Much has been written about the film that is arguably the finest piece of cinema ever produced. Film textbooks conduct in-depth studies of its technical elements. Journals and magazines trace the ways in which the movie influences filmmaking even today. Some pieces pose questions about the film: Pauline Kael’s famous 1970s essay, "Raising Kane," alleged that the brilliance of the film lies in its screenplay, co-written with Herman Mankiewicz, and that Welles had not been wholly truthful about the role of others in shaping what would come to be regarded as his masterpiece.

It took time for Citizen Kane to garner the reputation it has today. At the time of its release, the movie enjoyed favorable critical reviews, but it was not a success at the box office. The movie’s plot, which chronicles the life of a media tycoon, was seen to be remarkably similar to the life of media tycoon William Randolph Hearst. Displeased with the frequently unflattering portrayal of the main character, Hearst staged a boycott of the movie in his newspapers: they ran no advertisements, stories, or reviews for the movie. Following this example, many movie theatres in the country refused to show the film. Because of these boycotts, relatively few people saw the movie. While Welles publicly denied that the film had any basis in reality, he later privately admitted that the character had, at least in part, been modeled on Hearst.

As the film aged, and as viewers and scholars began to examine it more closely, the very real accomplishments of the filmmaker became clear. Narratively and technically, Kane exhibits both perfection and innovation. Seamlessly constructed, the technical aspects of the film mirror and reinforce the events of the narrative. One example of this complex interplay is the way in which the plot’s focus -- a journalist attempting, through interviews and investigative work, to decipher the meaning of Kane’s final words -- is subtly reinforced by the movements of the camera. Just as the journalist is forced to probe, investigate, and attempt to get inside Kane’s life and mind, so does the camera: it is highly mobile, taking the viewer as it moves and penetrates through windows, skylights, and over rooftops to arrive at the action.

Starring many of Welles’s friends and colleagues from his Mercury Theatre, including Joseph Cotten and Agnes Morehead, Citizen Kane has come to be seen as the greatest accomplishment of Welles’s career.