Citizen Kane

A Filmmaker's Journey

By: Harlan Lebo

Narrated by: Tom Zingarelli

With the 75th anniversary of Citizen Kane in May 2016, Harlan Lebo has written the full story of Orson Welles' masterpiece film. The book explores Welles' meteoric rise to stardom in New York and the real reason behind his arrival in Hollywood and unprecedented contract with RKO Studios for total creative control. It also delves into the dispute over who wrote the script; the mystery of the "lost" final script; and the plot by Hearst to destroy Welles' project through blackmail, media manipulation, and other tactics. The author finally examines the surprising emergence of Citizen Kane as an enduring masterpiece.

Using previously unpublished material from studio files and the Hearst organization, exclusive interviews with the last surviving members of the cast and crew, and what may be the only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 copy of the "lost" final script of the film, Citizen Kane: A Filmmaker's Journey recounts the making of one of the most famous films in Hollywood history.

©2016 Harlan Lebo (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"[L]ibraries should be sure to have this on their shelves." ( Library Journal)

A good telling of how the film got made.

One of the greatest films of all time and one of the greatest stories of filmmaking of all time.

Exhaustive, detailed look at a cinematic masterpiece

I thought I knew everything about CITIZEN KANE, but there were some great stories here. Most importantly the book dispels the often cited reasons behind the film's failure upon its original 1941 release. Very revealing and interesting.

Citizen Kane bio

Citizen Kane bio is informative and classy in this read. Appreciate the narrator. Could listen to him again.

It's Bern STEEN!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I thought I knew what there was to know about Kane. I've read many books about the film and have seen it probably forty times. This book offers the most comprehensive and detailed analysis ever. Mr. Lebo evidently obtained access to the late Welles' files. Lebo's research was extensive and exhaustive.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Citizen Kane?

Must say Zingarelli's mispronunciation of Bernstein (one of the most important characters in the film, moreover Welles' life) is unfortunately the most memorable.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Tom Zingarelli?

Anyone else in the world. How about Mike Tyson or Bevis and Butthead? Sorry, Mr. Zingarelli but obviously you did no homework whatsoever. I cringe every time you pronounce Bernstein incorrectly. That's just one example.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

See above. The narrator, although the marvelous and meticulous research and revelations offset a lackluster narration.

Any additional comments?

I hesitated to write a bad review of Zingarelli. He's probably a very nice man with many fine qualities and I don't want my review to be a factor in costing him future work. But IMO, he was dreadfully miscast for this reading. Or maybe he just didn't care enough to screen the film. Nevertheless, any Welles or Citizen Kane fan will come away with enhanced appreciation for the great artist's creation.

Granular examination of an American great

Harlan Lebo's chronicle of the making of Citizen Kane is densely packed, matter-of-factly written, and mostly well-presented.

It is, in fact, so granular that I'm reticent to recommend it to anybody but super-nerds. Comparing script drafts to each other, comparing those to hand written notes by Welles and crew, then comparing that to the final film. This book really lets itself get into the weeds, but I'm such a sucker for the subject that I ate it up like icing on a beater.

The reader flubs on a few names, but he's pretty good and otherwise sounds authoritative.

The papers, notes, and correspondence Lebo goes through is pretty extraordinary, too. I would have loved to looked over his shoulder for some of this.