Citizen Kane (1941)

Famously sitting at the top of the Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time poll from 1962 to 2002, Orson Welles’s debut, about newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane, remains an enduring classic.

The 26-year-old Orson Welles, already renowned for his work in radio and theatre, used the unprecedented artistic license offered to him by RKO to create a fictionalised portrait of one of America’s most powerful men – press baron William Randolph Hearst. Charting the rise of Charles Foster Kane (played by Welles himself) – who decides to start a newspaper with his inherited fortune – Welles’ film is a classic story of the corrupting effects of power.

The use of deep-focus photography (keeping both foreground and background in focus) and abstracted camera angles, the non-chronological narrative structure and overlapping dialogue, were just some of the myriad formal innovations that Welles brought together for his groundbreaking debut. Such novelty and controversy proved a curse for Welles, whose career never enjoyed such indulgence again.

“Citizen Kane remains the ultimate commentary on American culture since the early 20th century. It conveys America’s inherent polarities (individualism vs collective impulses; libertarianism vs puritanism; innocence vs corruption; the underdog mentality to rebel against oppression vs the impulse to rule over the masses through duping strategies) via a deft synergy of form and content. It has never been more rewarding to screen and talk about this film than in our current political moment.” Roy Grundmann

“The former champion still feels like a grand summation of film’s early development as an artform and a glimpse of the future, too. At the same time, it’s a hugely entertaining portrait of the media narcissism and demagoguery that underscore American politics.” Scott Tobias

“It still amazes for its formal bravado, a barrage of cinematographic strategies which retain their innovative resonances. The film’s reputation as representing the apogee of an ossified ‘canon’ of outstanding films should not minimise its qualities – it deserves to be so recognised. It combines the restless energy of its subject with formal experimentation which demonstrates the artistry of filmmaking as a collaborative enterprise when new technical approaches were being explored.” Sarah Street

“Sadly, it’s fashionable now to chip away at its greatness. This temptation should be resisted. The audacious American masterpiece of the 20th century, not only for its cinematic innovations and storytelling vigour, but for how accurately it dissects the ‘American character’.” Eddie Muller

“What else is there to say about Kane? It will always be remembered for novelty, for vision, for the sheer audacity of its existence.” Oris Aigbokhaevbolo

“The ultimate in movie baroque. Welles’s film is a twisted pearl – glorious, florid, overweening – about crazed ambition and the virtues and innocences it crushes in its wake.” Nigel Andrews

“A film that amply rewards repeated viewings, revealing new depths, new nuanced details, new mysteries. There is no greatest film, but if there were, for me this would surely be the strongest contender.” Geoff Andrew

“What, I’m going to leave this off, so I can look more like a wild individualist? A brilliant cinematic mind jumps into the medium, determined to see what he can make it do. It may not invent anything but it packs in a ton of radical creativity and unconventionality.” David Cairns

1941 USA
Directed by
Orson Welles
Produced by
Orson Welles
Written by
Herman J. Mankiewicz, Orson Welles
Featuring
Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead
Running time
119 minutes

