Citizen Kane vs Casablanca

[Liedzeit]

In my Top 100
Citizen Kane is on 12
Casablanca 80
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[HoldenM]

I would be remiss to ignore Citizen Kane's influence, and would be wrong to act as though it doesn't hold up today. Yet, when it comes to what movie I'd rather watch, Casablanca wins, no question.
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[Applerill]

To Be Or Not To Be: That is the answer.

[Saoirse]

Citizen Kane was more innovative and daring, especially for it's day, but Casablanca just hits you right in the heart, which is never easy to do.

[WindowAbove]

Casablanca is a lot more enjoyable for me.

[Hayden]

[alelsupreme]

Yeah I can definitely admire Citizen Kane, and while I don't particularly enjoy it I can recognize its influence + importance - it was a hell of movie for its time.
Casablanca, however, I find far more emotionally resonant - it's more charming and witty than I expected from a movie from its time.
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[SuedeSwede]

I really like Citizen Kane, but Casablanca is a fave.
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[badseed]

I'm gonna shoot for this without reading the comments or seeing the vote count first...

Aside from being the two most well-known films of the 40s, they have practically nothing in common. With that said, let's compare...

Citizen Kane was a technical marvel at its time. Sure, you had Renoir and Bunuel and what not, but it was really the first English language film to be successful at experimentation. Wideshots, closeups, all sorts of fancy camera tricks. I tend to watch films from a historical standpoint and for that it was definitely the best shot for shot American film to have been made up to that point, and still arguably is. Don't take its legacy as a technical masterpiece as its only bread and butter, though. The supporting cast is quite fine, while Welles' performance arguably set the stage for the method actors that came to prominence in the following decade.

Casablanca, compared to Citizen Kane, isn't spectacularly noteworthy from an art point of view. It was a studio picture by a studio director with a stock cast. However, upon its release, it was the finest studio picture ever made by one of the finest studio directors at the time, and the entire cast brings the film to life. Although there's nothing Casablanca does perfectly, it does a little bit of everything well enough to stand out and remains a timeless classic in my opinion.

Both films are favorites among popular publications, particularly American. And truthfully they deserve it. While one remains a landmark in technical achievement, the other remains one of the most entertaining stories ever told. Casablanca was once my favorite film of all time, but now I gotta give the edge to Kane. I watched Casablanca once or twice a year as a teenager but as an adult I pull out Welles' film more often.

For the record, here's how I'd rank them in the 1940s:

1. The Third Man
2. Bicycle Thieves
3. Citizen Kane
4. Black Narcissus
5. Sullivan's Travels
6. Brief Encounter
7. Children of Paradise
8. The Red Shoes
9. Beauty and the Beast
10. Casablanca

[Facetious]

Apparently I voted a long time ago (in favour of Citizen Kane, which I would still do actually). The comparison is a bit silly because they are two entirely different films, but I'd just say Casablanca is the more emotionally moving film (especially the ending), and Citizen Kane is the more consistently interesting film of the two.