Without ever having made a full-length film, Orson Welles made "Citizen Kane" in 1941. Before this, he made a handful of shorts--none of which showed the genius he'd show with "Citizen Kane". This is genius.
As far as reviewing "Too Much Johnson" goes,however, there is an inherent bias in some reviews...and many seem to be reviewing what Welles BECAME versus what he was when he made this film. Yes, "Citizen Kane" was an amazing achievement...but that does not mean that "Too Much Johnson" is. In fact, I'd say that "Too Much Johnson" is pretty much unwatchable for 1938 and is a terrible film. Its only value is for Welles fans so they can see Welles learning his craft....and by the end of this film he seems to have learned little. How he got from this to "Kane" is beyond me! It's some sort of miracle.
Why am I so harsh about "Too Much Johnson"? Well, if you didn't know it was an Orson Welles film, folks would say it stank. After all, the film is a silent....even after even Chaplin Himself switched to talking pictures. It also features some amateurish camerawork and edits which are beyond amateurish to the point of being, at times, terrible. Now this is not to say all of this film is all bad. There are some nice crane shots (or what look like crane shots), Welles improved his skills by making the film and it gave Joseph Cotten his first acting credit. But for the folks who gave this movie scores like 8...for shame. Judge the film on its own merits...not as some sort of endorsement for Welles' genius. Here in "Too Much Johnson", there is little genius and the overall product looks not much better than a home movie combined with a 1910 era D.W. Griffith picture! Only for the most ardent Welles fans.
As far as reviewing "Too Much Johnson" goes,however, there is an inherent bias in some reviews...and many seem to be reviewing what Welles BECAME versus what he was when he made this film. Yes, "Citizen Kane" was an amazing achievement...but that does not mean that "Too Much Johnson" is. In fact, I'd say that "Too Much Johnson" is pretty much unwatchable for 1938 and is a terrible film. Its only value is for Welles fans so they can see Welles learning his craft....and by the end of this film he seems to have learned little. How he got from this to "Kane" is beyond me! It's some sort of miracle.
Why am I so harsh about "Too Much Johnson"? Well, if you didn't know it was an Orson Welles film, folks would say it stank. After all, the film is a silent....even after even Chaplin Himself switched to talking pictures. It also features some amateurish camerawork and edits which are beyond amateurish to the point of being, at times, terrible. Now this is not to say all of this film is all bad. There are some nice crane shots (or what look like crane shots), Welles improved his skills by making the film and it gave Joseph Cotten his first acting credit. But for the folks who gave this movie scores like 8...for shame. Judge the film on its own merits...not as some sort of endorsement for Welles' genius. Here in "Too Much Johnson", there is little genius and the overall product looks not much better than a home movie combined with a 1910 era D.W. Griffith picture! Only for the most ardent Welles fans.