Citizen Kane

In the most dazzling debut feature in cinema history, twenty-five-year-old writer-producer-director-star Orson Welles synthesized the possibilities of sound-era filmmaking into what could be called the first truly modern movie. In telling the story of the meteoric rise and precipitous fall of a William Randolph Hearst–like newspaper magnate named Charles Foster Kane, Welles not only created the definitive portrait of American megalomania, he also unleashed a torrent of stylistic innovations—from the jigsaw-puzzle narrative structure to the stunning deep-focus camera work of Gregg Toland—that have ensured that Citizen Kane remains fresh and galvanizing for every new generation of moviegoers to encounter it.  Featuring an iconic score by Bernard Herrmann and one of the finest ensemble casts ever assembled (including Joseph Cotton, Everett Sloane, and Agnes Moorehead), Citizen Kane is a film that’s as entertaining as it is important, leading famed film critic Pauline Kael to declare it “more fun than any other great movie.” (Dir. by Orson Welles, 1941, USA, 119 mins., Not Rated)