RKO 281 (1999) (TV)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Benjamin Ross

Writers (WGA):

Richard Ben Cramer (documentary The Battle Over Citizen Kane) (in part) and
Thomas Lennon (documentary The Battle Over Citizen Kane) (in part) ...

Release Date:

20 November 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

Orson Welles produces his greatest film, Citizen Kane, despite the opposition of the film's de facto subject, William Randolph Hearst.

Plot Keywords:

Anti Semitism | Bankruptcy | Censorship | Director | Film Industry

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 7 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Liev Schreiber	...	Orson Welles
James Cromwell	...	William Randolph Hearst
Melanie Griffith	...	Marion Davies
John Malkovich	...	Herman J. Mankiewicz
Brenda Blethyn	...	Louella Parsons
Roy Scheider	...	George Schaefer
Liam Cunningham	...	Gregg Toland
Fiona Shaw	...	Hedda Hopper
Anastasia Hille	...	Carole Lombard
Roger Allam	...	Walt Disney
Simeon Andrews	...	John Houseman
William Armstrong	...	Mr. Lewis
Jay Benedict	...	Darryl Zanuck
Ron Berglas	...	David O. Selznick
Paul Birchard	...	Top Brass #2

Also Known As:

RKO 281: The Battle Over Citizen Kane (USA) (video box title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some graphic sexual images.

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Finland:S | France:U | Norway:7 | USA:R | Spain:7

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Sign, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Home Box Office (HBO)

Trivia:

The size of the principal actors had to be modified for their roles. The 6'3" Liev Schreiber had to bulk up to portray Orson Welles, while John Malkovich, who stands about 6'1" (a full head taller than the real Herman Mankiewicz), had to be made to look much slighter and smaller than usual. James Cromwell, who stands a towering 6'7", was surrounded by actors in lifts, as the real William Randolph Hearst was about 6'3" or 6'4".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Welles is shown crossing out dialogue in the "Citizen Kane" script, he is actually marking up pages from the "RKO 281" script!

Quotes:

Marion: I swear, you and that guy Disney, in love with the damn rats.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 57th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Song of India

strong lead performances make RKO quite good

i really liked this movie, even the bits with Melanie Griffith's which is something. I appreciate that people who are familiar with wells work might be a little bit more critical of the piece but i thought it was super. Liev Screiber was outstanding in the lead because he chose to play Wells as a man as opposed to simply doing an impression of an already famous face. He made Wells sympathetic and compelling even though lets face it, as the movie presents it hes not really that likable a man. Id definitely recommend it to any Liev Schreiber fans. Hearst is also presented as an unlikeable character, but Cromwell plays him with great dignity that you almost feel sorry for him.