The Citizen Kane of Citizen Kane Lists

A list of movies that have been compared to 'Citizen Kane'

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Citizen Kane has long been given a reputation as a landmark in cinema — indeed, it has, at various points, been called the greatest film of all time. Such is the enduring level of regard for writer-director-star Orson Welles’ cinematic masterpiece that critics often invoke the film as a measure of greatness — like Roger Ebert famously pronouncing 2000’s high-school comedy Bring It On “the Citizen Kane of cheerleader movies.”

To mark the 72nd anniversary of the film — which had its world premiere at New York City’s RKO Palace Theater on May 1, 1941 — we’ve put together a small collection of “The Citizen Kane of…” comparisons.

Shakes the Clown — a black comedy about an embittered birthday-party performer, written and directed by Bobcat Goldwaith — is, according to Betsy Sherman of the Boston Globe, the Citizen Kane of …

alcoholic clown movies

*    *    *

Babe — the beloved family movie — is, according to Dann Gire of the Chicago Daily Herald, the Citizen Kane of …

talking pig pictures

*    *    *

Magic Mike — director Steven Soderbergh’s look at the strange world of male ecdysiasts — is, according to Entertainment Weekly “columnist” Libby Gelman-Waxner, the Citizen Kane of …

male stripper movies

*    *    *

The Hangover — the first installment of director Todd Phillips’ epic trilogy of goofball debauchery — is, according to Gary Thompson of the Philadelphia Daily News, the Citizen Kane of …

bachelor party movies

*    *    *

Over the Top — in which Sylvester Stallone, playing a truck driver named Lincoln Hawk, utters the line “I always wanted to be a milk shake” — is, according to several anonymous online critics, the Citizen Kane of …

arm wrestling movies

*    *    *

Revenge of the Ninja — a 1893 actioner in which not a single cowboy or pirate appears — is, according to Tony of The Monthly Midnight Movie Exchange, the Citizen Kane of …

ninja movies

*    *    *

Slade in Flame — a strange Brit film in which real-life glam-rockers Slade play the members of a fictitious rock band called Flame  — is, according to BBC film critic Mark Kermode, the Citizen Kane of …

rock musicals

*    *    *

Night of the Living Dead — a bona-fide cinema classic  — is, according to the Zombie Maater of Best-Horror-Movies.com, the Citizen Kane of …

zombie films

*    *    *

Dolemite — the raucous 1975 blaxploitation film whose titular character was played Rudy Ray Moore — is, according to John Leland, writing in The New York Times, the Citizen Kane of … 

kung-fu pimping movies

*    *    *

The Room — a low-budget oddity famous for its awfulness — is, according to an assistant professor of film studies at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, the Citizen Kane of …

bad movies

*    *    *

Movie 43 — the widely panned, even vilified comedy anthology — is, according to Richard Roeper* — well, here’s what he had to say:

“… As the ads for Movie 43 promised (threatened?), you can’t un-see this thing, so please: Stay away. Even if you might think that sitting through Movie 43 would be an adventure along the lines of experiencing Showgirls or Howard the Duck, you’ll be filled with regret five minutes into this atrocity. There’s camp-fun bad and interestingly horrible bad, and then there’s just awful.

Movie 43 is the Citizen Kane of

awful

 

* Correction: An earlier version of the story identified the writer of the Movie 43 review as Roger Ebert. It was, in fact, written by Richard Roeper for RogerEbert.com.