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Inside his unfinished [[Big Fancy House|palatial mansion]], media mogul Charles Foster Kane lies [[Dying Alone|dying, alone,]] having lived in seclusion from the world for many years. [[Famous Last Words|With his final breath]], he utters the word "Rosebud!". The movie unfolds in flashback as [[Intrepid Reporter]] Jerry Thompson tries to unravel the significance of Kane's dying declaration through interviewing those who knew him. However, no one he talks to knows just who or what Rosebud was, the closest answer he gets is from Kane's butler who concludes he was just saying a nonsense word. Thompson never does solve the mystery, though [[It Was His Sled|the answer]] is shown to the audience in the final scene.
[[An Aesop|The conclusion?]] It is indeed [[Lonely
A classic film from 1941 and the most famous work of [[Orson Welles]]. It's considered by many critics to be the Greatest Film Ever Made or at least the first great "modern" film, but [[Mainstream Obscurity|most people only know it through]] [[Popcultural Osmosis]]. It's a popular subject of [[The Parody]] even though many people [[The Weird Al Effect|no longer know the original.]] One would never guess it was a [[Box Office Bomb|Box Office Flop]].
Due to it being hyped as the [[It's the Best Whatever Ever!|Greatest Film Ever Made]], some find it to be [[Hype Backlash|a bit overrated]] when they do see it. Others who are reluctant to watch because of [[Hype Aversion]] may find at least some of this film [[Narm|a hoot]]. But hey, judge not: most have probably never seen the impressive deconstruction by [[Roger Ebert]], in his Special Edition DVD commentary, that attempts to explain some of the subtleties of why it has its particular rank.
Aside from its famous ending, ''Kane'' is best remembered for pissing off William Randolph Hearst, who thought that the title character resembled him a little ''too'' much -- or perhaps he was angry that Welles's portrayal of Kane's mistress had destroyed the career and reputation of Marion Davies, Hearst's real life mistress. (In reality, Davies was a superb comedienne and a savvy businesswoman who had actually ''saved'' Hearst's publishing empire by giving him $1 million after he lost everything - and that was money she'd earned on the screen.) Welles denied that Kane was based on Hearst or any other specific individual, and later expressed regret that the character of Kane's mistress (which was actually based on the wives of Samuel Insull and Harold Fowler McCormick) was assumed by most moviegoers to be an [[Expy]] of Davies. No matter the reason, though, Hearst used his influence to kill any chance the film (and even some later Welles-directed films) had for commercial success.
Due to [[Small Reference Pools]], ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently used as a shorthand for "really great movie", especially by film critics. For example, a movie review might read "''Bad Movie'' is ''Citizen Kane'' compared to ''Awful Movie''." ''[[The Wicker Man]]''
{{tropenamer}}
* [[
* [[Trope Codifier]] and [[Family Guy|indirect]] [[Trope Namer]] for [[It Was His Sled]].▼
* [[Pop Cultural Osmosis Failure]]: ''Almost'' the [[Trope Namer]] (the original title was going to be [[It Was His Sled|Was What His Sled]], and [[What Was Whose Sled]] redirects to [[Pop Cultural Osmosis Failure]]). When many films are said to be "the Citizen Kane of horror/comedy/action" or someone says "Bad Movie is Citizen Kane compared to Worse Movie", folks get the idea that ''Citizen Kane'' is a great movie. Many people stop there.▼
▲[[Trope Codifier]] and [[Family Guy|indirect]] [[Trope Namer]] for [[It Was His Sled]].
{{tropelist}}
* [[Academy Award]]: Famous for the awards it lost to ''[[How Green Was My Valley]]'' and others, but it did win Best Original Screenplay, shared by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Welles.
* [[Achievements in Ignorance]]: Many of the innovative visuals and special effects in this film are the result of [[Orson Welles]] simply refusing to believe that certain things couldn't be done.
* [[Age Cut]]: "Merry Christmas" [cut forward about 15 years] "and a Happy New Year".
