Trailer of the Day: Citizen Kane

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In my opinion, Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane is one of the greatest films ever made. Along with a great film, Welles also devised a great trailer; it’s one in which he never shows a frame of the actual film, nor does he show himself playing the newspaperman Charles Foster Kane once — in fact, Kane is nowhere to be seen. Instead, Welles used only his voice to introduce the players of the Mercury Theatre like Joseph Cotten and Agnes Moorehead in a playful tour of the RKO Studios soundstage, before admitting about his own character: “I don’t know how to tell you about him. There’s so many things to say.”

The resulting montage plays out like a perfect tease, with a tinge of sex appeal while raking the focus off the controversial protagonist.



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* I sometimes receive review copies from studios and public relations firms. All opinions and analysis are my own. — RKW