RKO 281
In 1939, the prodigy Orson Welles leaves New York, where he has found success in radio and theatre, and, after being hired by RKO Pictures, relocates to Hollywood to begin work on his first film.
Director(s)
Benjamin Ross
Heather Storr
Toby Ford
Jo Schotting
David Daniels
Cast & Crew
Details
Reviews
Gurre
RKO 281 is a very underrated movie I haven't seen alot of people talking about. It's based in part upon the real-life story of the behind the scenes of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, and in part of the documentary The Battle over Citizen Kane that made as a part of The American Experience. Orson Welles (Liev Schreiber) has been offered a carte blanche-contract with RKO after his legendary War of the Worlds broadcast, however he has troubles coming up with a picture, and he lacks inspiration. One night, at a party hosted by newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst (James Cromwell) he finds the inspiration. He wants to make a movie about this powerful man. He and writer Herman Mankeweizc (John Malkovich) starts writing the screenplay and Citizen Kane gets into production. When the movie is near completion, Hearst gets the information that Citizen Kane is about him (and not the most flattering portrait either) so he is determined to have the film destroyed. He blackmails the studio-bosses in Hollywood to buy the filmnegative... and burn it... Honestly, I find this movie much more interesting and BETTER than Citizen Kane itself. Although I love that movie, I find this so much better! A compelling, well-written film (with a kind of downbeat ending) that keeps your (atleast my) attention all the way through. The highlight of the film for me is when Welles is filming Kane! Great re-creation of the sets in Kane, the details are just right! The actors do a good job at portraying their characters and it's well-directed. To fully appreciate this movie, you have to watch Citizen Kane first. If you have already seen Citizen Kane, then go right ahead and watch RKO 281! Highly recommended! I give it a 10/10
Teasers
RKO 281 FAQs
The directors of RKO 281 are Benjamin Ross, Heather Storr, Toby Ford, Jo Schotting, and David Daniels.
The cast of RKO 281 includes Liev Schreiber as Orson Welles, Fiona Shaw as Hedda Hopper, Cyril Shaps as Jeweller, Rolf Saxon as Flunkie #1, Ron Berglas as David O. Selznick, Jay Benedict as Darryl Zanuck, Roger Allam as Walt Disney, Kerry Shale as Bernard Herrmann, Roy Scheider as George Schaefer, Brenda Blethyn as Louella Parsons, William Armstrong as Mr. Lewis, James Cromwell as William Randolph Hearst, and more.
The duration of RKO 281 is 1h 24 mins.
RKO 281 was released on 20 Nov 1999.
RKO 281 is listed under Drama, History, and TV Movie on Fanbiz.
RKO 281 has 1 review on Fanziz, with an average rating of 10.0/10. One reviewer wrote: "RKO 281 is a very underrated movie I haven't seen alot of people talking about. It's based in part upon the real-life story of the behind the scenes of Orson Welles' Citizen Kan..."