* [[Ambiguously Gay]]: Leland the "Broadway critic" is coded as gay (couldn't be stated outright under the Hays Code) and was possibly infatuated with Kane in his early years.
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* [[And Starring]]: The final image of the credits, after all the secondary characters have had clips shown of them with their actors' names, is a list of the bit part actors. Then at the bottom it says "[[Orson Welles]] as Kane".
* [[Anti-Hero]]: Charles Foster Kane, obviously. He turns from an idealistic muckraker to a mogul whose life is slowly spiraling out of control.
* [[Aside Glance]]:
{{quote|
* [[Badass Boast]]: "I'm Charles Foster Kane! I'm not some cheap politician!"
* [[Betty and Veronica]]: Kane's wives, Emily and Susan, respectively
* [[Big Fancy House]]: Xanadu.
* [[Blunt Yes]]:
{{quote|
'''Bernstein:''' Yes. If you thought I'd answer you any differently than what Mr. Kane tells you... }}
* [[Book Ends]]: The same shot of Kane's house.
* [[
* [[Censor Decoy]]: The birthday/song scene originally took place in a brothel. Welles knew he'd never be able to get away with that, but he kept it in the screenplay so the execs at RKO wouldn't notice the jabs he was taking at Hearst.
* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: The {{spoiler|[[It Was His Sled|now legendary]] sled}}.
* [[Chiaroscuro]]: Like many tropes, the usage of Chiaroscuro in film was widely popularized by ''Citizen Kane'', although it was already common in [[German Expressionism|German expressionist]] cinema.
** This ties into the film's use of "Deep Focus" (one of the techniques cinematographers rave about in the movie). The way they managed to bring foreground and background objects into focus in the same shot required the more distant objects to be extremely brightly lit, encouraging the heavy-shadow Chiaroscuro compositions.
* [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]]: Charles Foster Kane
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* [[The Gay Nineties]]: Kane's childhood.
* [[Gilligan Cut]]: When Kane announces his intention to make Susan Alexander an opera star, a reporter asks if she'll sing at the Met:
{{quote|
'''Kane:''' That won't be necessary.
''(cut to newspaper headline: "KANE BUILDS OPERA HOUSE")'' }}
* [[The Great Depression]]: Major element of the setting.
* [[Heroic BSOD]]: Kane shortly after trashing Susan's room. He discovers the snow globe and staggers out of the room with a glazed look and a zombie-like shuffle.
* [[Hollywood Tone Deaf]]: Averted with Susan Alexander. To get the effect of a realistically overmatched singer, Welles got a professional '''alto''' opera singer and had her sing a soprano part.▼
▲* [[Hitler Cam]]: Orson Welles was the trope namer. Refers to the practice of shooting a solitary figure from a slightly lower angle. This magnifies the figure's height and presence in the mind of the viewer. Greatly popularized by the film.
▲* [[Hollywood Tone Deaf]]: Averted with Susan Alexander. To get the effect of a realistically overmatched singer, Welles got a professional '''alto''' opera singer and had her sing a soprano part
* [[I Coulda Been a Contender]]: [[Inverted Trope]] by Kane, when he is forced to give up the control of his empire. Hardly a nobody. Very disillusioned, he reflects that it was his ''advantages'' that stole him his chance at true greatness:
{{quote|
'''Thatcher:''' Don't you think you are?
'''Charles Foster Kane:''' I think I did pretty well under the circumstances.
'''[[Corrupt Corporate Executive|Thatcher:]]''' What would you like to have been?
'''Charles Foster Kane:''' [["The Reason You Suck" Speech|Everything you hate.]] }}
* [[I Just Want to Be Loved]]: This is Kane's main motivation. [[Deconstructed]], as, despite how innocuous a motivation it seems, it causes him to be a [[Jerkass]].
