RKO 281 Movie Review 1999

This retelling of Orson Welles' (Schrieber) battles to make 1941's "Citizen Kane" is all about egos. Welles had the arrogance of youth and Hearst the arrogance of power. The film, written with Herman J. Mankiewicz (Malkovich), was a thinly disguised look at newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst (Cromwell) and his life with longtime mistress, blond actress Marion Davies (Griffith). Hearst was so outraged by Welles' movie that he tried to use his considerable influence with the Hollywood studios to have the film destroyed. Naturally, the story is both streamlined and altered but the leading roles are dramatically well served.

Distribution

HBO, 1100 Ave. of the Americas, New York, NY 10036, Phone: (212)512-7400, Fax: (212)512-7498, URL: http://www.hbo.com, Remarks: Online sales through www.store.hbo.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 87 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Behind the Scenes, Biopics: Showbiz, Showbiz Dramas, Filmmaking, Period Piece: 1940s, Mass Media

Screenplay

John Logan

Cast

Liev Schreiber, John Malkovich, James Cromwell, Melanie Griffith, Brenda Blethyn, Roy Scheider, David Suchet, Fiona Shaw, Liam Cunningham, Tim Woodward

Cinematography

Mike Southon

Director

Ridley Scott

Music

John Altman

Producer

Ridley Scott, Scott Free, HBO Pictures