Monday Sept. 10

Charles Foster Kane. You may know him as Citizen Kane, or Orson Welles' stand-in for Willam Randolph Hearst. "Citizen Kane" is widely regarded as one of the best films ever made. It all starts with Kane's death, alone, as he utters just one word, "Rosebud." This was the name of Kane's sled, when he was a child. (It was also the slang name for a certain erotic part of a woman's body ... the movie maker's in joke. ) A reporter wants to find the meaning of "Rosebud," and hence starts the story, back into the life of this devious, complex man, a media mogul, a villain, a master manipulator. Welles wrote and starred in this movie when he was but 26. Yes, the sad part is that this was the pinnacle; it got no better, and near the end Welles was peddling cheap wine, coasting on whatever reputation held over from yesteryear. It was sorta sad. But that's not what we're keying on here. We saw "Kane" during a college film course and was hooked by the story, the artistry, the shot composition, all of it. It's, of course, available on DVD, but you can see "Kane" on the big screen - warning to you kids, it's in black and white - at the Coolidge Corner Theatre Monday at 7 p.m. Tickets: $9.

290 Harvard St., Brookline, 617-734-2500. www.coolidge.org