It’s always fascinating what pops up on the internet years after it happens; and they say there’s nothing left to discover! A 1987 tribute to director Steven Spielberg has surfaced, a documentary entitled “Citizen Steve” — cleverly parodying the legendary “Citizen Kane” — made for the director’s 40th birthday by friends John Candy and Dan Aykroyd (who narrates).
The twenty-three minute short lovingly recreates the look and feel of “Citizen Kane,” only in lieu of Charles Foster Kane’s empire you’re seeing the “Amblin Empire.” It’s a short with tongue firmly in cheek and it’s obvious it was for created for private consumption – a scene of Amblin’s supposed “private zoo” shows dogs humping each other – but that also possesses a reverence, and love for Spielberg. If you have twenty-three minutes to spare sit down and appreciate Spielberg and his friends (a few who are no longer with us), and question just how closely entwined Spielberg and “Citizen Kane” director Orson Welles really are. [No Film School]
