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Citizen Kane
Orson Welles
(1941)
114min
U Certificate
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Review
Our Score
by
David Parkinson
Acclaimed by critics and film-makers alike,
Citizen Kane
has topped
Sight and Sound's
decennial "all-time top ten" since 1962 (and was only toppled in 2012 by Hitchcock's
Vertigo
). Not bad for the feature film debut of 25-year-old Orson Welles, whose experience up to that point lay in theatre and radio (most of the actors in Kane were colleagues from his Mercury Theatre company), and who claimed his sole preparation was to watch John Ford's
Stagecoach
40 times. In fact, Welles considered a movie studio (his contract at the time was with RKO) to be the biggest train set a boy ever had. Unhindered by preconceptions, he proceeded to experiment with sound, camera angles and movement, and deep focus in a way few had even conceived of. Aided by cinematographer Gregg Toland, he brought visual drama to every shot, brilliantly disguising the picture's shoestring budget (it required a record 116 sets). In addition, Welles turned in a magnificent performance as Charles Foster Kane, the press baron whose torrid life was so similar to that of real-life newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst that the latter broke the film at the box office through negative publicity. Utterly unmissable.
Summary
After the death of an influential newspaper magnate, an inquisitive reporter begins piecing together the details of his life, discovering an epic tale of ambition and conflict - all the while trying to discover the meaning behind the millionaire's enigmatic last word. Oscar-winning drama, written, directed by and starring Orson Welles. With Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore and William Alland.
Cast & Crew
Charles Foster Kane
Orson Welles
Jedediah Leland / Man in projection room
Joseph Cotten
Susan Alexander Kane
Dorothy Comingore
Mary, Kane's mother
Agnes Moorehead
Emily Monroe Norton Kane
Ruth Warrick
Jim W Gettys
Ray Collins
Herbert Carter / Man in projection room
Erskine Sanford
Mr Bernstein
Everett Sloane
Jerry Thompson / Narrator of "News on the March"
William Alland
Raymond, head butler
Paul Stewart
Walter Parks Thatcher
George Coulouris
Matiste
Fortunio Bonanova
John, head waiter / Man in projection room
Gus Schilling
Mr Rawlston
Philip Van Zandt
Miss Bertha Anderson
Georgia Backus
Jim, Kane's father
Harry Shannon
Kane III
Sonny Bupp
Kane, aged eight
Buddy Swan
Reporter at Xanadu
Alan Ladd
Reporter at Xanadu
Arthur O'Connell
Director
Orson Welles
see more
Other Information
Language:
English
Black and white
Theatrical distributor:
BFI
Available on:
video, DVD and Blu-ray
Released on:
30 Oct 2009
Drama
Full Episode Guide
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