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Orson's Opus

A A A Comments By Jennifer Elaine Davis Thursday, Oct 4 2007

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If Perez Hilton had been around in the 1940s, Citizen Kane's very existence would have been daily blog fodder, in amongst posts about Bette Davis' drinking habits and Errol Flynn's sexuality. I can just see the blue-haired blogger foaming at the mouth to write about William Randolph Hearst's efforts to suppress the release of the film, ostensibly an autobiography of him, while regaling in Orson Welles' no-holds-barred portrayal of the power-hungry magnate. Our friend Perez would also have spent a great deal of time investigating the true meaning of "Rosebud"—could it really have been an allusion to a certain female body part? Ick, no. I'd much rather think of Rosebud as an allegory for lost youth and misspent adulthood than consider any of the other nasty rumors that fly around nearly 70 years later. I'm sure most film connoisseurs would agree. If you haven't seen Citizen Kane, here's your chance to see the film that revolutionized narrative design and camera work in film. If you have, maybe it's time to re-think the symbolism of the ubiquitous Rosebud. The Central Library's "Forever Classic: From the American Film Institute's Top 100" series will present Welles' masterpiece today at 2 p.m. on the fourth floor of the library, located at 1515 Young St. Call 214-670-1643 for details.
Sat., Oct. 6, 2 p.m., 2007