Citizen Kane 1941

type: Movie

language: English

duration: 119 min

genre: drama

theme: biographical

director: Orson Welles

Score: 8 / 10

Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film directed by, produced by and starring Orson Welles and co-written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz. It was Welles's first feature film. The quasi-biographical film examines the life and legacy of Charles Foster Kane, played by Welles, a composite character based on American media barons William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, Chicago tycoons Samuel Insull and Harold McCormick, as well as aspects of the screenwriters' own lives.

Plot

In a mansion called Xanadu, part of a vast palatial estate in Florida, the elderly Charles Foster Kane is on his deathbed. Holding a snow globe, he utters his last word, "Rosebud", and dies. A newsreel obituary tells the life story of Kane, an enormously wealthy newspaper publisher and industry magnate. Kane's death becomes sensational news around the world, and the newsreel's producer tasks reporter Jerry Thompson with discovering the meaning of "Rosebud".

Awards

Cast

More details

author	Herman J. Mankiewicz John Houseman Orson Welles
award	Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay National Board of Review Award for Best Film National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
contentLocation	Florida New York City
director	Orson Welles
editor	Robert Wise
genre	drama
keywords	1929 stock market crash alcoholic around the world attack attempted suicide belong best friend boarding house business man charles foster kane chicago colorado deathbed discover estrange force governor of new york invest life story madison square garden married mine newspaper publisher newsreel nightclub owner opera house opera singer political scandal public opinion public scandal publish retirement home run run away second wife sing slap sled snow globe spanish–american war stock market crash want xanadu yellow journalism
musicBy	Bernard Herrmann
nomination	Academy Award for Best Actor Academy Award for Best Art Direction, Black and White Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White Academy Award for Best Director Academy Award for Best Film Editing Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score Academy Award for Best Picture Academy Award for Best Sound Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay
producer	Orson Welles
productionCompany	Mercury Productions RKO Radio Pictures
publisher	RKO Radio Pictures
recordedAt	Malibu San Diego
theme	biographical films à clef narrative opera war