A man spends his entire life gathering, collecting, amassing a fortune, building the world's largest castle, acquiring power, influencing the masses, creating an entire virtual universe unto himself. At the end, what is he left with? One word on his lips, as he breathes his final breath from the lonely heights of his mansion.

"Rosebud."

What does it mean? Who, or what, does this last cryptic utterance refer to? A reporter is assigned the job of finding out. During the investigation, he queries anyone he can find who knew Charles Foster Kane, in the hopes that they might be able to lend insight about the life of this larger than life figure.

The movie beckons contemplation of the very roots of human motivation in life. Underneath it all, what is it that drives someone to such excesses? Besides being the much-touted thinly veiled biography of William Randolph Hearst, the movie can be interpreted as a reflection of the quest of the human life in general; a story about the expansion of the ego into proportions unparalleled, reaching the point of tragic absurdity. For what purpose? What is behind it all? Who lives beneath the ever expanding, ever decaying, elaborately constructed facade? What is It?

(Alright, that will be enough of the pseudo-freudian analysis for tonight. lol.)

As far as cinematography goes, I have never seen any movie like it. Of course, the whole thing was made with those crazy lenses that keep every part of the frame in focus at all times, leading to some insanely astounding (sometimes subtle) visual trickery with proportions. Some of those sets were absolutely nuts.

I have read that this film also pioneered many of the techniques we now take for granted in modern films. Seamless dissolves (put to very good use), transitioning into a new scene by starting dialog before cutting the camera, and the recently-repopularized-by-Star-Wars-Special-Editions vertical and horizontal wipes -- all of these were all apparently quite disconcerting to audiences in 1941 (according to the documetary), since people were totally unaccustomed to such devices.

When I put this disc in, my audio procesor's status indicator displayed something I didn't know existed until now: Dolby 1-channel sound. lol. Encoded in all its original (though digitally restored) grandeur. (Let us not forget that 1 year before this one, the first stereo sound ever recorded was featured in one of my other all-time favorites.)

Some have declared Citizen Kane to be the greatest film of all time. I wouldn't quite go that far. There are so many great, excellent works that have been made, it would be futile just pick one or two and definitively say "This is the best!" (The Best Jerry, the Best!) It is awesome though.