The movie opens with an unforgettable image of a distant, foggy castle on a hill. It's a classic gothic shot, and goes a long way towards establishing the movie's mood. We quickly learn that this place, called Xanadu, is the dwelling of America's Kubla Khan, Charles Foster Kane, a one-time newspaper owner who could have become President if not for an affair. Xanadu, in the words of the newsreel that gives a brief history of Kane's life, is the "costliest monument of a man to himself."
Within moments of the film's opening, Kane is dead, uttering the word "Rosebud" as he hunches over. …
