Citizen Kane: A Filmmaker's Journey (Hardcover)

Citizen Kane: A Filmmaker's Journey By Harlan Lebo Cover Image
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Description


“This book is a gold mine for fans.”—Kirkus Reviews
It is the story of a film masterpiece—how it was created and how it was almost destroyed.

It is the celebration of brilliant achievement and a sinister tale of conspiracy, extortion, and Communist witch hunts.

It is the chronicle of a plot orchestrated in boardrooms and a mountaintop palace, as a media company that claimed to stand for “genuine democracy” defied the First Amendment and schemed to burn Hollywood’s greatest creation.

Citizen Kane: A Filmmaker’s Journey is the extraordinary story of the production of Orson Welles’ classic film, using previously unpublished material from studio files and the Hearst organization, exclusive interviews with the last surviving members of the cast and crew, and what may be the only surviving copies of the “lost” final script.

Harlan Lebo charts the meteoric rise to stardom of the twenty-three-year-old Orson Welles, his defiance of the Hollywood system, and the unprecedented contract that gave him near-total creative control of his first film. Lebo recounts the clashes between Welles and studio executives eager to see him fail, the high-pressure production schedule, and the groundbreaking results. Lebo reveals the plot by the organization of publisher William Randolph Hearst to attack Hollywood, discredit Welles, and incinerate the film. And, at last, he follows the rise of Citizen Kane to its status as the greatest film ever made.

About the Author


Harlan Lebo is a senior fellow at the Center for the Digital Future in the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. He has written books about The Godfather, Casablanca, and a coffee-table photo book on Citizen Kane, and served as a historical consultant to Paramount Pictures for the 50th anniversary of the theatrical release of Citizen Kane. He lives in California.

Praise For…


Praise for Citizen Kane: A Filmmaker's Journey

"The most thorough account yet of the genesis, production and release of Welles's most famous film." —New York Times Book Review

"Everything you wanted to know about one of the greatest films of all time—and then some. ... Extensive quotes from many participants add a real immediacy to the story, and Lebo splendidly chronicles all the drama, infighting, ups and downs, excitement, and genius that went into creating Welles' masterpiece. Published to coincide with the film's 75th anniversary, this book is a gold mine for fans."
Kirkus Reviews

"Film-scholar Lebo has conducted painstaking research, combing through voluminous interviews as well as
production reports, memos, budgets, drafts of the script, news accounts, and critiques." —Booklist

"Lebo’s book is highly readable; it’s dense, lucid, and page-turning. Fans of Welles and classic Hollywood will be delighted by this comprehensive, intelligent work." Publishers Weekly

"A deep dive into the film that made 'Rosebud' a household word. In time for the 75th anniversary, there are interviews with cast and crew, access to studio correspondence and a 'lost' final script." —Fort Worth Star Telegram

"A definitive resource for anyone interested in Welles and 'Kane.'" —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"A crisp, clear-eyed, romp through Kane history." —Empire

"[C]ombines a trainspotter’s guide to film trivia with a riveting account of the dastardly campaign by the Hearst organisation to have the movie suppressed.... [O]ffers sharp insights into Welles’s artistic methods..." —The Australian

Product Details
ISBN: 9781250077530
ISBN-10: 1250077532
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Publication Date: April 26th, 2016
Pages: 384
Language: English