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IMDbPro

Citizen Kane

  • 19411941
  • PGPG
  • 1h 59m
IMDb RATING
8.3/10
438K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,118
104
Orson Welles, Agnes Moorehead, and Dorothy Comingore in Citizen Kane (1941)
Watch the trailer for the Orson Welles classic Citizen Kane.
Play trailer3:46
4 Videos
99+ Photos
DramaMystery
Following the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'Following the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'Following the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'
IMDb RATING
8.3/10
438K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,118
104
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Orson Welles
    • Writers
      • Herman J. Mankiewicz(original screen play)
      • Orson Welles(original screen play)
      • John Houseman(contributing writer)
    • Stars
      • Orson Welles
      • Joseph Cotten
      • Dorothy Comingore
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Orson Welles
    • Writers
      • Herman J. Mankiewicz(original screen play)
      • Orson Welles(original screen play)
      • John Houseman(contributing writer)
    • Stars
      • Orson Welles
      • Joseph Cotten
      • Dorothy Comingore
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 1.6KUser reviews
    • 201Critic reviews
    • 100Metascore
    Top rated movie #94
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 11 wins & 13 nominations total

    Videos4

    Citizen Kane: Trailer
    Trailer 3:46
    Citizen Kane: Trailer
    'Mank' Disputes Who Wrote 'Citizen Kane'
    Clip 3:00
    'Mank' Disputes Who Wrote 'Citizen Kane'
    6 Movie & TV Podcasts When You Need a Binge Break
    Clip 4:16
    6 Movie & TV Podcasts When You Need a Binge Break
    John Landis on Citizen Kane
    Featurette 4:41
    John Landis on Citizen Kane

    Photos175

    Orson Welles in Citizen Kane (1941)
    Orson Welles and Dorothy Comingore in Citizen Kane (1941)
    Agnes Moorehead, George Coulouris, Harry Shannon, and Buddy Swan in Citizen Kane (1941)
    Orson Welles in Citizen Kane (1941)
    Orson Welles in Citizen Kane (1941)
    Orson Welles, Baudelio Alva, Sonny Bupp, Mitchell Ingraham, Philip Morris, Francis Sayles, Ruth Warrick, Gene Chervow, James Brought, and T. Lockwood Arbright in Citizen Kane (1941)
    Orson Welles and Ruth Warrick in Citizen Kane (1941)
    Orson Welles in Citizen Kane (1941)
    Orson Welles and Dorothy Comingore in Citizen Kane (1941)
    Orson Welles and Dorothy Comingore in Citizen Kane (1941)
    Orson Welles in Citizen Kane (1941)
    Orson Welles, Loretta Agar, Irene Crosby, Margaret Davis, Juanita Fields, Pauline Easterday, and Frances Deets in Citizen Kane (1941)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Orson Welles
    Orson Welles
    • Kane
    Joseph Cotten
    Joseph Cotten
    • Jedediah Leland…
    Dorothy Comingore
    Dorothy Comingore
    • Susan Alexander Kane
    Agnes Moorehead
    Agnes Moorehead
    • Mary Kane
    Ruth Warrick
    Ruth Warrick
    • Emily Monroe Norton Kane
    Ray Collins
    Ray Collins
    • James W. Gettys
    Erskine Sanford
    Erskine Sanford
    • Herbert Carter…
    Everett Sloane
    Everett Sloane
    • Mr. Bernstein
    William Alland
    William Alland
    • Jerry Thompson
    Paul Stewart
    Paul Stewart
    • Raymond
    George Coulouris
    George Coulouris
    • Walter Parks Thatcher
    Fortunio Bonanova
    Fortunio Bonanova
    • Matiste
    Gus Schilling
    Gus Schilling
    • The Headwaiter…
    Philip Van Zandt
    Philip Van Zandt
    • Mr. Rawlston
    Georgia Backus
    Georgia Backus
    • Miss Anderson
    Harry Shannon
    Harry Shannon
    • Kane's Father
    Sonny Bupp
    Sonny Bupp
    • Kane III
    Buddy Swan
    • Kane - Age Eight
    • Director
      • Orson Welles
    • Writers
      • Herman J. Mankiewicz(original screen play)
      • Orson Welles(original screen play)
      • John Houseman(contributing writer) (uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Despite all the publicity, the film was a box-office flop and was quickly consigned to the RKO vaults. At 1941's Academy Awards the film was booed every time one of its nine nominations was announced. It was only re-released to the public in the mid-'50s.
    • Goofs
      During the picnic scene towards the end, Welles had to shoot against a back-projection because a location shoot was too costly and time-consuming. The stock footage used for the exterior was taken from King Kong (1933), hence on closer inspection the four birds that fly by are in fact very definite pterodactyls. RKO told Welles to take the pterodactyls out of the shot, but he liked them, and decided to keep them.
    • Quotes

