In the same way as Shakespeare is sometimes perceived as off-puttingly worthy, there is a danger that Citizen Kane suffers from the tribute that has become its tagline: the Greatest Movie Ever Made. The accolade is so colossal it hangs around its neck, less a gold medal, more an albatross - a critical mark of Kane.

Citizen Kane is one of the earliest movies to depict the American Dream as a nightmare. Kane is a man who is (crucially) born in poverty and driven by his ravenous desire for wealth, power, prestige and adoration. Yet he dies unloved, unlamented and bitter; a giant wreck of a man serving as a warning for others who may wish to embark on a similar journey. The movie traces his story through a series of extended, often subjective flashbacks.
		The Greatest Movie Ever Made? The evidence presented makes compelling and hugely entertaining viewing.

When the notoriously venomous gossip columnist, Louella Parsons, saw a preview she persuaded newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst that Orson Welles had slandered him. The 25 year-old produced, directed, co-wrote and played the eponymous lead. Hearst took action and the myth was born that the film was based on his life. In actuality, there are enormous differences and Kane truly embodies many similar men, such as Time Magazine's founder, Henry Luce, and their principles, fuelled by greed and corruption.

The film is shot in a fresh, dynamic fashion incorporating inventive lighting, low angled shots that expose a complete scene, long sequences uninterrupted by cuts, eye-catching montages and daring dissolves. Not all these devices were new, but the work's genius lies in its showcasing a wealth of brilliant possibilities.

Charles Foster Kane is a grotesque recognizable to every generation, and yet his pain - such as seeing his ingenue and lover humiliated while trying to sing the lead in an opera he has funded - is almost unbearable. The film's wry, witty humour is another delight, as are the occasional in-jokes. The character depicted by Welles, who had previously terrified America with his wireless broadcast of War of the Worlds warns at one point, "Don't believe everything you hear on the radio".

The Greatest Movie Ever Made? The evidence presented makes compelling and hugely entertaining viewing.

Gavin Collinson