Citizen Kane (1941)
98%RT Audience Score: 90%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
11 wins & 13 nominations total
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.
If you’re looking for a flick that’ll make you laugh, cry, and scratch your head all at once, then Orson Welles’s masterpiece is the one for you. This movie tells the story of a big shot publisher who goes from rags to riches and back again, and it’s a rollercoaster ride of emotions from start to finish. The way the story is told is so clever and unique, you’ll be left wondering how the heck they came up with it. It’s no wonder this movie is considered a classic – it’s a real game-changer. So grab some popcorn, settle in, and get ready to be blown away by this cinematic gem.
Production Company(ies)
RKO Radio Pictures, Mercury Productions,
Distributor
RKO Radio Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Busch Gardens – S. Grove Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1941
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
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Runtime:1h 59m
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Language(s):English, Italian
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 1, 1941 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 23, 2010
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Ruth Warrick, Everett Sloane, Agnes Moorehead, Dorothy Comingore, directed by Orson Welles, written by Herman J Mankiewicz, Orson Welles, John Houseman, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Ida Belle Hicks, Marjory Adams, Whitney Bolton, Bob Fredericks, T.C Kemp, Reg Whitley, Brian Eggert, Michael Clark, Michael J Casey, Josephine O’Neill, PG, Charles Foster Kane, newspaper magnate, rise and fall, Jedediah Leland, Susan Alexander, mystery, “Rosebud”, RKO Radio Pictures, Academy (1.33:1), mono, landmark achievement, storytelling, publishing tycoon, investigation, complex man, fragments of light, elusive man, final word, fascinating portrait, staggering heights, poignant, inventive, entertaining, Orson Welles’s epic tale
Worldwide gross: $1,645,133
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $40,102,559
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,433
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 4,373,234
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $839,727
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $20,469,592
Production budget ranking: 1,356
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $11,022,875
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $8,610,091
ROI to date (est.): 27%
ROI ranking: 1,253
Joseph Cotten – Jedediah Leland, Newsreel Reporter
Ruth Warrick – Emily Norton Kane
Everett Sloane – Bernstein
Agnes Moorehead – Mrs. Mary Kane
Dorothy Comingore – Susan Alexander
Director(s)
Orson Welles
Writer(s)
Herman J. Mankiewicz, Orson Welles, John Houseman
Producer(s)
Orson Welles
Film Festivals
Berlin, Cannes
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
11 wins & 13 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (125) | Top Critics (38) | Fresh (124) | Rotten (1)
We aren’t going to quibble about the genius business. Time will take care of that and if Welles goes down in history as one well be happy to have been among those who enjoyed the results of his great talent.
March 2, 2021
Ida Belle Hicks
Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
TOP CRITIC
The sheer brilliance and audacity of Citizen Kane… make the film the most astounding cinematic achievement of the season. It ranks with Disney’s Fantasia as a milestone in motion picture technique.
March 2, 2021
Marjory Adams
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
Ordinary standards will not serve for Citizen Kane; extravagance of idea for serious ends is not common enough in the cinema to provide a yardstick.
March 2, 2021
Guardian Staff
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
[It] is my opinion that Mr. Welles has been sympathetic and kind. He reveals great respect for people, and a knowledge of their powers and talents.
March 2, 2021
Whitney Bolton
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
This first screen effort of Orson Welles is of such vast difference to other pictures, in subject material, in treatment, in technique, in cast and in performance that the best advice perhaps is, “See what you think.”
March 2, 2021
Colvin McPherson
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
I would say it is a great picture but… It is one of those things, like the Pyramids, which are impressive and definitely interesting to have seen, but one can have more fun than looking at the Pyramids.
March 2, 2021
Bob Fredericks
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
Orson Welles, who plays Kane, produces and directs, has driven to the heart of his subject with a fierce, thrusting energy that is rare and refreshing.
February 17, 2022
T.C. Kemp
Birmingham Post
A distinctly out-of-the-rut production and a great piece of cinema artistry.
February 17, 2022
Reg Whitley
Daily Mirror (UK)
Perhaps the film’s most resonant quality is that, through the film’s story and production, Welles inspires the same investigative process about himself and his picture.
February 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
“Citizen Kane” forever changed the way movies were made and interpreted. It’s still relevant and unique 80 years after its release. Is it the greatest movie ever? Maybe, maybe not. The most influential? Without a doubt, yes.
January 9, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
Michael Clark
Epoch Times
I can’t think of an American-made film that stands up to multiple viewings quite like ‘Kane’…it never feels like Welles and company are showing off, just showing what a movie can do.
December 2, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Michael J. Casey
Boulder Weekly
Welles is the most exciting thing that’s happened since sound.
June 10, 2021
Josephine O’Neill
Daily Telegraph (Australia)…
Plot
A group of reporters are trying to decipher the last word ever spoken by Charles Foster Kane, the millionaire newspaper tycoon: “Rosebud.” The film begins with a news reel detailing Kane’s life for the masses, and then from there, viewers are shown flashbacks from Kane’s life. As the reporters investigate further, the viewers see a display of a fascinating man’s rise to fame, and how he eventually fell off the top of the world.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Orson Welles wrote, directed, produced, and starred in Citizen Kane at just 24 and a half years old.
Orson-Welles.jpg
