Orson Welles' magnificent cinematic masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (19 January 2008)

Citizen Kane (1941)
Number 1 - 1941
Number 1 - 1940s
Top 30 - All Time
'It's Terrific!'
When facing the task of writing a review about 'Citizen Kane', you are burdened with the question:
'Is This The Greatest Film Of All Time?'
Many will say yes before you finish asking the question, but In my opinion I do not think it is the number one film of all time, although it is comfortably cemented in the top 30.
'Citizen Kane' is far ahead of its time. In a period where sentimentalism, over the top acting and romantic extravaganzas dominated Hollywood, here comes a 25 year old, first time filmmaker with a bold and admirable courage to be different.
Orson Welles' first film was so good it could have been destructive. Ironically, 'Kane' was Welles' career peak and there was only one route to follow - downhill; and in fact Orson Welles' never reached the magnificence of 'Citizen Kane' again, rather like Charles Foster Kane in the film, his life spiralled towards destruction in a way like Welles' real life.
Tackling corruption, the derivatives of power and the flaws of a democratic nation, 'Citizen Kane' had some resemblances with the life and career of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. This caused controversies in 1941. Hearst used his media power to crash Welles' project, he went as far as calling Welles a communist. Some cheered others booed the masterpiece. Thankfully the film survived and managed to launch its status among critics and fans around the world as one of the greatest films ever made if not number 1.
The story of a young boy who is adopted by a rich banker and grows up becoming an obsessive newspaper tycoon, wanting to give honest news to the average person and nearly becoming President if it wasn't for an extramarital affair that governed all newspapers the next day.
The opening shots of the film are magnificent, as the camera examines an old palace, the Xanadu, the residence of ageing and frail Charles Kane Foster. We see Kane lying there, hunching over and uttering his last word 'Rosebud'...
The film is told in a series of flashbacks as a newspaper editor seeks to find the meaning of Kane's last utterance. Was it a woman he loved? An artefact he didn't buy? A meaningless word from an old fool? No, none of this; the origin of the word, which is only revealed in the last seconds of this triumphant film is that Rosebud was the name of Kane's sled when he was playing in the snow as a young boy, showing that was his only truly happy time, when he was poor and normal. As we see Kane's fortune being claimed and destroyed at the end and a man throws the sled in the fire, the camera closes-up to the sled and the word 'Rosebud' on it and then do we realise, grinning at the astonishing closure of this film.
Orson Welles' achievement and contribution to 'Citizen Kane' is immeasurable. Not only did he play Kane from his fresh twenties to his dying hours, but he directed the film, produced it and co-wrote its screenplay. Another thing that deserved praise is the cinematography of the film - one of the greatest works ever on film.
One of the greatest works ever in the world of cinema, if not the greatest and one of the most authentic, revitalising, bold attempts in the art of entertainment and storytelling.
10/10