The classic 1941 movie that Ingmar Bergman thought was “worthless”
It’s good to have strong opinions about art – to know what you like, what you think is pretentious, overrated, and straight-up terrible.
Of course, it’s also just as important to remain uncertain about specific pieces of art, to find yourself unable to make your mind up. But you’ve got to admit, it’s refreshing when you hear someone express a passionate love or hatred for a piece of art – passion in itself is admirable.
Ingmar Bergman poured his passion for art into making many incredible films, from early masterpieces like Summer With Monika to the groundbreaking Persona and the powerfully acted Autumn Sonata. But his passion for cinema also showed itself in his harsh criticism of the medium; perhaps if he wasn’t a filmmaker, he could’ve been a critic, because he didn’t half spout some rather bold and controversial opinions.
You can take his view of Citizen Kane as the ultimate example. The Swedish filmmaker made his feature film debut, Crisis, in 1946, just five years after Orson Welles’ masterpiece was released, and I can tell you for certain – it’s no Citizen Kane. But as Bergman started to make undeniable masterpieces of his own, it wasn’t long before he gave his damning verdict on the movie, which has long been crowned one of the greatest ever made.
“For me, he’s just a hoax. It’s empty. It’s not interesting. It’s dead,” he said. Citizen Kane was declared “the most exciting film that has come out of Hollywood for 25 years” by critic CA Lejeune upon its release, and over the coming years, its status as one of the best movies ever made has remained strong.
It has taken the number one spot countless times over the years in Sight and Sound’s iconic ‘Top 100 Greatest Films of All Time’ poll, which gathers opinions from the industry’s most important figures, thus standing as pretty strong evidence of its widespread popularity.
Bergman just wasn’t convinced of its brilliance, though: “Citizen Kane, which I have a copy of, is all the critics’ darling, always at the top of every poll taken, but I think it’s a total bore. Above all, the performances are worthless. The amount of respect that movie’s got is absolutely unbelievable.”
Is Citizen Kane overrated? Sure, not everyone loves it, but it’s an undeniable masterwork of cinema, and its impact on everything that came after it cannot be ignored. We get this epic life story told through flashbacks with non-linearity, while lush, deep focus cinematography gives the movie its beautiful look. It’s witty and poignant, and it marked a shift within Hollywood – it’s almost as if you can divide the industry into ‘before Citizen Kane’ and ‘after Citizen Kane’.
To Bergman, it’ll always be an overrated piece of mediocre filmmaking with unconvincing performances, which, you’ve got to admit, is pretty harsh. At least he feels secure in his controversial opinions, though, because by knowing what he didn’t like, he was able to make some incredibly accomplished movies himself, many of which have become just as important to film studies syllabuses as Citizen Kane.
