Posted on 07/18/2025 8:17:43 AM PDT by BenLurkin
A prop central to the celebrated opening scene of Citizen Kane - widely regarded as one of the best films ever made - has sold at auction for $14.75m (£11m).
The wooden Rosebud sled, one of at least three known to have survived, was long thought to have been lost until it was given to director Joe Dante in 1984, saving it from destruction.
He went on to use it as a reference for fans (known as an Easter egg) in films he directed, including Gremlins 2: The New Batch.
It is now the second most expensive piece of memorabilia to have ever been sold - a pair of ruby slippers used in The Wizard of Oz sold for $32m (£23.9) in December.
The identity of the sled's buyer was not revealed.
Other Rosebuds made for the film have been sold in the past, including one to legendary director Steven Spielberg, who later donated it to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
Who has this kind of money to blow? I know who has it but who would?
Probably some random sled from the RKO lot. Welles said they burned all the ones used in the film.
I learned about it in a Columbo episode.
;)
I still do not understand how that film always winds up on “The Best” list of movies.
Fantastic movie, one of my favorites. Glad that Rosebud was saved!
Same here, that and Maltese Falcon.
“widely regarded as one of the best films ever made”
only by ancient film school profs who’ve never moved along ...
i’ve watched that film at least twice, and have never understood why it’s considered “the best film ever made” ... for me, it was a big “meh” ...
i could easily name a dozen films far more interesting and entertaining, and several of those are classics that will endure for at least a century, while “Citizen Kane” fades away into obscurity everywhere except a few esoteric film school classes ...
I’d rank The Thief of Bagdad (1940 version) higher than Citizen Kane. And even also the 1924 version with Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.
I must have not understood it either.
Filmmakers and professors were / are in awe of the technical achievements in the film, it pioneered a lot of camera magic that became common afterwards. On the other hand, the pubic yawned and it was a flop because the truth is, the story is more important than technical wizardry and the story was kind of dull.
Generally I translate “best film” into “most boring film”. I don’t know if whether Citizen Kane or Gone With The Wind deserve the title more. The English Patient is also in the running.
I think it’s totally about effects...the lighting...the movement....the story itself is really mediocre.
Different tastes. I found Jaws frightfully boring at 13 years old. I liked Citizen Kane just fine.
“The stuff dreams are made of.”
Yeah, but that was so long ago. I am not in awe of a flip phone, either. Not sure why the admiration endures.
It was pretty bold and innovative in both technical and thematic aspects when it came out. I view it in kind of the same light a saying, "The P-51 Mustang is regarded as one of the best fighter aircraft ever made." Certainly pretty much anything designed and built from 1950 on would outfly it, and I'm pretty sure the WWII Luftwaffe were never big fans of it, nonetheless, the record of what it was during its time speaks for itself.
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