Citizen Kane (1941)

Orson Welles as Kane

'Citizen Kane' is an American dramatic movie made in 1941, and is regarded by many critics as the greatest American film of all. It was directed and produced by Orson Welles and he also starred in it, making his movie debut at the remarkably young age of 25. Many of the actors were from Welles' own Mercury Theatre group and were also making their movie debuts, among them Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Ruth Warrick, Agnes Moorehead and Everett Sloane. The movie contains many remarkable scenes and new, technically brilliant cinematic techniques. It is an undoubted masterpiece.

It was nominated for 9 Academy Awards but won only one Oscar, for Best Writing (Original Screenplay). The film was based on the life and career of William Randolph Hearst, the famous newspaper tycoon and he did his best to prevent its release which hindered its immediate commercial success. But it was instantly and universally praised for its brilliance, sophistication and innovation and it has since justified its production costs many times over.

'Citizen Kane' stands at number one on the AFI's list of Best Movies of All Time. In 1989, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.

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A newspaper journalist Jerry Thompson (William Alland), investigates the life of powerful newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles), by interviewing those who knew him best. His paper is anxious to decipher the meaning of Kane's last word, "Rosebud". The story of his childhood, his rise to power and transformation from an idealistic journalist to a powerful, manipualative media mogul and his marriages unfolds through the reminiscences of the interviewees, but by the end, as he picks his way through the remnants of Kanes palatial home, Xanadu, Thompson is still as ignorant of the significance of Kane's dying word as when he started.

This masterpiece was written as a collaboration between Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz and it represents the early, awesome pinnacle of Welles's genius. Although only 25 when he made it, he never equalled the achievement.

The movie is first and foremost a great piece of storytelling. The narrative unfurls in a natural way with the questioning of Jerry Thompson and we are carried along with him as we get to know a cast of characters that ages throughout the film.

The movie has been justly praised for its experimental technical innovations. Greg Toland was an established cinematographer and he worked closely with Welles, introducing unconventional lighting, particularly backlighting and high-contrast lighting, similar to the low-key lighting of future film noirs and the use of 'dissolves' from one image to another. Toland also popularised the use of low-angled shots revealing ceilings in sets and also the succession of conversations with the same, aging, characters, which illustrate perfectly and very quickly the decline of the Kane marriage.