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| − | {{Infobox Film
| + | A place where nobody dared to go |
| − | | name=Citizen Kane
| + | The love that we came to know |
| − | | image=CitizenKanePoster.jpg
| + | They call it Xanadu |
| − | | caption=
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| − | | director=Orson Welles
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| − | | producer=George Schaefer<br>Orson Welles
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| − | | writer=Orson Welles<br>Herman J. Mankiewicz
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| − | | narrator=
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| − | | starring=Orson Welles<br>Joseph Cotten<br>Dorothy Comingore
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| − | | music=Bernard Herrmann
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| − | | cinematography=Gregg Toland
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| − | | editing=Robert Wise
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| − | | distributor=RKO Radio Pictures
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| − | | released=May 1, 1941
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| − | | runtime=119 min
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| − | | country=USA
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| − | | language=English
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| − | | budget=$686,034
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| − | | gross=
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| − | | preceded_by=
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| − | | followed_by=
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| − | | website=
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| − | }}
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| − | '''Citizen Kane''' is a 1941 American drama film produced and directed by [[Orson Welles]], who also played the title character. Many critics have named it as the greatest movie of all time. It was also voted #1 on the American Film Institute's list of the hundred best American movies ever made.<ref>http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/movies.aspx</ref> Though it was nominated for nine Academy Awards, it only won one for Best Original Screenplay (Orson Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz).
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| − | ==Plot==
| + | And now |
| − | Charles Foster Kane, multi-millionaire newspaper baron, has not been dead for long as reporters begin to investigate his rags-to-riches life in a search for the meaning of his last word: "Rosebud".
| + | Open your eyes and see |
| | + | What we have made is real |
| | + | We are in Xanadu |
| | | | |
| − | Kane was born to an impoverished boardinghouse keeper during the 1870s. After a defaulting boarder left them a deed to a successful gold mine, Mrs. Kane sent her son to live with Wall Street tycoon Lawrence Thatcher in [[New York City]]. Mrs. Kane did so to get her son away from his abusive father, but there would be a devastating price to pay.
| + | A million lights are dancing |
| | + | And there you are |
| | + | A shooting star |
| | + | An everlasting world |
| | + | And you're here with me |
| | + | Eternally |
| | | | |
| − | Upon reaching adulthood, Kane informs his former guardian that he is not interested in any of his investments except for ''The New York Enquirer'', a newspaper which has been taken as collateral for a bad loan. By running the ''Enquirer'' as a sensationalistic scandal sheet, Kane succeeds in building it into the City's most successful newspaper. In the process, he attacks Thatcher's business interests, forces the United States into the [[Spanish-American War]], and increasingly alienates his best friend, Jedediah Leland.
| + | Xanadu, Xanadu, |
| | + | (now we are here) |
| | + | In Xanadu |
| | + | Xanadu, Xanadu, |
| | + | (now we are here) |
| | + | In Xanadu |
| | | | |
| − | Despite the success of his media empire, Kane remains unsatisfied. He marries the President's niece and sets his sights on political office. Although Mrs. Kane originally marries him for love, she soon realizes that her husband does not really care for her. Instead of leaving him, however, she continues to keep up appearances for the sake of their son. As for Kane, he begins a discreet affair with a young woman named Susan Alexander.
| + | Xanadu, your neon lights will shine |
| | + | For you, Xanadu |
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| − | Meanwhile, Kane runs for Governor of New York and vows both in his campaign speeches and in the ''Enquirer'' to crush [[political boss]] Jim Gettys. On the eve of the 1916 election, however, Jim Getty's lures the Kanes to Susan Alexander's apartment and serves them an ultimatum: either Kane drops out of the election or his affair with Susan will be leaked to the press. Although Mrs. Kane pleads with him to protect their family from the scandal, her husband refuses to listen. He insists that he will win the election anyway and send Gettys to Sing-Sing Prison. Disgusted, Mrs. Kane divorces her husband, who marries Susan Alexander immediately. Due to the scandal, Kane is slaughtered at the voting booths.
| + | The love |
| | + | The echoes of long ago |
| | + | You needed the world to know |
| | + | They are in Xanadu |
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| − | In the aftermath, Jedediah arrives at the ''Enquirer'' offices drunk. With great insight, he deconstructs Kane and accuses him of wanting the public's love as a gift for services rendered. He declares that, with the rise of labor unions, the "poor and underprivileged" don't need Kane anymore. To Kane's shock, Leland climaxes by asking to be transferred to the new [[Chicago]] newspaper.
| + | The dream |
| | + | That came through a million years |
| | + | That lived on through all the tears |
| | + | It came to Xanadu |
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| − | Later, Kane pays for singing lessons for Susan and builds her a massive opera house in [[Chicago]]. Although no one else actually likes Susan Kane's voice, Kane insists that she continue performing. Only when she attempts suicide does he finally relent.
| + | A million lights are dancing |
| | + | And there you are |
| | + | A shooting star |
| | + | An everlasting world |
| | + | And you're here with me |
| | + | Eternally |
| | | | |
| − | In later years, he builds Xanadu, a massive estate in [[Florida]] filled with statues, pleasure grounds, and "the largest zoo since [[Noah]]." Despite Susan's hatred of Xanadu, he insists that it is their home and refuses to take her back to New York.
| + | Xanadu, Xanadu, |
| | + | (now we are here) |
| | + | In Xanadu |
| | + | Xanadu, Xanadu, |
| | + | (now we are here) |
| | + | In Xanadu |
| | | | |
| − | At last, Susan Kane reaches the end of her tether. She packs her bags and prepares to leave her husband. Devastated by the thought of losing her, Kane pleads with her to stay and tells her, "You can't do this to me." Viewing this as proof that her husband loves no one but himself, Susan storms out of the estate in a rage.
| + | Now that I'm here |
| − | | + | Now that you're near in Xanadu |
| − | Soon after, Kane dies, wealthy, powerful, and completely alone in a hell of his own making. Meanwhile, the reporters finally give up all hope of uncovering the meaning of his last words. Then, however, a sled with the title "Rosebud" is cast into the furnace. It is a relic from Kane's childhood at his mother's boarding house, the only time when he was both penniless and completely happy.
| + | Now that I'm here |
| − | | + | Now that you're near in Xanadu |
| − | ==Media Backlash==
| + | Xanadu... |
| − | Kane was modeled after [[Progressive]] media mogul [[William Randolph Hearst]], who was enraged by the negative portrayal of his mistress, Marion Davies. As a result, he used his influence in order to force RKO Pictures not to release the film in theaters. The career of Orson Welles never recovered from Hearst's campaign.
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| − | ==References==
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| − | <references />
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| − | | + | |
| − | [[Category:Movies]]
| + | |
| − | [[Category:Historical Dramas]]
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A place where nobody dared to go
The love that we came to know
They call it Xanadu
A million lights are dancing
And there you are
A shooting star
An everlasting world
And you're here with me
Eternally
Xanadu, Xanadu,
(now we are here)
In Xanadu
Xanadu, Xanadu,
(now we are here)
In Xanadu
The dream
That came through a million years
That lived on through all the tears
It came to Xanadu
A million lights are dancing
And there you are
A shooting star
An everlasting world
And you're here with me
Eternally
Xanadu, Xanadu,
(now we are here)
In Xanadu
Xanadu, Xanadu,
(now we are here)
In Xanadu
Now that I'm here
Now that you're near in Xanadu
Now that I'm here
Now that you're near in Xanadu
Xanadu...
