Citizen Kane: Ultimate Collector's Edition 70th Anniversary (BD)

I admit I purchased this Amazon.com package more as a way to get a DVD copy of The Magnificent Ambersons than a Blu-Ray of Citizen Kane. The former is a plain Jane version and only offers language and sub-title options, however, it's the movie itself that's the important thing and the print on the DVD, though not remastered, is about the best you could hope for, and is certainly an improvement over my old VHS copy. As for Citizen Kane, the Blu-Ray image is an improvement over the previous remastered standard DVD version, which I thought in itself was pretty good. The main additional features, commentaries by Roger Ebert and Peter Bogdanovich, are carried over from the standard DVD that I have. The additional extras (a documentary, a TV movie, souvenir program and lobby cards) add to the value of the package for those without a previous copy of Citizen Kane, but as indicated above, I'm happy to finally latch onto a DVD of The Magnificent Ambersons.

The newly released 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition of Citizen Kane on Blu-ray and the accompanying Magnificent Ambersons is a complete joy for any devotee of film and particularly for any fan of the work and career of Orson Welles. This landmark film has been given the respect and attention that it clearly deserved, with beautiful packaging, excellent companion discs featuring the masterful documentary,"The Battle over Citizen Kane", originally shown on PBS, which deliniates the conflict over the shooting of the film by Welles and his Mercury Theater company including John Houseman, and the extraordinary difficulty that Welles experiences in having the film commercially released because of the subject matter, i.e. the professional and personal life of William Randolph Hearst.There is also a terrific HBO made film entitled RKO 281, with a marvelous Liev Schreiber as Welles, and an eclectic cast including Roy Scheider, John Malkovich and Melanie Griffith. There is a superb "making of" hardcover book and lobby cards to complete the package. Most significantly, the film has been given reverential treatment commensurate with its landmark status.It is heartbreaking to hear Welles in a 1982 archival interview discussing his theory that if he had entered politics, journalism or virtually any other field than movies, he would have had less physical and emotional turmoil than attempting to finance his personal films from the acting jobs in other directors' films; he ultimately came to the realization that he would never be able to duplicate the artistic freedom and the critical success that he achieved with Kane, although he expressed the view that Chimes at Midnight and The Magnificent Ambersons[in its original directors' cut] were superior to Kane from an artistic standpoint.

Thank God that Ol' Ted did NOT :colorize" "KANE." The innovative b&w classic is superbly rendered on this blu-ray release. The bonus is the DVD of "Ambersons," the saddest case of studio butchery in film history. "Ambersons" is STILL teriffic, though.

Just in time for the 70th anniversary of "Citizen Kane," this September will see the release not only of "Citizen Kane" in 1080p HD, but also the release of the much sought after "The Magnificent Ambersons." Much has been written here about "Citizen Kane" and whether it truly deserves the title of "greatest movie ever made," so I will only say that it was an innovative film during its release that greatly impacted decades of filmmaking to come. That said, it is up to the individual viewer to decide whether they find the rise of Citizen Kane and his media empire to be "boring" or "completely enthralling."Either way, this release brings with it an amazing extra that has yet to see the light of American home vide, "The Magnificent Ambersons." Welles' follow up to "Citizen Kane," and an adaptation of the 1918 pulitzer prize winning novel, "The Magnificent Ambersons" has widely been hailed as one of Welles' most brilliant films. This comes in spite of the fact that the studio cut the film down from Welles' 148min envisioned cut, with the cut footage presumably lost to the world since its preview release. Yet, even at a brisk 88 minutes, "The Magnificent Ambersons" still remains a remarkable tale of class and family dynamics. The film has been remastered, and will be a much welcomed DVD considering that it was previously available solely via shoddy bootleg copies and imports. The DVD will be exclusive to Amazon, but it is worth noting that it will be bundled along with the "Citizen Kane" in its own separate casing with its own UPC. In other words, it is highly likely WB will keep it as an "Amazon Exclusive" for a year before releasing it to all retailers as a stand alone release. So those who do not feel like upgrading to Blu or shelling out 80 bucks just for "Magnificent Ambersons," can rest assured that a stand-alone release will undoubtedly follow.Aside from the much-lauded "Magnificent Ambersons," the boxset [1 Bluray/3 DVD Set (counting "Magnificent Ambersons")] will also host a bevy of other special features. These include:~ 2 Audio Commentaries (One by Roger Ebert, the other by Peter Bogdanovich)~ "The Battle Over Citizen Kane" (A 113min Feature Length American Experience Documentary, presented on DVD)~ "RKO 281" (83min 1999 HBO Docudrama telling the story of Welles' battle with Hearst over the film, presented on DVD)~ Interviews with Ruth Warrick (Actress: played Emily Norton) and Robert Wise (Film Editor)~ Reproduction of the Original Theatre Pressbook~ A Hardcover Book Full of Glossy Photos/Backstory/Interviews (Almost identical in composition to "The Wizard of Oz"/"Gone With the End" Ultimate Collector's Set books)~ 10 Printed Correspondence Memo Reproductions~ 5 Printed Lobby Cards~ Correspondence between Welles and the Studio concerning the film~ 2 Radio Broadcast Recordings of Orson Welles' performances~ 1941 Movie Premiere Newsreel~ Vintage Featurettes & Theatrical Trailer~ Storyboard Gallery~ Photos/Ads/Memorabilia Gallery~ Uncompressed Monaural Audio