Of course, the star of the package is Kane itself, so magnificently restored that its legendary deep-focus photography, by cinematographer Gregg Toland, makes viewing for the most jaded fan almost seem like a brand-new experience.
Set Features Three Kane-Related Films
As the hourglass sands begin to run out on the DVD format, the Orson Welles Citizen Kane 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition is certainly among the last great home video releases before the DVD, as an entertainment delivery system, goes extinct.
This new Kane package really is a movie collector’s manna, a comprehensive, handsome, creatively-packaged set with a host of surprises beyond the three film discs. (Yes, there are three films in the set. More on that later.) To be fair, some extras are pedestrian, including five mini-reproductions of classic Kane movie posters that look hokey by virtue of their shrunken sizes.
RKO Ephemera a Treasure Trove For Movie History Freaks
In spite of that hokiness, there are more obscure items that truly drop the jaw. Among them: pages from the premiere screening; a complete reproduction of the film’s original souvenir program; a revealing letter to Orson Welles from RKO president George Schaefer; a studio news release about Hollywood newcomer Welles’ obligation to join three movie industry guilds; a fascinating RKO budget document estimating casting costs; casting authorization cards for featured players Agnes Moorehead (offered $1,000 a week) and Joseph Cotten (offered $1,200, although his key role of Jed Leland was budgeted at only $750).
There are even handwritten liquor bills from Schwab’s Pharmacy, where Orson Welles ordered cases of Scotch for a “Studio Party” in December, 1940.
For anybody fascinated by Hollywood history, this kind of stuff is golden. Purely extraneous, but nonetheless intriguing.
Other goodies include a neat little five-by-seven-inch hardcover book of rare production stills, storyboards and text detailing the film’s backstage intrigue.
But, as indicated earlier, the star of the package is Citizen Kane itself, restored in 4K resolution from the original 1941 nitrate elements, then remastered.
Roger Ebert, Peter Bogdanovich Provide Commentary Tracks
If you’ve been living in a cave all your life and you don’t know Citizen Kane, you’ll benefit from separate commentaries by film critic Roger Ebert and filmmaker/movie historian Peter Bogdanovich. There also are interviews with Ruth Warrick, who played Kane’s wife Emily, and Robert Wise, who edited the film.
What, you want more? There’s also a period newsreel and onscreen gallery of stills.
That’s all on Disc 1.
The two other discs include the excellent 1995 documentary The Battle Over Citizen Kane, about the making of the movie, and RKO 281, the fictionalized TV film made four years later based partly on Battle.
It should be noted that in the latter, Liev Schreiber sadly lacked the gravitas required by anyone playing Orson Welles. It was a shame Vincent d’Onofrio didn’t get a chance to reprise the role of Welles, whom he played briefly but memorably in 1994’s Ed Wood, even if his voice was dubbed.
The conventional DVD version of the Orson Welles Citizen Kane 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition is currently available through the Turner Classic Movies website (www.tcm.com) for $43.99. The Blu-Ray edition is priced at $64.99.
Barry M. Grey - Barry M. Grey is a non-fiction TV writer-producer in Los Angeles whose love of classic film borders on the dangerously obsessive.
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