This is film that is about to be reviwed is a hard film to review, for many reason, not the least of which is that it has been judged the greatest film ever made, by the American Film Institue.
Why is this film this good? What makes it the best ever made? There are several reasons. The story. The plot. The Camera angels. It all works. And it works very well. Orson Welles is sensational in this groudbreaking role; he never had another one come close. Some may say it was his BEST role; yes it was. Some say it was his only GOOD role, and to that I say watch Transformers: The Movie.
The story of Citizen Kane is clearly based on real life newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, a multi Millionair best know for his nationwide chain of news papers and his lavish residence, San Simion (popularily know as Heasrt Castle).
"Rosebud," we hear, and wonder just what that means. We see an old man lying in bed, clutching a snow globe. As The old man drops the globe, he utters a final word: "Rosebud." This man, is Charles Foster Kane.
Charles Foster Kane is a child who has been beaten. We know this from the black eye he has. We also know this because his mother told his father that Charles was being sent away, where "He couldn't get to him."
Charles leaves to live with another person, who lavishes him with gifts, even when Charles has finally grown up. At that time, Charles is offered a bunch of presents, but takes only one thing: a failing news paper in New york.
Charles succeeds in turning the newspapers around. He eventually makes enough money to buy more newspapers. In the end, Charles has more than enough money to keep the paper afloat for 60 years at $1,000,000 a year.
Kane even created his own San Simion, called Xanadu, in Florida. This is where he stores his mountain of treasures, worth millions upon millions. Even this, though, can't cheer him up any.
This is where things start to go downhill for Mr. Kane. Charles becomes so wrapped up in the goings on of his newspaper that his wife asks for a divorce. He starts becomming more and more eccentric untill he finally dies, alone, with no one there but his memories of a childhood that he once had. And his final thought: "Rosebud." So what was "Rosebud"? Well, it was his childhood sled. The one left to rot in the snow. He longed to have it have it back, but he never could. Eventually it was found in a box, but was quickly thrown into a fire, lost, gone, never to be found again.
It is rumored, However, that "Rosebud" was William Randolph Hearst's nickname for his lover, Marion Davies, private parts.
This sled is symbolic of the tragedy that eventually fell Kane: the sled was lost and gone, and so too is Kane. Longing for a simpler time, Kane could not get back what he so dearly wanted and died alone because of it.
Citizen Kane is a great movie for the fact that it tells a sad story that does not get better in the end. We eventually find out what "Rosebud" means but not what it meant to Kane. We never know why Kane wanted the sled; perhaps, as stated above, to get back to a simpler time, where he didn't have to worry about workers, money, pressure, deadlines, etc.
Orson Welles never won the Oscar as an actor. Citizen Kane didn't win the Best Picture award. It only won one Oscar for writing, which is a shame in itself, but it gained in popularity over the years and recently was judged the best movie of all time by the American Film Institue, and it's no wonder; it truely is a masterpice of American Cinema.
Plot: 
Charles Foster Kane was based in part on newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, and in part on Orson Welles, himself.
Visual Effects: 
Extremely excelent use of black and white cinematography. Not too many "special" effects shots anyway (The snow globe), but any and all are doen very well.
Sound:
Sound is clear, clean, crisp. Above average. Excellent for this type of film.
Character Development:
Superbly done, expertly written, nothing could be better. We truely see a change in Charles Foster Kane from that innocently little boy to newspaper magnate to an old man who dies alone with only his memories.
Atmosphere:
You get hooked from the very first word of the film (That being "Rosebud"), and you want to find out what it means... we are taken on a journey to find out what the word means, and in the end "we" find out, but they don't. Classic.
Realism:
Being based on William Randolph Hearst, we kknow most of it is true.
Warren’s Rating:
Movies it was nominated with for Best Picture:
Blossoms In the Dust, (1941); Here Comes Mr. Jordan, (1941);
Hold Back the Dawn, (1941); *How Green Was My Valley, (1941); The Little Foxes, (1941); The Maltese Falcon, (1941); One Foot in Heaven, (1941); Sergeant York, (1941); Suspicion, (1941)
9.43/10 Is the movie worth your time to watch?
23-09-03