      Mr. Bernstein: Old age. It's the only disease, Mr. Thompson, that you don't look forward to being cured of.

    • Crazy credits
      In a very rare move the director's credit is shown on the same card as the cinematographer's. This was Orson Welles's personal decision to show his thanks to cinematographer Gregg Toland for his enormous contributions to the film, meaning equal rights.
    • Alternate versions
      The Italian-language version cut an overwhelming number of scenes, leading to "complete" versions of the film to be circa half of the time in English and only the remaining half in Italian.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Projectionist (1970)
    • Soundtracks
      It Can't Be Love
      (uncredited)

      Written by Charlie Barnet and Haven Johnson

      Arranged by The King Cole Trio

      Performed by Raymond Tate, Buddy Collette, Buddy Banks, CeePee Johnson, and Alton Redd

    User reviews1.6K

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    All That Ballyhoo!
    On the Criterion Collection DVD of Orson Welles' classic "Citizen Kane" there is an original theatrical trailer where Welles cleverly advertises the film by introducing us to the cast including the chorus girls, whom he refers to as some nice ballyhoo. That pretty much sums up my opinion of the often over analyzed film that always shows up at the top of the list of greatest films ever made. Even though this was the first time I sat down to watch the film as a whole, I knew everything about it from studying it in film class and from the countless number of essays, homages, and parodies that have come down the pike over the years. It seems impossible now to judge the film against a blank slate, but with great ballyhoo comes great scrutiny.

    Released in 1941 by RKO as a Mercury Theater Production, "Citizen Kane" is the tale of an influential and shockingly wealthy newspaper tycoon (Welles) inspired by the life of William Randolph Hearst. The story follows the investigation into the origins of "Rosebud"-the mysterious word Kane utters on his deathbed. Following newsreel footage announcing Kane's death, we are then thrust into a series of flashbacks through interviews with various people who knew Kane that reveal the nature of his character.

    From a technical standpoint, Welles' film is as innovative and engrossing today as it was yesterday. Every single piece of cinematic trickery, every dissolve, every long tracking shot, every seamless edit, every play with chronology, every special effect is perfect. Welles was audacious and inventive with his art, and it is for these technical aspects that "Citizen Kane" will always stand the test of time.

    However, the story of "Citizen Kane" remains cold and distant. I didn't instantly connect with the characters and the plot the way I did with other classics from the period like "Casablanca" or "The Third Man" or even more recently, "There Will Be Blood." Often, the supporting players over-act, and the flashbacks are tedious (especially the one detailing Kane's second marriage) or emotionless (like the scene showing Kane's snow covered childhood). There's a certain smug arrogance to the whole production that makes it seem like perhaps Welles was secretly making a comedy. It leaves one wondering how it would've come across had Welles actually been allowed to do a straight up biopic of Hearst.

    Is it any wonder that so many critics today hail this as THE all time great? Much of today's cinema is geared towards style and technique over substance, and way back in 1941, Welles was the first to author this very modern brand of cinema where the art is not in the story but how it is told and shown to the audience. His "Citizen Kane" is technically rich, layered, and enthralling but narratively vapid. Did I ever really care about Kane or Rosebud? No, but it was fascinating to watch. It's some very nice ballyhoo indeed.
    helpful•65
    26
    • WriterDave
    • May 5, 2008

    FAQ6

    • What is 'Citizen Kane' about?
    • Is 'Citizen Kane' based on a book?
    • Is this film based on a true story?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 5, 1941 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official Facebook
    • Languages
      • English
      • Italian
    • Also known as
      • American
    • Filming locations
      • Busch Gardens - S. Grove Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • RKO Radio Pictures
      • Mercury Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $839,727 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,627,530
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,645,133
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 59 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Related news

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