RKO 281

"What went on the screen was nothing compared to what went on behind the scenes."

1999 1h 24m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

🔥

92%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 102🍅92%Rotten Tomatoes★7IMDB · 6,783

DramaHistoryTV Movie

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1939, boy-wonder Orson Welles leaves New York, where he has succeeded in radio and theater, and, hired by RKO Pictures, moves to Hollywood with the purpose of making his first film.

“What went on the screen was nothing compared to what went on behind the scenes.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Liev Schreiber
Orson Welles
James Cromwell
William Randolph Hearst
Melanie Griffith
Marion Davies
John Malkovich
Herman Mankiewicz
Liam Cunningham
Gregg Toland
David Suchet
Louis B. Mayer
Fiona Shaw
Hedda Hopper
Anastasia Hille
Carole Lombard

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Benjamin Ross
Writers: John Logan, Thomas Lennon, Richard Ben Cramer
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

84 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

27 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Benjamin Ross, shot by Mike Southon. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Altman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Alex Mackie shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Liev Schreiber and James Cromwell and Melanie Griffith carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "What went on the screen was nothing compared to what went on behind the scenes.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Benjamin Ross directs. Mike Southon behind the camera. John Altman scores. Alex Mackie cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

184 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
227 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.
4Directed by Benjamin Ross, shot by Mike Southon. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by John Altman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Alex Mackie shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Liev Schreiber and James Cromwell and Melanie Griffith carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "What went on the screen was nothing compared to what went on behind the scenes.".
9IMDB entry: tt0120801 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 10 themes, including "cinema on cinema", "yellow press", "movie business", "biography".

The technical file

Cinematography: Mike Southon
Original score: John Altman
Editing: Alex Mackie
Production design: Maria Djurkovic
Makeup / hair: Roseann Samuel
VFX supervisor: Steven Begg
Sound: Mark Taylor
Stunt coordinator: Lee Sheward
Runtime: 84 min · 1h 24m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: RKO 281 (1999)
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7/10 · 6,783 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Won 3 Primetime Emmys. 15 wins & 28 nominations total

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie, or a Special

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Benjamin Ross

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Gurre2014-05-31
★ 10/10
RKO 281 is a very underrated movie I haven't seen alot of people talking about. It's based in part upon the real-life story of the behind the scenes of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, and in part of the documentary The Battle over Citizen Kane that made as a part of The American Experience. Orson Welles (Liev Schreiber) has been offered a carte blanche-contract with RKO after his legendary War of the Worlds broadcast, however he has troubles coming up with a picture, and he lacks inspiration. One night, at a party hosted by newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst (James Cromwell) he finds the inspiration. He wants to make a movie about this powerful man. He and writer Herman Mankeweizc (John Malkovich) starts writing the screenplay and Citizen Kane gets into production. When the movie is near completion, Hearst gets the information that Citizen Kane is about him (and not the most flattering portrait either) so he is determined to have the film destroyed. He blackmails the studio-bosses in Hollywood to buy the filmnegative... and burn it... Honestly, I find this movie much more interesting and BETTER than Citizen Kane itself. Although I love that movie, I find this so much better! A compelling, well-written film (with a kind of downbeat ending) that keeps your (atleast my) attention all the way through. The highlight of the film for me is when Welles is filming Kane! Great re-creation of the sets in Kane, the details are just right! The actors do a good job at portraying their characters and it's well-directed. To fully appreciate this movie, you have to watch Citizen Kane first. If you have already seen Citizen Kane, then go right ahead and watch RKO 281! Highly recommended! I give it a 10/10

Production companies