RKO 281: The Battle Over Citizen Kane (1999)
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92% of critics liked it
(13 reviews) -
71% of users liked it
(2,718 ratings)
When RKO Pictures began work on production number 281, no one could have imagined that they were making perhaps the greatest American film of all time. But the moment Orson Welles (played by Liev Schreiber) announced that he intended to make a film based on the life of tyranical multi-millionaire… More When RKO Pictures began work on production number 281, no one could have imagined that they were making perhaps the greatest American film of all time. But the moment Orson Welles (played by Liev Schreiber) announced that he intended to make a film based on the life of tyranical multi-millionaire publisher William Randolph Hearst (James Cromwell), they knew that they had trouble on their hands. Welles, the enfant terrible of American theater and a household name thanks to his infamous radio adaptation of H.G. Wells's "The War Of The Worlds," was signed to direct films for RKO, and he was given an unusually free hand to make whatever sort of film he wanted. But what Welles didn't count on was the power of Hearst to keep his film from being seen. RKO 281 is based on the true story of the making of Citizen Kane and the war of words between Welles and Hearst. It also stars Melanie Griffith as Hearst's mistress Marion Davies, John Malkovich as screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, Brenda Blethyn as Hearst's movie columnist Louella Parsons, and Roy Scheider as George Schaefer. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Benjamin Ross
- Genres
- Documentary, Drama
- In Theaters
- Nov 20, 1999 Wide
- Studio
- HBO Video
Critic Reviews
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Emily Blunt, Blunt Review
This hardly seen film is a great watch for ANY Welles fan.
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James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette
entertaining; Schreiber is excellent
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Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
Wonderful TV movie about the pressures and ego clashes and politics surrounding the making of Citizen Kane.
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James Rocchi, Netflix
High-pulp look at Citizen Kane's genesis is stylish but shallow.
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Staci Layne Wilson, Fantastica Daily
Excellent. Liev Schreiber IS Orson Welles.
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Cast
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Liev Schreiber
as Orson Welles
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James Cromwell
as William Randolph Hearst
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Melanie Griffith
as Marion Davies
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John Malkovich
as Herman Mankiewicz
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Brenda Blethyn
as Louella Parsons
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Roy Scheider
as George Schaefer
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David Suchet
as Louis B. Mayer
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Fiona Shaw
as Hedda Hopper
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Liam Cunningham
as Gregg Toland
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Lucy Cohu
as Dolores Del Rio
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Kerry Shale
as Bernard Herrmann
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Tim Woodward
as Jack Warner
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Ron Berglas
as David O. Selznick
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Geoffrey Hutchings
as Harry Cohn
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Roger Allam
as Walt Disney
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Jay Benedict
as Darryl F. Zanuck
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Anastasia Hille
as Carole Lombard