* [[I Take Offense to That Last One]]:
{{quote|
'''Leland:''' I am not overdressed. }}
* [[It's All About Me]]: Kane’s mission in life is ''to be loved on his own terms''. Lampshaded spectacularly:
{{quote|
'''Susan:''' I see. So it's you who this is being done to. It's not me at all. Not how I feel. Not what it means to me.'' [laughs] ''I can't do this to you? [odd smile] [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|Oh, yes I can.]] }}
* [[It's All Junk]]: Kane is an obsessive collector of everything, who then treats people like objects and dies a lonely old man, surrounded by glorified junk in a ridiculously opulent estate.
* [[It Will Never Catch On]]: Kane in 1935: "You can take my word for it: there'll be no war." [[World War II|Uh-huh]].
* [[Jump Scare]]: The {{spoiler|screeching parrot}} near the climax of the film.
* [[Large Ham]]: "Siiiiing Siiiiiing!". It works, though.
* [[Lonely
* [[Malevolent Mugshot]]: "Vote for KANE"
* [[Match Cut]]: the entire opening sequence. Watch how the light never moves.
** Also after {{spoiler|slapping}} Susan. Her left eye matches with an eye decoration in the next scene. Hard one to see.
* [[Memento MacGuffin]]: "Rosebud", which partially drives the plot.
* [[Mockumentary]] / [[Newsreel]]: Early in the film. Welles [[The War of the Worlds (novel)||was good at these]]. Kind of an example of [[Aluminum Christmas Trees]]. People in the 1940s who were used to seeing the "March of Time" newsreels regularly would have been much more amused by the satire. Possibly the earliest example of an in-movie fake newsreel.
* [[Musical Pastiche]]: ''Salammbô'', the [[Show Within a Show|opera in which Susan Alexander stars]], is [[Bernard Herrmann]]'s pastiche of French [[Opera|grand opéra]] à la Jules Massenet. Interestingly, it was supposed to be called ''Thaïs'', which is an actual Masssenet opera.
* [[Name of Cain]]: No accident, that name.
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* [[Plot Hole]]: Every other character knows what Kane's dying words were, despite the fact that he was completely alone when he spoke them.
** The butler Raymond says he heard the word, implying that the scene was shot from his [[POV Cam|point of view]].
▲* [[Pop Cultural Osmosis Failure]]: ''Almost'' the [[Trope Namer]] (the original title was going to be [[It Was His Sled|Was What His Sled]], and [[What Was Whose Sled]] redirects to [[Pop Cultural Osmosis Failure]]). When many films are said to be "the Citizen Kane of horror/comedy/action" or someone says "Bad Movie is Citizen Kane compared to Worse Movie", folks get the idea that ''Citizen Kane'' is a great movie. Many people stop there.
* [[Posthumous Character]]: Charles Foster Kane.
* [[Pretty in Mink]]: his two wives naturally wore a few furs.
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* [[Timeshifted Actor]]: Eight-year-old Kane.
* [[Trade Your Passion for Glory]]
* [[Tragic Hero]]: Kane, lampshaded by Leland.
{{quote|
* [[Unusual Euphemism]]: "Rosebud" was allegedly William Randolph Hearst's pet name for a specific part of Marion Davies' genitalia. Gives a whole new meaning to [[It Was His Sled]] now, doesn't it?
* [[Video Credits]]: A clip of each major character is shown in the credits, except Kane himself.
* [[Whip Pan
* [[Wide-Eyed Idealist]]: Kane started off as one, and was moderately successful as such, exposing corruption successfully and ascending the ranks in journalism.
* [[The Wild West]]: Eight-year-old Kane grew up in 1871 Colorado; seen in a brief [[Flash Back]]
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{{reflist}}
{{Vatican Best Films List}}
[[Category:The Criterion Collection]]▼
[[Category:Roger Ebert Great Movies List]]
[[Category:National Film Registry]]
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[[Category:Films of the 1940s]]
[[Category:The Forties]]
[[Category:Citizen Kane]]▼
[[Category:Film]]
▲[[Category:The Criterion Collection (LaserDisc)]]
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