Wow! Such a good movie.

Did you people see the same film I saw?

A Masterpiece!

The acting in this movie is really good.

"RKO 281" is an HBO film about the controversy surrounding young Orson Welles' first, and, according to the American Film Institute, greatest work, "Citizen Kane". While it's not necessary to see Kane first, I'll warn you there's a quick line of dialogue near the end where Mankowitz (John Malkovich) spoils the big Kane secret, the meaning of "rosebud" in the film, so it's probably best to see Kane beforehand.Human beings fall into one of 4 categories:(1) those who hate "Citizen Kane"(2) those who aren't familiar with "Citizen Kane"(3) those who have casually seen it once or twice(4) those who have seen it so many times that instead of singing in the shower they find themselves quoting: "Sing Sing! Do you hear me Gettys?! SING SINGGGG!!!"Shamefully, I fall into a category (4). But I have experienced all the others (1),(2) & (3) at different times in my life."RKO 281" is puzzling because I'm not sure which of the 4 categories, if any, it's aimed at. I think it tries to reach all which is an impossibility. It starts with some visual inside jokes for the cat (4) folks. For example: near the beginning there's a brief scene transition which starts on 2 stage hands sitting high up on the rafters as the camera pans down to the stage (a wink at the opera debut scene in "Citizen Kane"). So I began thinking, cool! RKO 281 is for nerds like me!But then it suddenly shifts into a very superficial setup, where for 10-15 minutes Orson Welles and his pal Mankowitz are trying to come up with a subject for the upcoming film. This is geared at the cat (1) folks who don't know what Citizen Kane is about. The problem is it becomes a little tedious for the (2), (3) & (4)'s in the audience who are waiting to get to the "sexual blackmail", "back room dealings" and other thrills promised on the DVD box.The rest of the film progresses in the same way, interspersing a few inside jokes while staying mostly superficial for the sake of the unfamiliar folks. The result, while not being a bad film, is a film that seems inconsistent in tone. Is it holding our hand and leading us through a tour guide's version of Citizen Kane? Or is it pricking us with subtleties, expecting us to read between the lines. I believe, for the most part, it's the guided tour. And I didn't learn anything new except for the hint at anti-Semitism coming from William Randolph Hearst and the reaction from Jewish Hollywood moguls. Nnow, that was interesting, but it didn't seem to tell us the whole story. In fact, all the thrills promised on the DVD box turn out to be a bit of a letdown. The "sexual blackmail" zooms by so fast you'd miss it if you blinked.Still, what would have been a mediocre to sub-par production is uplifted by some tremendous acting. Melanie Griffith brings a fresh degree of humanity to this otherwise cold story about old millionaires. James Cromwell is perfect as Hearst, the cold old millionaire. John Malkovich, playing Welles' drunk sidekick Mankowitz, is always fun to watch. But for my money Liev Schrieber really knocks it out of the park as Orson Welles. He doesn't look much like Welles, but that voice! There are a few moments where you could close your eyes and you'd swear they're dubbing the real one-of-a-kind baritone of the great Orson Welles himself. And that's what kept me watching from start to finish."RKO 281" is not essential viewing. But if you are curious about the phenomenon of "Citizen Kane", then you should definitely see it. Of far more value, however, are the 2 audio commentaries on the Citizen Kane DVD where film critic Roger Ebert & Welles' friend Peter Bogdonovich illuminate the film in a tremendously enlightening way that will not only enhance your enjoyment of Kane, it will make you see cinema in a whole new way.

