Annual polls always rank “Citizen Kane” as the greatest movie of all time.

In a recent blog, Roger Ebert mentioned that he agrees that “Citizen Kane” is the greatest movie, but admitted to using the movie as a scapegoat when asked his favorite. He stated that the “Kane” “is arguably the most important film,” but still did not declare it his favorite.

Ebert sees more movies a year than most people will see in five, and somehow every year he manages to come out with top ten lists. How is it then that so many of us have such a hard time picking our favorite movie, when our choices are much more limited than that of Ebert.

If asked what their favorite movie is, I would assume that most people in our generation would mention newer movies (1990-2008), versus classics. Undoubtedly, most film critics, such as Roger Ebert, prefer older movies (pre-1980).

To test my theory, I decided to ask a couple of my friends what they would consider their favorite movies. A couple of the responses I received were: “Dirty Dancing,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “Stay,” “Maria Full of Grace” and “Juno.”

If this “experiment” were to be conducted scientifically with a bigger group of people, I would assume that the same results would be received. It appears as if our generation bonds with the great movies of today while overlooking many of the great classics.

So, the moral of the story is that if you haven’t seen “Citizen Kane,” you probably should. If you’re unsure whether a movie from the 1940’s is better than your favorite movie, remember WWREW (What Would Roger Ebert Watch).

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