RKO 281

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RKO 281 ★★★ 1999 (R)

This retelling of Orson Welles' (Schrieber) battles to make 1941's “Citizen Kane” is all about egos. Welles had the arrogance of youth and Hearst the arrogance of power. The film, written with Herman J. Mankiewicz (Malkovich), was a thinly disguised look at newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst (Cromwell) and his life with longtime mistress, blond actress Marion Davies (Griffith). Hearst was so outraged by Welles' movie that he tried to use his considerable influence with the Hollywood studios to have the film destroyed. Naturally, the story is both streamlined and altered but the leading roles are dramatically well served. 87m/C VHS, DVD . Liev Schreiber, John Malkovich, James Cromwell, Melanie Griffith, Brenda Blethyn, Roy Scheider, David Suchet, Fiona Shaw, Liam Cunningham, Tim Woodward; D: Ridley Scott; W: John Logan; C: Mike Southon; M: John Altman. CABLE