Charles Foster Kane
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Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film directed by, produced by, and starring Orson Welles. Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz wrote the screenplay. The picture was Welles's first feature film. Citizen Kane is frequently cited as the greatest film ever made.
Citizen Kane: Directed by Orson Welles. With Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Warrick. Following the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'
- (468K)
- Drama, Mystery
- Orson Welles
- 1941-09-05
- Overview
- Production notes and credits
- Cast
- Academy Award nominations (* denotes win)
The plot of Citizen Kane centres on the rise and fall of publishing magnate Charles Foster Kane. Following Kane’s death at the start of the film, a reporter interviews those who knew Kane in an attempt to better understand his life and the meaning of “Rosebud,” his last word. Flashback episodes of Kane’s life are shown in correspondence with the interviews.
Where does Citizen Kane take place?
Based on flashbacks of discrete episodes in Kane’s life, Citizen Kane mostly takes place in three different settings: Colorado during Kane’s childhood, New York at the height of his success as a media magnate, and finally Florida as Kane nears his demise.
Who is the protagonist of Citizen Kane based on?
The protagonist of Citizen Kane is said to have been based on real-life magnate William Randolph Hearst. Hearst was an American newspaper publisher who built up the nation’s largest newspaper chain and whose methods significantly influenced the practice of American journalism. He fought the production of Citizen Kane from the start and reportedly barred mention of it in his newspapers.
Why is Citizen Kane such an important film?
•Studio: RKO Radio Pictures
•Director: Orson Welles
•Writers: Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles
•Music: Bernard Hermann
•Orson Welles (Charles Foster Kane)
•Joseph Cotten (Jedediah Leland)
•Dorothy Comingore (Susan Alexander Kane)
•Agnes Moorehead (Mary Kane)
•Ruth Warrick (Emily Kane)
•Ray Collins (James W. Gettys)
•Picture
•Director
•Lead actor (Orson Welles)
•Screenplay*
•Editing
•Cinematography (black and white)
- Lee Pfeiffer
Citizen Kane is a 1941 classic film directed by and starring Orson Welles, about the rise and fall of a newspaper magnate. It has a 99% critics rating and a 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 133 reviews and 100,000+ ratings.
- (133)
- Orson Welles
- PG
- Orson Welles
Synopsis. In a mansion in Xanadu, a vast palatial estate in Florida, the elderly Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) is on his deathbed. Holding a snow globe, he utters a word, "Rosebud", and dies; the globe slips from his hand and smashes on the floor. A newsreel obituary tells the life story of Kane, an enormously wealthy newspaper publisher.
May 24, 1998 · A classic analysis of Orson Welles' masterpiece, based on the life of William Randolph Hearst. Learn about the film's structure, themes, visual style, and historical context, and see why it is one of the miracles of cinema.
Orson Welles's debut feature is a masterpiece of sound-era filmmaking and a portrait of American megalomania. The Criterion edition includes commentaries, documentaries, interviews, and more.
