"Rosebud."

Rating: 9/10 (14 September 2015)

Without subtitles I thought that Charles Foster Kane had said "frostbite". In the opening minute I almost thought I was watching a horror movie, the way the cinematographer went from one scene to another, aided by the fact that Xanadu looked haunted.
The trivia for "Citizen Kane" was some of the most interesting trivia I've ever read. Orson Welles wrote and acted the character of Charles Foster Kane superbly well, and I suppose also did well directing himself. If this movie does anything, it is displaying yellow journalism and corrupted almost-politicians. Only Charles Foster Kane would think it "fun" to run a newspaper. At times Kane appears to be the man he wants people to think he is: a loving, kind, honest man, who would fit better than any other eligible man as the governor. Thanks to his friends, we brutally discover the true man underneath the layer of fake skin: a selfish, heartless man who only has one true goal in life: success, which he believes will also bring him happiness. But success cannot buy happiness, which he seemingly doesn't find out until his final dying moments.
This movie was definitely not one of my "Great Movies", as it was Ebert's. As interesting as this movie was, the thing that nagged at my mind the most was the fact that, if he died when he was alone, how does anyone know what his final words were? Somehow, amazingly, this thought apparently never did occur to Welles or any of the other cast, crew, or producers until after it was released, whereas it occurred to me within ten minutes, as I'm sure it did to many other viewers. Did Ebert himself miss this fact, even after hundreds of viewings, or somehow shrug it off, even after doing an audio commentary on it? Perhaps I can see how he shrugged it off, considering I have done the same on other movies I've enjoyed, though the problems were less obvious and less important to the plot.
This movie seems almost documentary-style, first giving us a summary of his life, then going back and addressing each plot point in more detail. The movie's strong points were the directing, characterization, and cinematography, and Welles' acting, although the other actors were quite disappointing. The movie was interesting and fun to watch, and the mystery kept us intrigued, although it was not quite what I was expecting. Charles Foster Kane was a very entertainingly arrogant character, and quite an incredible debut for Orson Welles. The end reveal is fascinating and meaningful in itself.
My Official Score: 89.5/100