page_title: National Film Registry
section_title: Films
hierarchical_section_title: National Film Registry / Films
caption_attribution_description: English: Description: Low-resolution reproduction of publicity photograph for the movie en:Citizen Kane (1941), featuring star en:Orson Welles Original property rights holder: RKO Radio Pictures Source: Scan from personal collection Public domain explanation The image was distributed as a promotional photograph in the U.S. in 1941 for use by the general media, satisfying the definition of "publication." There is no evidence that it was distributed with copyright notice, as then required for copyright protection. A search of copyright renewal records for 1969 and 1970 ([1], [2], [3], [4]) reveals that no renewal was filed as would have been required to maintain copyright protection, if any, on any bound collection of material that might encompass this photograph. There is no evidence that RKO Pictures LLC, the corporate heir to the original property rights holder, claims copyright on the image.
context_page_description: The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films which are believed to be deserving of preservation. The NFPB, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008. The NFPB's mission, to which the NFR contributes, is to ensure the survival, conservation, and increased public availability of America's film heritage. The 1996 law also created the non-profit National Film Preservation Foundation which, although affiliated with the NFPB, raises money from the private sector.
context_section_description: Numbers 1–5, 7, and 10
  A serial of fourteen short films
  A serial of thirteen short films
  Remade at least 25 times; the NFR entry encompasses all versions
  Heretic, Frontier, Lamentation, and Appalachian Spring
  A series of seven short films
  A serial of twenty short films
  A series of eight short films
  Not released until 1952
  A collection of twenty-one short films
  A series of seven feature films
caption: Citizen Kane (1941) is considered by many critics and scholars (including the American Film Institute) to be the greatest film ever made.[17]
exif: {}