Citizen Kane
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Citizen Kane is a 1941 drama film directed by Orson Welles, starring Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore. It drew a wide audience and shaped its genre.
Plot
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film directed, produced by, and starring Orson Welles and co-written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz. It was Welles's first feature film. The quasi-biographical film examines the life and legacy of Charles Foster Kane, played by Welles, a composite character based on American media barons William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, and Chicago tycoons Samuel Insull and Harold McCormick, as well as aspects of the screenwriters' own lives.
After the Broadway success of Welles's Mercury Theatre and the controversial 1938 radio broadcast "The War of the Worlds" on The Mercury Theatre on the Air, Welles was courted by Hollywood.
Production
Written by Orson Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz, the film was produced by Mercury Productions. Bernard Herrmann composed the score. Gregg Toland handled the cinematography. The film runs 119 minutes. The crew and editing refined every shot.
Reception
On a budget of $839,727, Citizen Kane grossed $23,218,000 worldwide at the box office. A critic consensus praised its screenplay and score.
Legacy
The film's influence spread across the century; its narrative and tone echo in much later cinema.
See also
References
- "The 100 Greatest Films of All Time". topfilms100. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
- Ebert, Roger. The Great Movies. Broadway Books.
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