Ranked in The Greatest Films of All Time poll

Sight and Sound

Who voted for Citizen Kane

Critics

Raphael Abraham
UK
Panos Achtsioglou
Greece
Mark Adams
UK
Oris Aigbokhaevbolo
Nigeria
Saleem Albeik
Palestine/France
Rommy Albers
Netherlands
Thomas Allenbach
Switzerland
Tunico Amâncio
Brazil
Dudley Andrew
USA
Geoff Andrew
UK
Nigel Andrews
UK
Javier Angulo
Spain
Alberto Anile
Italy
João Antunes
Portugal
Ali Arikan
Turkey
Matthew Asprey Gear
UK
Michael Atkinson
USA
Abbas Baharloo
Iran
Karan Bali
India
Vasco Baptista Marques
Portugal
Luciano Barisone
Switzerland/Italy
Ruth Barton
Ireland
Philip Berk
USA
Ranjita Biswas
India
Marten Blomkvist
Sweden
Guido Bonsaver
Italy/UK
Richard Brody
USA
Serge Bromberg
France
Gian Piero Brunetta
Italy
Ed Buscombe
UK
David Cairns
UK
Nae Caranfil
Romania
Noël Carroll
USA
Karen Chan
Singapore
Didi Cheeka
Nigeria
Peggy Chiao
Taiwan/China
Anupama Chopra
India
Renata Clark
Czech Republic
Rich Cline
UK
Jesse Cumming
Canada
James Curtis
USA
Ernesto Diezmartínez
Mexico
Wheeler Winston Dixon
USA
Thomas Doherty
USA
Nenad Dukić
Serbia
Louise Dumas
France
Rachel Dwyer
UK
Klaus Eder
Germany
Mirasol Enriquez
USA
Kate Erbland
USA
Angie Errigo
USA/UK
Joseph Fahim
Egypt
Mark Feeney
USA
Guillermo Franco
Argentina
Mihai Fulger
Romania
Ka Ming Fung
Hong Kong
Geoffrey Gardner
Australia
Luke Gibbons
Ireland
Adam Gonet
UK
Jamie Graham
UK
Roy Grundmann
USA
Roman Gutek
Poland
Rahul Hamid
US
Fahmidul Haq
Bangladesh/USA
Scott Jordan Harris
UK
Nick Hasted
UK
Odie Henderson
USA
Jan-Christopher Horak
USA
Philip Horne
UK
Nachman Ingber
Israel
Harlan Jacobson
USA
Caryn James
USA
Thierry Jobin
Switzerland
Trevor Johnston
UK
Stephen Jones
UK
François Jost
France
Goran Jovanović
Serbia
Richard Koszarski
USA
Nino Kovačić
Croatia
Peter Kuplowsky
Canada
Amir Labaki
Brazil
Mark Le Fanu
UK
Andy Lea
UK
Jean-Marc Leveratto
France
Matthew Leyland
UK
Xun Li
China
Tara Lomax
Australia
Mike Maggiore
USA
Antonio Mariotti
Switzerland
Mela Marquez
Bolivia
Emanuela Martini
Italy
Andro Martinovic
Montenegro
Nicola Marzano
Italy
Mike Mashon
USA
Mia Mask
USA
Carlos Alberto Mattos
Brazil
Matt Maytum
UK
Patrick McGilligan
USA
Manus McManus
Ireland
Tom McSorley
Canada
Roy Menarini
Italy
Vishal Menon
India
Paolo Mereghetti
Italy
Daniela Michel
Mexico
Khalid Mohamed
India
Andrew Mohsen
Egypt
Raya Morag
Israel
Eddie Muller
USA
Clodualdo ("Doy") del Mundo
Philippines
Emily Murray
UK
Mark Naglazas
Australia
James Naremore
USA
Dominique Nasta
Belgium
Kim Newman
UK
Hubert Niogret
France
Jaanus Noormets
Estonia
John Nugent
UK
David Parkinson
UK
Miguel Pendás
USA
Daniela Persico
Italy
Muszatics Péter
Hungary
Alberto Pezzotta
Italy
Michael Phillips
USA
Dana Polan
USA
Edward Porter
UK
Charles Ramírez Berg
USA
Esteve Riambau Möller
Spain
Katie Rife
USA
Andy Rotman
USA
Mohammed Rouda
UK
Baptiste Roux
France
Philippe Rouyer
France
Tom Ryan
Australia
Pablo O. Scholz
Argentina
Paulo Henrique Silva
Brazil
Farran Smith Nehme
USA
Margaret Smith
Adam Solomons
UK
Fernanda Solórzano
Mexico
Michael Sragow
USA
Janet Staiger
USA
Christina Stojanova
Bulgaria/Canada
Marko Stojiljković
Serbia/Croatia/Slovenia
Sarah Street
UK
Eduardo Stupía
Argentina
Catherine A. Surowiec
UK
Michelle Swope
USA
David Thomson
UK/USA
Scott Tobias
USA
Yann Tobin aka N.T.BINH
France
Kenneth Turan
USA
Daniela Turco
Italy
Maria Ulfsak-Šeripova
Estonia
Susan Vahabzadeh
Germany
Miguel Valverde
Portugal
Susana Viegas
Portugal
Jonathan Walley
USA
Elizabeth Weitzman
USA
Norm Wilner
Canada
Willi Winkler
Germany
Hady Zaccak
Lebanon
Ab Zagt
Netherlands
Ramin Zahed
USA

Directors

Colm Bairéad
Ireland
Steve Barron
United Kingdom
Mahalia Belo
UK
Faouzi Bensaïdi
Morocco
Bruce Beresford
Australia
Sanjay Leela Bhansali
India
Gan Bi
China
Kenneth Branagh
UK
Anthony Chen
Singapore
Vidhu Vinod Chopra
India
Roger Corman
Alex Cox
US
Joe Dante
USA
Atom Egoyan
Canada
Ivan Gaal
Australia/Hungary
Daniel Graham
UK
James Gray
Peter Greenaway
UK
Jack Hazan
UK
Michel Hazanavicius
France
Don Hertzfeldt
USA
Walter Hill
USA
Neil Jordan
Ireland
Richard Kelly
USA
Richard Linklater
USA
Milcho Manchevski
Macedonia
Michael Mann
USA
Carlos Marqués-Marcet
Spain
Martin Mcdonagh
Ireland
Adam McKay
USA
Marcos Mereles
UK
Shahram Mokri
Iran
Amir Naderi
Iran/USA
Călin Peter Netzer
Sir Horace Ové
UK
Frank Oz
USA
John Paizs
Canada
Babak Payami
Iran/Canada
Alexander Payne
USA
Sally Potter
Mani Ratnam
India
Raymond Red
Philippines
Seungwan Ryoo
South Korea
Michael Schultz
Martin Scorsese
Subrata Sen
India
Goran Stolevski
Australia
Oliver Stone
USA
Bing Wang
China
Ti West
USA
Wash Westmoreland
USA
Theodore Witcher
USA

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