There are only so many A+ films out there. This is at the top of the damn list. I have no idea how many times I've seen it, dozens let's say, including a few really memorable ones (one with Ebert that was so fun and unforgettable). It never ceases to amaze me. I wish I'd been able to walk into a theater in 1941 and watch it with an audience at that time; talk about being mind blown, can you imagine how that must have been for real film lovers? It's mind blowing TODAY, 85 years later.
What a film. I love seeing it in a theater; there's simply no missing any small snatch of dialogue, and or some edit you forgot, or noticing some particular set design or individual performance, to make it a most memorable experience. I love it so. Tonight that scene that's the engine of the movie, where Thatcher goes to pick young Charles up and take him away from his mom and dad; that's the scene right there. Incredible. To say Agnes Moorehead is brilliant there is just not giving her work justice. It's one of the most incredible and mysterious pieces of work I've ever seen in a film. And the way Charles holds the sled while he talks to his parents and then responds to Thatcher. It's all there, and it's perfect. Talk about all the details adding up to something special. It's on another level. Does it surpass the stolen staff party scene? Maybe. Both of those are powerhouses of using space to light an emotional fuse. Every time i look at that party scene, i just stare in awe at how tight/small that room must have really been. Can you imagine being a part of that scene? Wow. And Joseph Cotton is just fantastic there. The work he does with Everett Sloane; it's beyond insulting how NONE of the supporting performances garnered an Oscar Nomination. I mean that's just nuts. Cotton and Sloane at least.
Anyway, thanks to Fathom. It was nice to see that many fans in a theater to watch this film on the big screen, no matter how much several of them decided that their idle chit chat during the runtime was more important than Welles' vision.
