Charles Foster Kane, the media tycoon, has died, in his palatial hideaway, Xanadu. And the last word on this lonely monster’s lips? “Rosebud”. A media frenzy ensues as reporters try to discover Rosebud’s meaning. The film tells Kane’s life story in flashback, from living simply with his parents, his mother signing his guardianship over, his success and eventual decline. Some 80 years later, this film still regularly appears at the top of ‘best films ever’ lists.
Enough of the plot has been shared. You need know nothing more. But what makes this film so special? Why does it continue to have books, documentaries and even other films created in its wake? Why do film critics still spend hours in debate? Is it the stellar cast? The exceptional storytelling and plot structure? The innovative lighting of cinematographer, Gregg Toland, or the editing of Robert Wise? Maybe it’s the fact that the lead actor, director and writer are one and the same person, a 25-year-old newcomer to Hollywood, Orson Welles. Maybe it is its influence on every single film that has followed. It is generally agreed that Welles had been a master at bringing these elements together in a perfect storm of creativity. One doubt, is Welles’ claim of his cowriting credit alongside Herman J. Mankiewicz. It could be that ‘Mank’ did the bulk of the work – watch Mank (2020), one version of how the writing of Kane might have really been.
Hard to believe that John Ford’s How Green Was My Valley (1941) beat Citizen Kane to the Oscar for best picture that year. Do some research on William Randolph Hearst, an American businessman, politician and newspaper publisher of the time. He saw very clear parallels between the imperfect Kane and his own life and so did everyone else. The thinking is that Hearst influenced the film industry, the media and even the public to see Citizen Kane side-lined, missing out on the accolades it clearly deserved. Not a nice man.
Certificate: A
2 hours
BBC / Prime / Youtube
Director: Orson Welles
Cast: Orson Welles, Dorothy Comingore, Joseph Cotten
