The HAU Movie Club presents Orson Welles’s iconic Citizen Kane (1941), one of the greatest films in the history of cinema, on Tuesday, November 24, at 19:00
A landmark screening for film lovers, this is an opportunity to experience once again—or discover for the first time—the film that has topped lists of the greatest films of all time for decades.
Synopsis: The story begins with the death of newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane at his secluded estate, Xanadu. His final word is an enigmatic one: “Rosebud.” A journalist sets out to unravel the mystery of Kane’s life by interviewing those who knew him. Through a series of flashbacks, the dizzying rise and lonely downfall of a man who seemingly had everything gradually come to light.
When Orson Welles directed, co-wrote, and starred in Citizen Kane at the age of just 25, few could have imagined that the film would forever change the landscape of cinema. Employing groundbreaking techniques for its time—including deep focus, daring nonlinear storytelling, innovative camera angles, and pioneering approaches to sound and lighting—the film redefined what the camera could achieve. It is no coincidence that, for decades, it was consistently named the “greatest film of all time” by Sight and Sound magazine and the American Film Institute.
Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles), along with nine additional Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Orson Welles.