+1
The first time I watched Citizen Kane, I had a similar, though not as extreme view of the film. I liked it alot, but didn't see what justified it being 'the #1 film of all time'. I got a bit older, watched it again, watched a documentary on it, watched the HBO (I think HBO) film RKO281, read a few directors opinions on the film, watched it again, and finally I see why it is regarded with such reverence, deserving its spot at the top of film history. What helps is seeing all the films after it's release that are in debt to Orson Welles for this films technical merit. I wouldn't place it first personally, but top 50, probably. Although, I certainly understand why many people view it as overrated.
My choice for most overrated film is probably Sideways, and I'm a big fan of Election and Citizen Ruth (Payne's other films). I do believe that when I am a decade or so older, I will give this film another chance and more than likely have a higher opinion of it. It's not that I don't like the film (3/5), it's that I didn't agree with it's critical response.
And so come the negative reputation clicks, thank you.
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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."