought of the ending had Lucy not ruined it for me and Linus.

Damn you, Lucy. Damn you straight to hell. I hope your feet get gnawed off by rude wolverines (which are related to weasels--according the TV show "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader").

Now I'm a pretty hip cat when it comes to cinema. I had no excuse for not seeing Citizen Kane sooner. But should it have been ruined for me in 1977? Unfair, I say. There are a lot of hip cats out there who haven't seen Empire Strikes Back. Why ruin the mystery of Luke's father for them. Or the twist in The Sixth Sense or The Crying Game. Who is Tyler Durden? What's in Marcellus Wallace's breifcase? Who is John Shooter?

If you know the answers to these and more, then shaddup already. At least until you're reasonably sure that no one is going to have a movie spoiled for them.

Well, it's how I'm feeling right now. Maybe tomorrow I'll go back to being a more pure sort of film snob.

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Today's link takes you to a website with the script to Citizen Kane.

Enjoy!