You Haven't Seen WHAT?!

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Which is exactly my point. I can list the technical whizz-bangs of Pearl Harbor, it remains a crappy movie despite them. Citizen Kane's technical achievments aren't what make it a classic. They're what made it noteable at the time (just as the special effects are what made Pearl Harbor noteable at the time), but it's the creative qualities that has made it last.

Maybe it's the creative use of the technical achievments that makes it a classic?
There's also the huge story about how Hearst tried to crush Welles and the film for portraying his wife negatively. I'm sure that added some appeal to the film then and now.