Xanadu Film Reviews is the branchild of Nathan Mohr, an amateur film critic and expert know-it-all. Nathan lives in Bethalto, Illinois with his wife Heather. He has been accepted into Washington University’s University College and will be attending there in the fall to receive his undergraduate degree in history. His interest in films is longstanding, dating back to the first film he can remember watching, The Wizard of Oz, when he was just a munchkin himself. He has a love for classic films of all kinds, and his list of favorites include movies such as Casablanca, Angels With Dirty Faces, and All About Eve.
Why Xanadu?
Some people without a knowledge of films might question the name of the blog, Xanadu Film Reviews. Xanadu, for the uninitiated, is the home of Charles Foster Kane in Orson Welles classic movie, Citizen Kane. I first saw Citzen Kane several years ago, and while I could appreciate how good the film was, it wasn’t until I took an art of film class in college that I realized any serious discussion on great films must begin with Citizen Kane. It is a timeless classic and cinematic masterpiece that was groundbreaking in so many ways and set the the standard for filmmaking. The American Film Institute consistently ranks it as the number one greatest film of all time and all movie critics acknowledge its importance in cinema history. I wanted this blog to have a connection in some way with this movie, due to its importance in terms of filmmaking.
Citizen Kane opens with a variety of shots of an aging, ill-kept palatial mansion, and the camera draws in tighter and tighter until you find yourself in the death room of Charles Foster Kane. The film’s opening word is “Rosebud,” but immediately thereafter, the film switches away to a faux newsreel about the death of Kane, and it’s opening line is “Legendary was Xanadu where Kubla Khan decreed his stately pleasure dome,” which is a reference to the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem. It’s this opening in one of the greatest films of all time that made me decide to use Xanadu as my connection. Xanadu was the home of one of the big screen’s most iconic characters, and hopefully this blog will serve as a home to the best film reviews.
Hopefully, you enjoy the site, and if you haven’t seen Citizen Kane, go watch it. You won’t be disappointed.
This is a great website that I will definitely bookmark. I would also place roughly the same grades on the first few films I saw on here (although I need to watch District 9 still). I wish you guys all the luck in the world! and I sincerely hope you stop by my film review page in the near future. Don’t forget to drop me a line and let me know what you think. Yours sincerely, Michael Joyce (The Joyce Review. @ http://www.joycereview.com)