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RKO 281
Description
When RKO Pictures began work on production number 281, no one could have imagined that they were making perhaps the greatest American film of all time. But the moment Orson Welles (played by Liev Schreiber) announced that he intended to make a film based on the life of tyranical multi-millionaire publisher William Randolph Hearst (James Cromwell), they knew that they had trouble on their hands. Welles, the enfant terrible of American theater and a household name thanks to his infamous radio adaptation of H.G. Wells's '+The War Of The Worlds,' was signed to direct films for RKO, and he was given an unusually free hand to make whatever sort of film he wanted. But what Welles didn't count on was the power of Hearst to keep his film from being seen. RKO 281 is based on the true story of the making of Citizen Kane and the war of words between Welles and Hearst. It also stars Melanie Griffith as Hearst's mistress Marion Davies, John Malkovich as screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, Brenda Blethyn as Hearst's movie columnist Louella Parsons, and Roy Scheider as George Schaefer.
When RKO Pictures began work on production number 281, no one could have imagined that they were making perhaps the greatest American film of all time. But the moment Orson Welles (played by Liev Schreiber) announced that he intended to make a film based on the life of tyranical multi-millionaire publisher William Randolph Hearst (James Cromwell), they knew that they had trouble on their hands. Welles, the enfant terrible of American theater and a household name thanks to his infamous radio adaptation of H.G. Wells's '+The War Of The Worlds,' was signed to direct films for RKO, and he was given an unusually free hand to make whatever sort of film he wanted. But what Welles didn't count on was the power of Hearst to keep his film from being seen. RKO 281 is based on the true story of the making of Citizen Kane and the war of words between Welles and Hearst. It also stars Melanie Griffith as Hearst's mistress Marion Davies, John Malkovich as screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, Brenda Blethyn as Hearst's movie columnist Louella Parsons, and Roy Scheider as George Schaefer.
Actors:
Lucy Cohu,
Roger Allam,
Michael Cronin,
James Cromwell,
Louis Hammond,
Paul Birchard,
Kerry Shale,
Jay Benedict,
Briony Glassco,
Olivier Pierre,
Simeon Andrews,
...»
Lucy Cohu
2 October 1968, Swindon, Wiltshire, England, UK
Roger Allam
26 October 1953, London, England, UK
Michael Cronin
1942, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England, UK
James Cromwell
27 January 1940, Los Angeles, California, USA
Louis Hammond
Paul Birchard
Kerry Shale
17 June 1958, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Jay Benedict
11 April 1951, Burbank, California, USA
Briony Glassco
Olivier Pierre
19 October 1953, France
Simeon Andrews
Director:
Benjamin Ross
Benjamin Ross
1964, London, England, UK
Country:
United States, United Kingdom
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Kalamazoo Gazette
March 11, 2005
entertaining; Schreiber is excellent
TheMovieChicks.com
July 26, 2002
Liev Schreiber turns in a fascinating performance.
July 24, 2001
...factual details aside, Ross and Logan make the history live. "RKO 281" is no Citizen Kane... but in its own way it pays homage to Welles and his film...
Blunt Review
April 08, 2005
This hardly seen film is a great watch for ANY Welles fan.
November 07, 2002
High-pulp look at Citizen Kane's genesis is stylish but shallow.
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
October 19, 2004
Wonderful TV movie about the pressures and ego clashes and politics surrounding the making of Citizen Kane.
Fantastica Daily
August 09, 2002
Excellent. Liev Schreiber IS Orson Welles.