That opening phrase is famous throughout cinema history, it's so famous it was referenced in the Simpsons ( season 5)

Seriously though, this has to be one of the greatest, most gripping, involving, mysterious films ever made. There simply is no film existing today that could compare to the elegance, technicality, performance and even arrogance of Citizen Kane. Orson Welles' direction was instrumental, displacing his notoriously difficult working habits for the fact that this made his career.

It tells of one Charles Foster Kane, a rich media tycoon whos' life is riddled with unfulfillment, his attempts to fill his life with materialistic objects simply leaving him all the more empty.

Essentially, this film is about loss, and in Kanes case, his childhood. I make it sound corny, but believe me when I say that Citizen Kane starts with the denouement and learns its' beginnings when it's too late.

If you have never seen this, or if like some when its shown you look for something else, STOP!
This has to be one of the most engaging stories ever commited to film.
It tells the rise of a small child into one of the most powerful americans of his or any other generation.
Its an aamazing journey played out by an ensemble cast who were mostly unknown at its release.
Welles was only 25 when he made his masterpiece, and would struggle in my opinion to match Kane with any of his later works.
Watch it, Enjoy it.