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Movies / On DVD / Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane

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Citizen Kane (1941)

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Reviews Counted: 46

Fresh: 46

Rotten:0

Average Rating: 9.2/10

Consensus: Orson Welles's epic tale of a publishing tycoon's rise and fall is entertaining, poignant, and inventive in its storytelling, earning its reputation as a landmark achievement in film.

Runtime: 2 hrs 24 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: CITIZEN KANE is Orson Welles's greatest achievement--and a landmark of cinema history. The story charts the rise and fall of a newspaper publisher whose wealth and power ultimately isolates him in... CITIZEN KANE is Orson Welles's greatest achievement--and a landmark of cinema history. The story charts the rise and fall of a newspaper publisher whose wealth and power ultimately isolates him in his castle-like refuge. The film's protagonist, Charles Foster Kane, was based on a composite of Howard Hughes and William Randolph Hearst--so much so that Hearst tried to have the film suppressed. Every aspect of the production marked an advance in film language: the deep focus and deeply shadowed cinematography (from Gregg Toland); the discontinuous narrative, relying heavily on flashbacks and newsreel footage (propelled by a script largely written by Herman L. Mankiewicz); the innovative use of sound and score (sound by Bailey Fesler and James G. Stewart, music composed and conducted by Bernard Herrmann); and the ensemble acting forged in the fires of Welles's Mercury Theatre (featuring the film debuts of, among others, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane, and Agnes Moorehead). Every moment of the film, every shot, has been choreographed to perfection. The film is essential viewing, quite possibly the greatest film ever made and, along with THE BIRTH OF A NATION, certainly the most influential. [More]

Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead, Everett Sloane

Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead, Everett Sloane, Dorothy Comingore, Ruth Warrick, Ray Collins, Erskine Sanford, William Alland, Paul Stewart, George Coulouris, Fortunio Bonanova, Gus Schilling, Georgia Backus, Harry Shannon, Edmund Cobb, Gino Corrado, Herbert Corthell, Louise Currie, Edith Evanson, Milton Kibbee, Alan Ladd, Arthur O'Connell, Benny Rubin, Walter Sande, Charles Bennett

Director: Orson Welles

Director: Orson Welles
Screenwriter: Orson Welles, Herman J. Mankiewicz
Producer: Orson Welles
Composer: Bernard Herrmann

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Nov 19, 2002

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Citizen Kane

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Citizen Kane is the biggest cinematic landmark since pictures first started moving.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
04/21/09
Total Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It is a work of art created by grown people for grown people.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
04/21/09
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Look at it from an entertainment standpoint. What you'll find is that it's a very entertaining, sometimes very funny and always extremely playful film.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
03/18/09
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

The amazing depth of story and richness of composition make Citizen Kane a must-see for anyone who considers themselves a lover of films.

Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | comment 3 Comments
07/07/07
Wesley Lovell
Oscar Guy

It remains a gloriously entertaining classic.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/06/07
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Welles has found the screen as effective for his unique showmanship as radio and the theatre.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/06/07
John C. Flinn Sr.
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It is still the best place I know of to start thinking about Welles -- or for that matter about movies in general.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
04/06/07
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

With its spirit of visual and narrative innovation, and Welles's precocious, towering central performance, Citizen Kane almost lives up to its own reputation as the best of all time.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
04/06/07
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is the inherent paradox of Welles' film: that its ending should be so equivocal, providing a satisfying resolution that simultaneously scoffs at such over-simplification.

Full Review Source: Not Coming to a Theater Near You | comment Comment
03/09/06
Leo Goldsmith
Not Coming to a Theater Near You

A film that gets better with each renewed acquaintance.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Citizen Kane is no relic. Pop in the DVD and you'll find what you least expect - a really cool flick.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
06/03/05
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

The most auspicious debut film ever for a director.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
05/04/05
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Welles not only inspired the bright young men with whom he collaborated, he shamed the Hollywood hacks into a realization of just how deeply they had betrayed their talent.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
04/25/05
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

A cinematic perfect storm of technique and sophistication, widely hailed as the apotheosis of all the innovations and advancements of the sound era.

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
05/31/04
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide

It is, as a critical benchmark, unavoidable.

Full Review Source: Not Coming to a Theater Near You | comment Comment
10/15/03
Rumsey Taylor
Not Coming to a Theater Near You

This Welles wunderkind classic deserves to be experienced on the big screen.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
10/01/03
Austin Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
06/26/03
Edward Havens
FilmJerk.com

Citizen Kane is far and away the most surprising and cinematically exciting motion picture to be seen here in many a moon. As a matter of fact, it comes close to being the most sensational film ever made in Hollywood.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
02/18/03
Cory Cheney
Urban Tulsa Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
01/27/03
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Latest News for Citizen Kane

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