Repeatedly lauded as the greatest American film, Citizen Kane follows the life and death of millionaire newspaper tycoon — played by the 26-year-old Orson Welles and reportedly based on William Randolph Hearst — whose last words baffle news reporters and the public. Filmmaker John Landis proclaims, "When you see the film, you think: Wait, how old was Welles when he made this? It's pretty thrilling."