Orson Welles’ CITIZEN KANE is so good, the title itself functions as a synonym for “amazing film” — the “CITIZEN of horror films” or “so-and-so’s CITIZEN KANE.” This is not a phenomenon that has happened with time; in its own day, CITIZEN KANE was held up as a shining example of what film as art can do. Welles’ follow-up to KANE, was immediately at a disadvantage. How do you follow-up one of the greatest films of all time?
THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, as we see it today, is only a remnant of what it was and could have been. The film famously tested badly with audiences and studio RKO re-cut and re-shot parts of it, not all with Welles’ approval. The ending is different than Welles intended, and all that remains of the original version is a continuity script that outlines the film’s original 132 minutes. Supposedly, the studio once sent Welles a working version while he was shooting another project in Brazil, but that film has never materialized.
Scholars and critics have hypothesized what may have been cut, working with archival documents and old reviews to try to get the full picture. But this Holy Grail search misses the point: Even in its truncated version, AMBERSONS is a good film. Its opening sequence should be the standard for economical and entertaining exposition. Many filmmakers will not make a film in their careers with a sequence as taut and rich as this one. Welles’ rhythmic shots set the tone for the increasingly fast-paced, buttoned-up, shallow world of the characters. His voiceover vacillates between ironic and nostalgic, aurally showcasing the two sentiments at odds in the film.
AMBERSONS is a testament to what happens when the creative control of a brilliant director is taken by industrial shifts. In fact, it points out that within the studio system, and most definitely now, this kind of singularly voiced film may no longer be possible.
— Diana Martinez, Film Streams Education Director
