Citizen Kane (PG) PRESENTED IN 35MM FILM

Citizen Kane (PG, 1941) 85th Anniversary Presented in 35mm Film by The Revival House Perth

Following the death of powerful newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles), whose final word—"Rosebud"—remains a mystery, a journalist sets out to uncover the meaning behind his cryptic dying utterance. Through a series of interviews with those who knew Kane throughout his extraordinary life, the film reconstructs the story of a man who rose from humble beginnings to build a vast media empire, only to find himself increasingly isolated by wealth, ambition, and his own uncompromising will. As conflicting perspectives from ex-wives, business partners, and old friends paint a fragmented, often contradictory portrait, the film explores how the pursuit of power and control ultimately left Kane a profoundly lonely man, his final word offering a haunting glimpse into the childhood innocence he spent his life trying to reclaim.

Director and star Orson Welles, only twenty-five at the time, revolutionised cinematic storytelling with a film widely regarded as one of the greatest ever made. Welles's innovative use of deep-focus cinematography, unconventional narrative structure, and groundbreaking sound design—achieved alongside cinematographer Gregg Toland—expanded the visual and technical vocabulary of filmmaking in ways that continue to influence directors today. The film's fractured, multi-perspective narrative structure, unfolding through unreliable and contradictory testimonies, was itself a radical departure from conventional linear storytelling. Welles's towering central performance, aging convincingly from ambitious young idealist to bitter, isolated tycoon, anchors a film whose technical innovations—from its striking use of shadow and depth to its inventive editing—reshaped what cinema could achieve, cementing Citizen Kane's enduring reputation as a landmark achievement in the art form.

Original format and audio experience of this film faithfully reproduced by The Revival House. Presented in 35mm film unless noted otherwise.

When: Friday, September 25th at 7:20PM
Where: The Revival House at the Como Theatre
Rating: PG (The content is mild in impact)