This is, of course, an incredibly pointless question, but one which for years has had a standard answer, at least as far as most film magazines or colour supplement surveys are concerned. There is no such thing as the greatest movie ever, in the same way that there is no such thing as the greatest piece of music, or the greatest meal, or the greatest painting (another one with a standard answer - the Mona Lisa, which is incidentally not even the greatest painting by Leonardo, let alone the greatest painting ever, but I digress...)
The usual answer for the Greatest Movie Ever is Orson Welles' 1941 classic 'Citizen Kane' and, just like the Mona Lisa, it is not even the greatest movie that Orson Welles made, or at least that is what I have always thought, preferring both 'The Magnificent Ambersons', even in its butchered-by-the-studios state (getting an original print of this is high on my to-do-when-I-get-a-time-machine list), and 'Touch of Evil' (worth it for the opening tracking shot alone). However, the other night I was recording CK off the telly and as I wasn't in the mood for watching it at the time, but couldn't be bothered to turn off the telly, I had it on in the background with the sound off. This was a revelation - freed from following the plot of the film I was able to dip into it and watch it as pure cinema and I was suddenly aware of just what an incredible movie it is. Some of the shots are beautifully composed with multiple layers at different depths, the juxtapositions, both within the frame and by montage are fantastic and the swooping and sweeping camera movements, right on the edge of technical capabilities, judging by the occasional wobble, are inspired. In short, it is a technical masterpiece and a how-to masterclass for aspiring directors.
So, is it the Greatest Movie Ever Made? It's certainly up there, and is a possible winner for the Technically Greatest Movie Ever Made, but I still prefer his flawed follow up or any number of other movies by other directors.
