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Citizen Kane

Some called him a hero...others called him a heel.

1941119 minutesMystery and DramaDirected by Orson Welles
About the film

Citizen Kane at a glance.

Screen Path places this 1941 film at stop 1 in one curated journey through cinema. The learning experience adds context before you watch and deeper analysis after.

Newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane is taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. As a result, every well-meaning, tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event.

Principal cast

Orson Welles as Charles Foster Kane, Joseph Cotten as Jedediah Leland, Dorothy Comingore as Susan Alexander Kane, Ray Collins as Jim W. Gettys, and George Coulouris as Walter Parks Thatcher

Key craft credits

Gregg Toland (director of photography), Robert Wise (editor), Bernard Herrmann (original music composer), Herman J. Mankiewicz (screenplay), and Orson Welles (screenplay)

Director
Orson Welles
Release
1941-04-17
Runtime
119 minutes
Genres
Mystery and Drama
Country
United States
Quiz
50 questions
The Screen Path journey

Before. After. Remember.

The featured film is watched outside Screen Path. The app provides the learning experience around it: a guide, an analysis, and a quiz with explanations.

01

Before you watch

Start with a spoiler-free video guide to the context and filmmaking choices worth noticing.

Spoiler-free
02

After the film

Return after watching for a deeper video analysis of craft, meaning, and legacy.

Contains spoilers
03

Quiz yourself

Answer 50 questions with clear rationales designed to make the ideas stick.

50 questions in this journey

Citizen Kane is the complete public example: both learning videos and a five-question sample quiz are available below.

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The complete public example

Try the Citizen Kane journey.

Watch the spoiler-free guide before the film. After watching Citizen Kane through a lawful service of your choice, return for the analysis and a five-question sample quiz.

Before you watch

A spoiler-free introduction to the context and craft worth noticing. This is a Screen Path learning video, not the film.

Spoiler-free
Spoilers ahead

Watch Citizen Kane first.

The next video discusses the film in depth. Reveal it only after you have watched the featured film outside Screen Path.

Film data and images provided by TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.