Citizen Kane (1941)

Released: May 1, 1941
Director: Orson Welles
Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Everett Sloane, Ray Collins, George Coulouris, Agnes Moorehead, Paul Stewart, Ruth Warrick, Erskine Sanford, William Alland

Originally a box office flop, failing to recoup its production. Citizen Kane had a re-emergence in the 1950's and today it is hailed by many as the greatest movie ever made. Orson Welles was a triple threat, producing, directing, and starring in the film. It also starred a variety of rookie actors/actresses at the time.

Citizen Kane is a story about the rise and fall of Charles Foster Kane, played by Welles. Originally the son of a poor family that ran a boarding house, Charles life is changed when it was discovered that his families boarding house was sitting on one of the largest gold mines in the United States. His mother sends him to live with a wealthy banker to have him educated and protected from his abusive father. Kane receives his fortune at the age of 25 and he takes over a struggling newspaper chain and specializes in "yellow journalism" a method of blowing stories out of proportions to sell papers, soon he becomes a heavy hitter and an American icon in the media.

The film opens in the form of multiple news stories that highlight the highs and lows of Charles Foster Kane leading up to his death. On his deathbed the last words he mutters is "Rosebud", the film then takes off with a journalist trying to investigate the meaning of the word "Rosebud", the journalist speaks with friends and associates of Kane that tell the story of the man through flashbacks starting with a young optimistic Kane taking over the New York Inquirer to his last days spent in his massive unfinished palace Xanadu.

Orson Welles is fantastic as Charles Foster Kane. The way his character ages and changes throughout the film was brilliant combined with his powerful iconic voice. Like Kane's character the film has that grand sensational feeling to it that makes you wonder if Kane was a self-centered spoiled jerk, or a lonely man trying to reclaim his youth that he lost at a young age. This film has many characters but Charles Foster Kane is the center of this film, the supporting cast was good considering that most of the cast consisted of first time actors/actresses but nothing to write home about.

The film making is what made Citizen Kane. The storytelling, cinematography, the lighting, the sound...was ahead of its time from the deep focus camera work, to the story being told through flashbacks through different points of view.


Examples of deep focus used in the film.

Overall Citizen Kane was a good story with incredible cinematography, is it the greatest movie ever made? Hard to say right now, but it certainly makes a case. I found the supporting cast to be good but overshadowed by Welles, but the film is about Charles Foster Kane told through these characters.

The Verdict: 4.5