4. Citizen Kane (1941)
dir. Orson Welles The Reputation: Its Citizen-freakin-Kane! Why It's More Fun Than It Sounds: Kane gets a lot of publicity. If it doesnt top a best film poll, its never any lower than the top 20. If you know films, you know about it. Its a portrait of a man who gets everything but what he really wants. But the thing no critic mentions is that its a damn good film to watch. Its intelligent entertainment! For all the treatment as a serious, lauded work of art, its a kinetic, vibrant film. Welles plays with chronology in interesting, watchable ways, like seeing a marriage go down hill through short scenes at breakfast- them talking and laughing, cutting to an older wife asking why he has to work so late, then cutting to them silently reading different newspapers and glaring across at each other. And its fun to watch! If you love film its brilliant for all its technical aspects. If you just want a good story, its got enough intelligent and ambiguity to appease you. If you just want something to watch, its a fun movie. All great art is about entertainment. You can say serious things and also crack a joke or two. The way classics are portrayed are as serious art to be viewed reverently is wrong and, if anything, stops people from otherwise approaching them. The great directors not only understand making you think but how to enjoy yourself too.