Orson Welles was just twenty-six years of age when he made "Citizen Kane." A film regarded by many to be one of the best films ever made. As Welles quipped: "I started at the top and worked down." There is no doubt that Orson Welles was a genius (child prodigy), and that he never made a better film than "Citizen Kane." "RKO 281" (the original production number given to "Kane" by the studio), is the story of the trials and tribulations of making "Citizen Kane." By rights, a film about the making of "Citizen Kane", should pack more of a wallop than this one does. The subject has all the ingredients of high melodrama that's for sure; only this film doesn't quite live up to it. This is not necessarily the fault of the director: it's just that the topic is a far too complex one to be portrayed in a mere eighty three minutes. Still and all, "RKO 281" is not a bad little film about how one of the true geniuses of the cinema, who was treated so abysmally by the system that allowed him to make the film in the first place. Under pressure from William Randolph Hearst (whom "Kane" is a thinly disguised version), the heads of the other major studios devised a plan to ensure the film would never ever be seen again. Thankfully, George Schaeffer at RKO didn't go along with this idea. The film had its premier, but failed to engage cinema audiences, and effectively sank without a trace, no doubt helped by a total ban on advertising by the Hearst organization. Praise should go to Liev Schreiber as Welles, Roy Scheider as RKO boss, George Schaeffer, John Malcovich as Herman Mankiewicz, John Cromwell as Hearst and Melanie Griffith as Marion Davies. A special mention should also go to Brenda Blethyn as Hearst columnist Louella Parsons. In addition, Orson Welles second feature, "The Magnificent Ambersons", suffered the ignominy of having the editing of the film taken away from by RKO, who not only removed an hour of footage, but also shot a new, happier ending and tacked it onto the film. Although the extensive notes left by Welles on how the film was to be cut have survived, the excised scenes have not.

I'm absolutely sure that this film would be of more interest to film buffs and Welles fans than to the average viewer, although the buffs and fans might find it infuriating at times. The search for purity and perfection is bound to end in failure because, after all, who is pure? And what is perfect? The buffs and fans will probably gnash their teeth over historical inaccuracies and events and conversations that obviously must have been invented. They can join William Randolph Hearst and Orson Welles, because Hearst discovered that he didn't exercise pure power and Welles found out that his career was destined to be less than perfect. But the buffs and fans can still rejoice in knowing that they understand a little more than the rest of us about what the hell was going on in Hollywood and the rest of the world in 1940 and 1941.Taken as just another movie, without reference to historical events, "RKO 281" isn't bad. It's not the best made-for TV movie that HBO has come up with, but it's interesting to get a glimpse into the contrast -- and the similarities -- between Welles, a self-proclaimed genius and novice film maker, and Hearst, the old fuddy duddy who lived with his younger mistress in a castle on a hill on an estate half the size of Rhode Island. One was rich with the ideas and daring of youth. The other was rich, period.Good performances all around, as far as the principles go. Maybe Melanie Griffith isn't the vivacious and mischievous hostess that Marian Davies was said to have been, but she gets the job done. Liev Schreiber is a passable Welles, though not as handsome to the heterosexual eye as was the 25-year-old prodigy himself. John Cromwell probably gives the best performance as Hearst, the man who owned too much. It's a complex character role, not easy to play. Hearst isn't the kind of guy you'd like to have a beer with, but Cromwell manages to make him rather sympathetic at times. John Malkovich is Herman Mankowitz, co-writer of "Citizen Kane," and he's reliable, as always. Too bad they left out the incident at which Mankowitz, drunk, vomited at the dinner table and apologized by saying, "It's alright, Mister Hearst. The white wine came up with the fish." If there's a weak thread running through the story of this battle, it's the script. Sometimes it positively flows, as in Welles' speech to the RKO board in New York. At other times, it seems as if the writer had one eye on a textbook for Screen Writing 101. Why would an American, even a stuffy one, substitute the British "shall" for the red-white-and-blue "will"? Entire conversations sound stilted and aimed at immediate comprehension by the viewer, attempts to spare him the torture of thought.No, it's not a TV masterpiece, but it's a good job of commercial film making, the kind that HBO can sometimes be very good at. I think most people would find it engaging enough to hold their attention. Especially, as I say, the buffs and fans. I'm not sure about those who might have to stretch in order to grasp the concept of "Hitler" -- never mind "RKO 281".

OK, so we all know that "Citizen Kane" was probably the all-time #1 masterpiece. Not as many people know that William Randolph Hearst tried to have the movie destroyed. "RKO 281" does a really good job telling that story. I will admit that Liev Schreiber seems to be overacting a little bit as Orson Welles, but he still does a good job in the role. Hearst (James Cromwell) is actually the most intriguing character in the movie: we see how this hypocrite did business with Hitler, sought to discredit FDR (believing the 33rd president to be a Bolshevik), and had a half-his-age mistress in Marion Davies (Melanie Griffith). In my opinion, Hearst had no good qualities.All in all, the movie's quite interesting, and I don't just mean as a part of cinematic history. What it portrays is part of Americana. Also starring John Malkovich, Brenda Blethyn and Roy Scheider.