Round 1: Citizen Kane vs. The Shining

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

Round 1 Match: Citizen Kane vs. The Shining

The polls will close for this match on Friday, October 19 at 12:00am

Many consider Citizen Kane to be the greatest film of all time (no HE's the tag team Champions!); others find it boring and over-rated. The Shining is what happens when directorial legend Stanley Kubrick tackles an adaption by literary legend Stephen King, and nails it. In this first round we may well find out where the forums' loyalty lies on the matter of Citizen Kane vs. the film industry, where in a rare situation, The Shining finds itself an underdog.

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[The 1-2-3 Killam]

Bunches of votes, the Shining is beating Citizen Kane...and nobody wants to talk about it? Fine. I'll bite...

Both movies have an 8.5 rating on IMDB. The Shining is much more acclaimed by fans and movie-goers; Citizen Kane is obviously more acclaimed by critics. 88% vs. 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively. I haven't seen either in at least five years, so I can't give a terrible amount of feedback (I'll watch the winner for the second round), but I'm just curious as why the majority here has gone with the Shining. Was it Stanley Kubrick? Because...well, because Orsen Welles! Was it Jack Nicholson? Because...well, because Orsen Welles!

Just curious.

 

[lowandmighty]

They're different genres of film so I can't really do a point basis comparison, they're also from different era's so certain things can't be compared in terms of fairness because each era goes against its own competition kind of thing, its like saying John Cena is better than Hulk Hogan because theres more competition now when its an irrelevant excuse.

So I'm going to go with The Shining because its easier to watch when you're drunk.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I'm going with The Shining because I like it better, simple as that.

I'll never argue that Citizen Kane is a better film, its rated #1 greatest film of all time by AFI so its hard to argue any film is better than Citizen Kane. I think its a really good movie but at the same time it's not my kind of movie either, its not a movie I would want to watch over and over again. The Shining is my favorite horror flick so I'm voting for it.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

its like saying John Cena is better than Hulk Hogan because theres more competition now when its an irrelevant excuse.

John Cena IS better than Hulk Hogan, and there is far LESS competition now. You're right. Irrelevant.

So I'm going to go with The Shining because its easier to watch when you're drunk.

Seems legit.

I'm going with The Shining because I like it better, simple as that.

I'll never argue that Citizen Kane is a better film, its rated #1 greatest film of all time by AFI so its hard to argue any film is better than Citizen Kane. I think its a really good movie but at the same time it's not my kind of movie either, its not a movie I would want to watch over and over again. The Shining is my favorite horror flick so I'm voting for it.

To be fair, the AFI is laughable. Snow White is the only animated feature on the list, because of its contribution to the genre. Well first of all, it must not have contributed very much, if nothing else in the genre made the list. Secondly, being the first of your kind does not make you automatically fantastic. Snow White is terrible; laughable plot, unbelievable characters, stupid condescending bitch of a female lead... and yet that's the movie AFI chose to represent animation on its list.

Anyways, that whole rant was meant to basically say, I don't really care what AFI considers the greatest film.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

People are afraid to criticize Citizen Kane. If I'm not mistaken, Citizen Kane still holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and you can make some arguments for Casablanca and Gone With The Wind, but Kane is considered to be the most renowned film of all time. Most people are afraid of the unavoidable hazing that follows criticizing Kane (i.e. "you're stupid" or "******ed"), so they keep their mouths shut.

Successfully adapting a Stephen King novel is not an easy task. Sure, we've seen a handful of quality films. De Palma's Carrie, Rob Reiner's Misery, and Pet Sematary are a few examples, but you can't forget about the barrage of shitty TV specials and straight-to-video films. Trying to condense the complex storylines and rich characters into a full-length feature, while capturing the eerie essence of a King novel is tricky, but Kubrick pulled it off. Jack Nicholson's outstanding performance, the chilling, desolate atmosphere, and unforgettable moments (blood flowing out of the elevator, the "come play with us, Danny" scene, Jack's tirade against Wendy). The Shining is the perfect horror film.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Citizen Kane is a good movie but, to me, it's also something that's become pretty overrated. It's one of these movies that's gotten so much pomp & praise among the film making elite whether it be directors, writers, actors or whate have you that it's fashionable to defend it whenever someone doesn't gush all over it.. It's one of these movies that, for some odd reason, people seem to want to go out of their way of their way to defend no matter what.

I've watched Citizen Kane and I did enjoy it but it's not some perfect accomplishment that outshines every other film ever made. Personally, I found the movie a bit dull. I'd say the exact same thing about The Shining had it not been for Jack Nicholson's performance. While I do think The Shining dragged a little at times, I found the overall story to be far more interesting. There were only a small handful of actors in the movie but all of them played their roles almost perfectly, especially Nicholson.

I simply enjoyed The Shining more overall and that's why I'm voting for it.

 

[klunderbunker]

Citizen Kane is boring.

I watched it once and I have zero intention of ever watching it again. I understand that it's the most technically sound movie ever made and how amazing Orson Welles is by doing everything at once. I understand all that. However, I sat there just waiting on it to end because it never once caught my interest. The plot isn't interesting as it's all about trying to figure out what a word (which I'm still not clear on how anyone heard what he said and therefore how the plot gets going) meant and you find it out at the last second. It was a dull movie and that defeats the purpose for me.

I didn't really like Shining, but it has a lot more memorable and entertaining moments for me.