The Magnificent Ambersons

Everybody knows Citizen Kane, but Orson Welles follow-up to his 1941 masterpiece is notable in it's own right. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), could very well have been a far greater film than Citizen Kane, but sadly, due to circumstances out of Welles' control it was only a minor achievement. However, it is still a great film.
Orson Welles narrates this film that centers around a wealthly family named Amberson. The film puts a spotlight on the young heir of the Amberson fortune George (Tim Holt) who is very spoiled and self centered. When he grows up he finds himself in an even more complex situation when a man named Eugene Morgan (Joseph Cotten) and his daughter Lucy (Anne Baxter) come to town. George falls in love with Lucy and instantly despises Eugene. Matters worsen after George's father dies and he soon realizes that Eugene is trying to rekindle the flame with his mother Isabel (Dolores Costello).
The film itself is searing pot of emotions. Welles uses all the techniques that he used in Kane and brings this story to life. Throughout the whole film the audience is locked on these characters and it is hard to look away at their self destructive ways. The stamp on this film can be that only of a true master.
Sadly though, this film could've been more if the studio heads at RKO had not cut the film and slapped a happy ending on it. This essentially cut the heart and soul out of Welles' work. That makes this film one of the biggest cinematic what ifs of the time.
That being said it is definitely worth a watch. No matter how much they cut of this film, they couldn't take away that Orson Welles stamp that is so imprinted on this film. Since the recent release of the Citizen Kane 70th anniversy DVD/blu-ray, Warner Bros. has put out a bare bones DVD of The Magnificent Ambersons, one that can be bought at a reasonable price at amazon.com here: http://www.amazon.com/Magnificent-Ambersons-Georgia-Backus/dp/B00005JKGX/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1329889336&sr=1-1.
This film is highly recommended to any cinema lover and fan of Orson Welles body of work. This film is a staunch rival to Citizen Kane, if there were only some hope of finding Welles original cut. But that hope is entirely a pipe dream, since RKO destroyed the footage they cut and the print that was supposedly sent to Welles in Brazil has not been found yet.
All that aside, it is worth seeing to see the brilliance of Orson Welles. The performances in this film are also superb, from Joseph Cotten, Tim Holt, Dolores Costello, Agnes Moorhead, and Anne Baxter. Another cinematic achievement from the great Orson Welles.