Citizen Kane

Film released in 1941, directed by Orson Welles. It recounts the rise and corruption of a newspaper tycoon, Charles Foster Kane (based on the real-life figure of William Randolph Hearst), told in flashbacks from different characters' viewpoints to a journalist. Using a complex narrative structure, audacious camera angles, and innovative sound techniques, Welles's film was revolutionary and is still one of cinema's most celebrated achievements.

The story hangs on the journalist's attempts to find the significance or identity of ‘Rosebud’, the last word on the tycoon's lips. The script was written by Herman Mankiewicz (1897–1953) with John Houseman and rewritten by Welles, who claimed sole credit. The black-and-white cinematographer was Gregg Toland.