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Citizen Kane Overview:

Citizen Kane (1941) was a Drama - Mystery Film directed by Orson Welles and produced by Orson Welles and George Schaefer.

SYNOPSIS

Welles's greatest achievement, and a landmark of cinema history. The narrative charts the rise to power of a newspaper publisher whose wealth and power ultimately leave him alone in his castlelike refuge. Every aspect of the production marked an advance in film language: the deep-focus, deeply shadowed cinematography; the discontinuous narrative (in a screenplay by Herman Mankiewicz); the innovative use of sound and score; the ensemble acting forged in the fires of Welles's Mercury Theater. Essential viewing. The laserdisc contains a second audio track with commentary by a noted film historian, and the 50th anniversary release includes the restored original movie plus the 30-minute documentary Reflections on Citizen Kane, featuring the recollections of the actors and editors along with commentary by other filmmakers.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Citizen Kane was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1989.

Academy Awards 1941 --- Ceremony Number 14 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best ActorOrson WellesNominated
Best Art DirectionArt Direction: Perry Ferguson, Van Nest Polglase; Interior Decoration: Al Fields, Darrell SilveraNominated
Best CinematographyGregg TolandNominated
Best DirectorOrson WellesNominated
Best Film EditingRobert WiseNominated
Best PictureMercuryNominated
Best WritingHerman J. Mankiewicz, Orson WellesWon
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Citizen Kane BlogHub Articles:

Book Review--Young Orson: The Years of Luck and Genius on the Path to Citizen Kane

By KC on Mar 8, 2017 From Classic Movies

Young Orson: The Years of Luck and Genius on the Path to Citizen Kane Patrick McGilligan Harper, 2015 The universally acclaimed Citizen Kane (1941) alone would have assured Orson Welles a solid place in entertainment history. That the 25 years leading up to that unique cinematic achievement were fi... Read full article

The 75th Anniversary Of CITIZEN KANE

By Dan Day Jr. on May 3, 2016 From The Hitless Wonder Movie Blog

This week marks the 75th anniversary of the theatrical premier of CITIZEN KANE. I don't think I need to tell you that this is one of the most renowned and famous films of all time. Orson Welles' magnum opus remains a stunning cinematic achievement, and the title of the film itself has become a gener... Read full article

Review: Citizen Kane (1941)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Mar 15, 2016 From 4 Star Films

“That’s all he ever wanted out of life… was love. That’s the tragedy of Charles Foster Kane. You see, he just didn’t have any to give.” – Jedediah Leyland It might seem rather trite to attempt to write anything on Citizen Kane, but as someone who can admitte... Read full article

Citizen Kane (1941) – Updated

By 4 Star Film Fan on Mar 15, 2016 From 4 Star Films

“That’s all he ever wanted out of life… was love. That’s the tragedy of Charles Foster Kane. You see, he just didn’t have any to give.” – Jedediah Leyland It might seem rather trite to attempt to write anything on Citizen Kane, but as someone who can admitte... Read full article

Review: Citizen Kane (1941)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Mar 15, 2016 From 4 Star Films

“That’s all he ever wanted out of life… was love. That’s the tragedy of Charles Foster Kane. You see, he just didn’t have any to give.” – Jedediah Leyland It might seem rather trite to attempt to write anything on Citizen Kane, but as someone who can admitte... Read full article

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Citizen Kane Quotes:

Reporter: [at beginning of news reel on Charles Foster Kane's death] In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure-dome decree.
Female reporter: If you could've found out what Rosebud meant, I bet that would've explained everything.
Thompson: No, I don't think so; no. Mr. Kane was a man who got everything he wanted and then lost it. Maybe Rosebud was something he couldn't get, or something he lost. Anyway, it wouldn't have explained anything... I don't think any word can explain a man's life. No, I guess Rosebud is just a... piece in a jigsaw puzzle... a missing piece.
[Quoting from Kane's letter]
Walter Parks Thatcher: I think it would be fun to run a newspaper.
Matiste: [to Susan] Some people can sing, some people cannot. Impossible! Impossible!
Susan: Forty-nine thousand acres of nothing but scenery and statues. I'm lonesome.
See More Quotes from Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane Facts
To keep studio execs off his back, Orson Welles claimed the cast and crew were "in rehearsal" during the first few days of shooting, when in fact they were actually shooting the film. It took a number of days before the studio caught on.
In 1971, shortly after Pauline Kael's infamous "Raising Kane" essay first appeared in the New Yorker, Esquire printed the "Kane Mutiny", an essay apparently by Peter Bogdanovich that disputed most of Kael's claims. However, the essay was actually written by Orson Welles.
The credited cast was entirely from the Mercury Theatre troupe, which Orson Welles founded when he was 21 years old. The Mercury Theatre did radio dramatizations of such works as "Les Miserables", "A Tale of Two Cities", "Treasure Island", "The 39 Steps", "Abraham Lincoln", "The Count of Monte Cristo' and, most famously, "The War of the Worlds".
When Kane's mother, father and Thatcher walk from the living room into the kitchen, they sit down at a table. For a second, you can see Thatcher's hat jiggle a few inches and then be still again. This is mainly because the camera had to move through the table to do the shot. When the camera went into the kitchen, the table split in two, and then reassembled itself just in time for Agnes Moorehead to sit down in the chair.
The scene where Kane destroys Susan's room after she's left him was done on the first take. Director/star Orson Welles' hands were bleeding, and he is quoted as saying, "I really felt it."
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