krocheav The best to be said about this one is that it is shorter than most. RKO 281 sets itself up to be a semi-factual account of events leading up to the filming of Orson Well's "Citizen Kane". Like most HBO TV productions it's stylish to the point of being borderline overdone. Perhaps they needed to spend more time on script research than on sets and costumes. The presence of some production involvement by WGBH gave hope of more historical accuracy's but this didn't seem to help (not a good move WGBH stay with your far better documentaries). Liev Schreiber while a fine performer, did not quite fit the Wells character (whereas Vincent D' Onofrio from the over-the-top 'Ed Wood' did an uncanny job of convincing us Well's was still among us). It's difficult I know to cast performers in roles of well known personalities but fact is, so few of the performers here seemed suited to their character identities and this had the effect of hurting the final outcome.With a screenplay that contains so many intimate details - most have to represent massive amounts of supposition - to the point it probably misrepresented far too many of the 'facts'. The intentions the writers and producers wanted to convey seem unclear - or were they just having campy fun at the audiences expense?. Perhaps the one thing they did get across was that Mr Wells may have been equally as hypercritical as the man he wanted to expose (maybe even more so?). Hurst (James Cromwell) on the other hand, as written and played, comes across more as the wronged victim - even as a rather sympathetic character. So who's right? perhaps none. Melanie Griffiths as Marian Davies, by most accounts, is also somewhat doubtful. Don't come to this one looking for facts, they're simply not there. Even the final accolades indicated at the end of this movie - during the premiere screening of 'Citizen Kane' don't gel - it was largely ignored. Perhaps this was partly due to limited promotion or could it have been ahead of it's time?. It's not easy to tell because the 1930's- 1940'S saw many great movies come and go, so audiences of the day did have a very good idea of what constituted a great film.At least, this production offers some good insights to the movie business - including some of the more sinister expose's of otherwise 'respectable' high profile personalities - but, like several others of its genre (before and after) it could have been better.

rooprect "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.

Boba_Fett1138 This is more of a shot docudrama with big name actors in it, rather than a movie that tells a real story. To me this movie was lacking a bit of a point and it didn't achieved much with its story or characters. It's a quite distant movie in which everything remains on the surface. Questions such as who was Orson Welles, why was he such a genius and how "Citizen Kane" influenced basically all later cinema are hardly being answered or handled at all. As a matter of fact this movie isn't even really about Orson Welles or the shooting of "Citizen Kane" at all. It's more about the battle of getting the movie made and eventually released.The movie does have some interesting things in it, that explain how "Citizen Kane" got first thought off, what the influences were and how it caused lots of troubles for the persons and studios involved but it does this in such an observe documentary kind of way that you just never feel involved with the story or any of its characters. The movie just doesn't always flow well and it doesn't always know to keep its main focus on the right things.Of course the movie is not horrible, for a made for TV-production it's simply still a quite good one, with some good production values and a great cast involved.Unfortunately it's not a really well cast movie. Sure it has big names n it but big names aren't everything. Was Liev Schreiber really the best pick to play Orson Welles? I just don't think so. I like Liev as an actor but more as a supporting actor. Some actors just aren't suitable to play important main leads. He of course also looks very little like Orson Welles. The movie also has further more James Cromwell, John Malkovich, Fiona Shaw and Melanie Griffith but it's perhaps only Roy Scheider who knows to make an great and lasting impression with his role.Worth a go if you're already a bit familiar with Orson Welles and the movie "Citizen Kane", otherwise this movie will hardly keep your interest throughout with its superficial, more documentary-like, telling of the story6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Charles Herold (cherold) Very interesting movie about the battle to get Citizen Kane made has carved out a tricky niche for itself; the movie is going to be most interesting to fans of Welles and Kane, and those people are going to have such specific expectations about what the movie should be that they can't be satisfied. I see a number of reviews here complaining that this movie doesn't show why Kane was a great movie, but that's not the movie that was being made. It is a short movie about a specific struggle, with brief glimpses into the filming, and unless it had been titled, "RKO 281: The Making of Citizen Kane," you can't fault it for not spending an hour on Welles innovations. The film is entertaining, Schreiber is a good Welles and Malkovitch is also quite good. I note people also complain that the movie isn't all that accurate. I do wish the film had done a better job with Marian Davies, as one hears her described as fantastically charming and loved by Hollywood (it has been said that Welles' flaying of Davies did more to bring out the knives of the Hollywood press than his portrayal of Hearst). But come on, how can one complain about liberties taking with reality in a movie made about Welles, who loved taking liberties with reality?