Citizen Kane

1941 - Dir: Orson Welles
Shown at the FeckenOdeon on 27th November, 2010

What can one write that hasn’t already been written a thousand times about Citizen Kane? "The greatest film ever made"... a debatable assertion but who can deny that this is a remarkable piece of work. Roger Ebert, distinguished critic of the Chicago Sun Times has analysed the film more than 30 times over the years and still can’t help being drawn back. Perhaps it’s best to let him introduce it:
"The origins of "Citizen Kane'' are well known. Orson Welles, the boy wonder of radio and stage, was given freedom by RKO Radio Pictures to make any picture he wished. Herman Mankiewicz, an experienced screenwriter, collaborated with him on a screenplay originally called ``The American.'' Its inspiration was the life of William Randolph Hearst, who had put together an empire of newspapers, radio stations, magazines and news services, and then built to himself the flamboyant monument of San Simeon, a castle furnished by rummaging the remains of nations. Hearst was Ted Turner, Rupert Murdoch and Bill Gates rolled up into an enigma. "Citizen Kane'' covers the rise of the penny press (here Joseph Pulitzer is the model), the Hearst-supported Spanish-American War, the birth of radio, the power of political machines, the rise of fascism, the growth of celebrity journalism...."

• William Randolph Hearst was infuriated by this movie, obviously based on his life. "Rosebud" was Hearst's pet name for a certain part of the anatomy of his long-time mistress Marion Davies.
• The film flopped when it first opened - this may have had something to do with the panning Hearst’s papers and radio stations gave it. Hearst also ordered his advertising departments not to accept ads for theatres showing the film.
• Ted Turner had plans to "colorize the film. Welles hear about it and roared ""Tell Ted Turner to keep his crayons away from my movie!". The film has never been tampered with.

The Ghost

2009 - Dir: Roman Polanski

Shown in FeckenOdeon 2 on November 19th, 2010

“It’s harder than usual not to think about Roman Polanski and his self-induced messy life when watching The Ghost. That the film was edited and completed while Polanski was under house arrest in a chalet in Gstaad only adds to the sense that the fear and paranoia hovering over its every scene emerges from distinctly personal disquiet.”... well, that’s the opinion of the Daily Telegraph’s film critic Sukhdev Sandhu. Robert Harris who wrote the novel and the screenplay and worked closely with Polanski throughout doesn’t agree. He says that Mr P was on top form - full of energy, acting out every scene and attacking the job with creative energy crackling from every pore. Even when arrested he cut himself off from the distractions of legal action and imprisonment - the film was completed using a laptop and the Internet. The truth, as so often is the case, probably lies somewhere in between. Polanski is a director of vast experience. His craftsmanship is stamped on every scene and, even though Mr Harris’ script on occasions drives a coach and horses through logic and credibility, Polanski sews it all together with such skill that we believe every frame. The man is a professional - if you gave him the script of Carry on Camping and asked him to make a thriller out of it a thriller is exactly what you would get - polished, compelling and literate.... Only after the film was over would you start to wonder about the holes in the plot....

Is this based on Tony and Cherie? Mr Harris says “sort of”. Well of course it is! Which other contemporary British Prime Minister took the country to war in the Middle East? Ok - John Major did it as well - but there’s no sign of Edwina Currie hiding in the wardrobe and you never catch even a glimpse of the top of Pierce Brosnan’s underpants. It has to be Blair... but it’s unfortunate that the media, ever seduced by a whiff of scandal, had little to say about the film itself but everything to say about the Blairs and Mr Polanski’s lurid past (it’s 33 years past). As a result this really very good thriller enjoyed a quick week in the multiplexes before being pensioned off to await a video release. It deserves better!

• Ewan McGregor’s character never had a name. McGregor invented “Gordon McFarquor” so that he’d have an identity to work with. The credits simply list him as The Ghost.


• Because Polanski couldn’t travel to the United States, much of the filming took place in Germany. The island of Sylt stood in for Martha’s Vinyard.


• Pierce Brosnan said during a promotional interview, "It's sad for all concerned, but it's also heightened the movie. The movie's in the can, Polanski's in the can."


• In the film The Ghost is given a manuscript by Lang's attorney. In the taxi he checks the number of pages: 624. Tony Blair's memoirs A Journey, published in September 2010 (after the film had been released) also has 624 pages.... spooky!