The wonders and woes of the publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, a very powerful and hated man, found dead in the unfinished mausoleum where he retreated in isolation after retiring from business, politics, and the failure of his two marriages. With his dying breath, he utters the word “Rosebud.” Who or what is “Rosebud”? A journalist tries to discover its mysterious meaning, interviewing the millionaire’s friends, enemies, former lovers, supporters, and critics. The result is a multifaceted and complex portrait of an individualistic, strong-willed man who grew up to quickly and is unable to love because ownership is his only interest. Charles Foster Kane is the controversial hero of public opinion, which he manipulates through his publications; but he is also an ambiguous character who embodies the American dream as well as its deformation. Through his ventures, his clamorous successes and sudden disasters, we see how information can be shaped by the will of a conniving and unscrupulous man, and the important role thus played by the media in the 20th century.
Biography
film director
Orson Welles
Orson Welles (Kenosha, WI, USA, 1915-Hollywood, CA, USA, 1985) is considered one of important and brilliant filmmakers and actors in the history of cinema, theater and radio (his famous prank and radio adaptation of the sci-fi piece The War of the Worlds generated widespread panic in the United States). He became a film-phenomenon with Citizen Kane (1941), which he made when he was only twenty-five years old, and is still widely considered one of the fundamental movies from the 20th century. He made many important films throughout his long and troubled career, which include The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), The Lady from Shanghai (1947), Mr Arkadin (1955), Touch of Evil (1958), and the Shakespearian adaptations of Macbeth (1948), Othello (1952), and Falstaff (1965). He won several awards, including the Palme d’Or for Othello in 1952, the Golden Lion and the Academy Honorary Award in 1970.
FILMOGRAFIA
Citizen Kane (Quarto Potere, 1941), The Magnificent Ambersons (L’orgoglio degli Amberson, 1946), The Stranger (Lo straniero, 1946), The Lady from Shanghai (La signora di Shanghai, 1947), Macbeth (id., 1948), Othello (Otello, 1952), Mr Arkadin (Rapporto confidenziale, 1955), Touch of Evil (L’infernale Quinlan, 1958), Falstaff (id., 1965), Histoire immortelle (Storia immortale, 1968).
Cast
& Credits
Orson Welles
sceneggiatura/screenplay
Herman J. Mankievicz, Orson Welles
fotografia/cinematography
Gregg Toland
montaggio/film editing
Robert Wise
costumi/costume design
Edawrd Stevenson
musica/music
Bernard Herrmann
suono/sound
Bailey Fesler, James G. Stewart
interpreti e personaggi/cast and characters
Orson Welles (Kane), Joseph Cotten (Jedediah Leland), Dorothy Comingore (Susan Alexander Kane), Everett Sloane (Mr Bernstein), Ray Collins (James W. Gettys), George Coulouris (Walter Parks Thatcher), Agnes Moorehead (Mary Kane), Paul Stewart (Raymond), Ruth Warrick (Emily Monroe Norton Kane), Erskine Sanford (Herbert Carter), William Alland (Jerry Thompson)
produzione/production
Mercury Productions