RKO 281: Tapaus Citizen Kane

An HBO film about the behind-the-scenes making of one of the most problematic films of the 1940s. Sometimes it may seem that Citizen Kane is the most important film of the 20th century, but that would really be doing the whole dream factory a disservice. RKO 281 tells the story of many events and many people in a very brief way. I'd love it if everyone who is familiar with this phenomenon would at least read the biographies of all the Welleses, Hearsts, and Mankiewiczes, as well as Marion Davies, Louella Parsons, Hedda Hopper, and Carole Lombard. That time period was not black and white. In terms of the acting, this trip back to the days of the powerful studios is rather surprising. Liev Schreiber is not ideal, James Cromwell is too thin, Melanie Griffith didn't even bother to act any differently than she has many times before and forgot to study at least one detail that would tell us that she was playing a real person and not just another character with Melanie Griffith's face... by contrast, John Malkovich is very good and David Suchet is really nice, but that's not all that much for a feature film. On the other hand, I have to recommend another project that focuses on the 1924 event in which Thomas Ince died on the Hearst cruise ship in the presence of Davies, and that is The Cat's Meow (2001). (22.04.2019)

RKO 281 is a film made for film fans who are interested in film history. The history of the making of Citizen Kane is generally known, and although the film's creators have made some adjustments and dramatizations, the film generally sticks to known facts and truthfully depicts the atmosphere and conflict during the production of the film. It is one of the many films about the fight for freedom of speech and the defense of democratic principles against the power of money, clientelism, and social connections. One of the film's strengths is its excellent cast, led by Liev Schreiber - perhaps his best performance for me so far. John Malkovich and Roy Scheider also support him skillfully as the screenwriter and producer, respectively, but in general, there are no bad performances in the film. The script is decent, and within the constraints of a television film, the set design is also decent. Overall impression: 90%. A strength of the drama is the ambiguity of the film characters - Welles is portrayed as a passionate artist with a large ego who does not care about his surroundings. He does not hesitate to deny his colleague and friend's contribution to their joint work for his success... (20.04.2008)