Why Citizen Kane Is Called The Greatest Movie Ever Made
Citizen Kane is often touted as the “greatest movie ever made,” but what exactly makes the Orson Welles movie more deserving of this impressive accolade than, for example, Paddington 2? The family film Paddington 2 recently replacedCitizen Kane as the top-rated movie of all time on Rotten Tomatoes, prompting commentators across the internet to debate what (if any) movie deserves to be referred to as «the greatest» in the history of the medium.
The question of which movie is the greatest ever made is a tricky proposition that has to balance numerous elements ranging from the movie’s aesthetic achievements, the enduring influence the title boasts, and the appeal it holds outside of pure technical mastery. The Godfather and the Stephen King adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption are both often listed among the best movies ever made, with the former having an outsized stylistic influence on the cinema of following decades, and the latter having an enduringly popular, emotionally resonant story.
Related: Is The Shawshank Redemption Based On A True Story?
However, one movie title is listed as the greatest movie of all time more than any other, often to the consternation of people who cannot work out what the title's hype is about. Released in 1941, Citizen Kane is the directorial debut of director/co-writer/producer/star Orson Welles, who plays the eponymous tycoon (a thinly-veiled satire of numerous real-life American business magnates). Beginning after his lonely death, Welles’ iconic movie tells the story of Kane’s life via the perspectives of former friends, ex-lovers, and embittered associates, coming tantalizingly close to making sense of the man but never offering a clear judgment of the flawed figure. Welles’
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