The Film That Wouldn't Go Away

For decades, Citizen Kane topped virtually every "greatest films" list compiled by critics, filmmakers, and institutions. Its reputation occasionally invites backlash — can any film live up to that weight of expectation? — but return to the film itself and the answer becomes clear: yes. It can. Orson Welles' 1941 debut remains one of the most technically innovative, dramatically rich, and cinematically alive films ever made.

But "greatest ever" is a phrase that can obscure rather than illuminate. A more useful question: why does it matter, and what can a modern viewer actually get from watching it?

What Is Citizen Kane About?

The plot, on the surface, is deceptively simple. Media tycoon Charles Foster Kane dies alone in his vast, unfinished mansion, his last word a single utterance: "Rosebud." A journalist is tasked with investigating Kane's life through interviews with those who knew him — his former guardian, his best friend, his ex-wife, his employee — piecing together a portrait of a man who had everything and remained profoundly empty.

The film is loosely inspired by the life of William Randolph Hearst, the real-life newspaper magnate who, recognising himself in Kane, attempted to destroy the film before its release. He failed. Kane endured. Hearst is largely remembered today because of the film he tried to suppress.

The Technical Revolution

Welles was 25 years old when he made Citizen Kane. He arrived in Hollywood with no prior feature film experience but with the freedom — famously, contractually guaranteed creative control — to experiment. Working with cinematographer Gregg Toland, he developed and popularised techniques that transformed visual storytelling:

  • Deep focus photography: Every plane of the image — foreground, midground, and background — is in sharp focus simultaneously, allowing complex staging within a single shot rather than relying on cuts.
  • Low-angle shots: Cameras placed at floor level to make characters loom larger, ceilings visible in frame — something almost never done before.
  • Non-linear narrative: The story is told through fragmented, overlapping testimonies rather than chronologically, reflecting the impossibility of fully knowing another person.
  • Innovative transitions: Welles uses match cuts, audio bridges, and montage sequences to compress time with startling elegance.

The Performance at Its Centre

Welles plays Kane himself across five decades of the character's life — from brash young idealist to bloated, isolated tyrant. The performance is theatrical in the best sense: large, precise, and completely committed. His Kane is not a villain but something more interesting: a man whose gifts and wounds are inseparable, who is capable of genuine generosity and casual cruelty, often in the same scene.

Does It Hold Up for Modern Viewers?

Honestly — yes, with a caveat. Citizen Kane rewards patience. Its pleasures are not immediately kinetic; they accumulate. First-time viewers sometimes find it formally impressive but emotionally cooler than expected. This is partly because so many films have learned from it that its innovations no longer feel shocking. But watch it closely — notice the compositions, listen to the sound design, track the structure — and the craft becomes more impressive the more you understand it.

It is also, underneath the technical bravura, a genuinely moving film about loss — specifically the loss of a self that might have been, and the futility of trying to buy back what innocence you've surrendered.

How to Watch It

Citizen Kane is available on several streaming platforms and in high-definition restoration. Watch it on the largest screen available, ideally in one sitting, with minimal distraction. Read nothing about "Rosebud" before watching — the mystery, small as it is, is worth preserving.

This is not homework. It is one of the great pleasures cinema has to offer.