Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane:

A Filmmaker’s Journey

by Harlan Lebo

Citizen Kane: A Filmmaker’s Journey is the updated and expanded work based on film historian Harlan Lebo's 2016 book, tracing the creation of Orson Welles's classic film. This movie-lovers’ history is a saga of the trials, tribulations, and triumphs behind the making of Citizen Kane. The book is itself a sinister tale of real-life conspiracy, blackmail, and Communist witch hunts, that details the extraordinary rise to Hollywood stardom of the film and its director. Now a cinema world’s icon, a 25-year-old Orson Welles defied the studio system and became a legend, simply by making what would become the greatest film of all time.

In this comprehensive, 384-page edition, filled with 102 images—many of them never-before published—Lebo has written the only book devoted to the full story of the origins, production, and release of Citizen Kane. He includes extensive details of the conspiracy by media mogul William Randolph Hearst and his team to destroy the film and Welles. 

Citizen Kane: A Filmmaker’s Journey not only tells the story of the making of Hollywood’s greatest film, but also presents a compelling tale of censorship, individual rights, and creative freedom. The book includes a comprehensive resource guide of other books, research material, and links to information about Orson Welles and Citizen Kane.

Citizen Kane: A Filmmaker’s Journey recounts one of the most exciting chapters in Hollywood history: Orson Welles’s meteoric rise to stardom, the controversy behind his arrival in Hollywood, his unprecedented contract with RKO Studios, the feud over the credit for the script, the frantic production schedule, and the rise of Citizen Kane to its position as one of the greatest films of all time. Correction: THE greatest film of all time.

  • 384 pages
  • 102 images
  • 9"h x 6"w
  • softcover; ISBN 978-1-62640-101-3; $25.00
    $25.00 USD