Citizen Kane

Orson Welles' masterwork (#1 in the American Film Institute's list of Best American Movies) remains grand entertainment, sharply acted (starring many of Welles' Mercury Players on the road to thriving film careers) and directed with inspired visual flair.

Chronicling the stormy life of an influential publishing tycoon, this "Best Original Screenplay" Academy Award winner is rooted in themes of power, corruption, vanity—the American Dream lost in the mystery of a dying man’s last word: “Rosebud.”

A classic to this day, Citizen Kane has only grown in stature since its release, although it wasn't exactly ignored at the time of its 1941 premiere, garnering nine Oscar nominations, including "Best Picture."