Citizen Kane (1941)

Directed by Orson Welles.

Welles's non-linear storytelling style - which was very new at that time, was exemplary, both in the style of portrait documentary and in the use of a noir film style. mysterious puzzle pieces. Many later "noir" films inherited Orson Welles' style, typically Roman Polanski's Chinatown.

Citizen Kane opens with the death of Charles Foster Kane, a media tycoon, in the unfinished castle Xanadu. Kane lies in bed, alone, holding a crystal ball in his hand. It rolled out of his hand, fell to the ground and shattered. Kane's lips moved a single word before closing his eyes and dying: "Rosebud". The maid entered, placed Kane's hands on his chest and pulled the cloth over his face. The life of a man once compared to Genghis Khan has just ended.

The film creates pioneering breakthroughs in cinema, in terms of technique, structure, narrative art, camera angles, staging, character building... All of them are influential. influenced many great films later. That is probably the biggest reason why Citizen Kane is always in the top of the greatest cinematic works in America and the world.