Continuity: In the scene with the lovely dancing ladies, Cotten blows cigar smoke just before a cut to him from the opposite angle. From this angle there is no smoke. This takes place just before Wells throws his jacket to Cotten.
Great sites
Mistakes
To save money during the beach picnic scene, Welles used stock footage from King Kong (1933) for the jungle background. You can quite clearly see pterodactyls flying in the background (confirmed on DVD commentary). See more...
Trivia
This was the first motion picture to introduce "ceilings" into a shot of a scene taking place indoors from an actual set. Before this, due to the extreme lighting needed, the set was shot at angle that did not reveal that there was no ceiling on the set itself, otherwise it would have had to been shot indoors at a real location, which made for poor lighting that looked unrealistic. Orson Welles used a technique were a piece of thin cloth material was stretched over the top of the set which allowed the stage lighting to shine through, but appeared as a solid ceiling on film, further adding to the many other techniques used in this film to give the viewer a sense of realism. See more...
Citizen Kane mistakes
Continuity: When Kane and Susan are speaking in their mansion, Susan is busying herself with jigsaw puzzles. The wide shot shows the jigsaw puzzle almost completed, but Susan's close-up shows the jigsaw puzzle in pieces.
Revealing: To save money during the beach picnic scene, Welles used stock footage from King Kong (1933) for the jungle background. You can quite clearly see pterodactyls flying in the background (confirmed on DVD commentary).
Citizen Kane trivia
The shot of the loud, squawking bird was purposely placed by Orson Welles to make sure the audience was still awake.
Steven Spielberg bought the famous 'Rosebud' prop at an auction in 1982 for $60,500. When Orson Welles heard about this, it was reported that his reaction was, 'I thought we burned it.'
This was the first motion picture to introduce "ceilings" into a shot of a scene taking place indoors from an actual set. Before this, due to the extreme lighting needed, the set was shot at angle that did not reveal that there was no ceiling on the set itself, otherwise it would have had to been shot indoors at a real location, which made for poor lighting that looked unrealistic. Orson Welles used a technique were a piece of thin cloth material was stretched over the top of the set which allowed the stage lighting to shine through, but appeared as a solid ceiling on film, further adding to the many other techniques used in this film to give the viewer a sense of realism.
Citizen Kane quotes
Charles Foster Kane: Rosebud.
Charles Foster Kane: You know, Mr. Bernstein, if I hadn't been very rich, I might have been a really great man.
Citizen Kane easter eggs
If you click on the sled seen on the "Special Features" screen, you'll find a 1997 interview with actress Ruth Warrick. During this five minute and 40 second piece, Warrick discusses issues such as the atmosphere on the Kane set, her interactions with Welles, and a few other interesting topics. (From the 2 disc special edition 60th anniversary set-2001).
On disc one, "On the Set" subsection of the "Production Notes" - the eleventh screen, another sled appears, and if you click on it, you'll find a 1994 interview snippet with editor Robert Wise.