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Where to Watch Citizen Kane

How & Where to Watch Citizen Kane Online From Anywhere in 2024

As one of the most legendary drama mystery works, Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane is a regular feature on several “best movies of all time” roundups. Read on to find out how and where to watch Citizen Kane from anywhere in the world.

Kit CopsonSandra PattisonJasna Mishevska

Written by Kit Copson (Writer, Briefing Editor)

Reviewed by Sandra Pattison (Editor)

Facts checked by Jasna Mishevska (Lead Fact-Checking Editor)

Last Updated: 2024-02-11T14:22:54+00:00

All our content is written fully by humans; we do not publish AI writing. Learn more here.

In the world of streaming services, getting a hold of legendary movies like Citizen Kane has never been easier. That said, it’s spread across various streaming services and libraries — some of which are not available in every country.

A VPN, like ExpressVPN, can solve this problem. This guide explains how to watch Citizen Kane with a VPN from anywhere.  

Key Takeaways: Watch Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane

  • Citizen Kane, one of the most renowned pieces of cinema in history, is available to stream on a variety of services including Max and Amazon Prime Video. 
  • You can stream Citizen Kane free with an Amazon Prime subscription in Canada. If you’re outside of Canada, you can connect to a Canadian VPN server to access Amazon Prime Video Canada. 
  • ExpressVPN is the best VPN for streaming Citizen Kane, followed by NordVPN and Windscribe

Not available in your country?

Watch Citizen Kane now on Amazon Prime Video and other streaming platforms.

Status checked 2024/03/20:

In Citizen Kane, newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane utters his last word, “rosebud,” before dying in his sprawling mansion, Xanadu. A reporter, Jerry Thompson, interviews the millionaire’s associates and explores his past to unravel the meaning of Kane’s cryptic final word. 

While researching, Thompson gets a deeper look into Kane’s intriguing life stories — his early mentorship under a wealthy banker, a New Yorker named Walter Parks Thatcher; his rise to prominence in the publishing world; his complex and troubled relationships; and his reclusive later years. Now let’s get straight into how and where to watch this celebrated film.  

Where to Watch Citizen Kane: Full Movie Online

Fortunately, Citizen Kane is readily available to stream, buy or rent online. Here’s a roundup of everywhere we found Citizen Kane.

StreamBuy or Rent
Max (various locations)Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video (Canada — free with Prime)Google Play
Amazon Prime Video (U.K. — free with BFI Player trial)Vudu (U.S.)
Amazon Prime Video (U.S. — free with Max trial)ROW8 (U.S.)
BFI Player (U.K.)iTunes

Where Can I Watch Citizen Kane Online for Free?

You can watch Citizen Kane for free with an Amazon Prime Video 30-day free trial in Canada. If you’re outside Canada, you’ll need to connect to a Canadian VPN server to access the Canadian library. We’ll show you how to do that below.  

Alternatively, you can watch Citizen Kane on Amazon Prime Video U.S. with a Max free trial or on Amazon Prime Video U.K. with a BFI Player free trial. These trials both last seven days. 

How to Watch Citizen Kane With a VPN

This tutorial will show you how to watch Citizen Kane on Amazon Prime Video Canada. You’ll need an Amazon Prime Video account to do this, so make sure you’ve signed up for your free trial before starting. We’ll use our favorite streaming VPN, ExpressVPN, for this tutorial. 

You can also use this method to access your other streaming service accounts from overseas. For example, if you want to watch Citizen Kane on Max but are traveling somewhere Max isn’t available, simply connect to a server in an Max available country like the U.S., and log in to your account as normal. 

  1. Get ExpressVPN

    Go to ExpressVPN’s website, and sign up for a plan. All plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee that you can use as a free trial method.

    get expressvpn
  2. Download ExpressVPN

    Go to “download VPN” at the top of the page, and select the ExpressVPN app for your device. Next, click “download app,” and then click “download” on the last page.

    download expressvpn
  3. Connect to a Canadian Server

    Open the ExpressVPN app, and connect to a Canadian server.

    canada server
  4. Stream Citizen Kane

    Go to Amazon Prime Video Canada, and log in to your account. Then, search for Citizen Kane and click “watch on PrimeVideo.com.” 

    apv citizenkane

The 3 Best VPNs for Watching Citizen Kane

Streaming a film as renowned as Citizen Kane calls for only one of the very best VPNs to get the job done. Here are our top three recommendations. 

1. ExpressVPN

expressvpn app canada
ExpressVPN is a secure, fast, easy-to-use VPN that consistently gets around geoblocks.

Pros:

  • Consistently opens geoblocks
  • Highly secure
  • Easy to use 

Cons:

  • Expensive

Whichever service you’re planning to access, ExpressVPN is an excellent VPN for streaming. As well as being the most secure VPN around, ExpressVPN is also the best VPN for beginners, thanks to its no-nonsense desktop and mobile apps. If you’re a complete newbie, and a bit nervous about using new software, ExpressVPN could be the VPN for you. 

ExpressVPN is also unfailingly consistent with streaming services. In our experience, we’ve been able to access various streaming services and libraries from around the world in a matter of seconds, free of buffering and lag. Find out more in our ExpressVPN review, and try out the service yourself with its 30-day money-back guarantee. 

2. NordVPN

nordvpn app canada
NordVPN boasts superior speeds and affordable long-term plans.

Pros:

  • Superior speeds
  • Affordable two-year plan
  • Secure protocols

Cons:

  • Fiddly mobile app 

NordVPN is well worth considering if you’re looking for a VPN with lightning-fast speeds to keep buffering at bay. We test VPN speeds daily, and NordVPN has consistently proven itself the fastest VPN overall, with ExpressVPN and Surfshark rounding out the top three. Better yet, NordVPN offers a selection of plans, some of which are very reasonably priced. 

All that being said, we consider NordVPN a better VPN for streaming on a desktop than on a mobile device due to the map you use to change server locations. The mobile app can be a tad finicky, especially if geography isn’t your strong suit. 

Other than that, NordVPN is another excellent choice and also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. Find out more in our NordVPN review

3. Windscribe

windscribe open canada
Windscribe is one of the best free VPNs on the market, with a wide variety of free servers. 

Pros:

  • 15GB of free data per month
  • Wide variety of free servers
  • Very secure 

Cons:

  • Free plan not viable for frequent streaming 

Windscribe — one of our recommendations for the best free VPN — is a decent option if you’d like to pair a secure free VPN with your Amazon Prime Video free trial. With Windscribe, you can get up to 15GB of free data per month (2GB on signup, 10GB when you confirm your email address and an extra 5GB if you tweet about Windscribe).  

One of the strengths of Windscribe’s free plan is the wide variety of servers it offers, including free servers in Canada. If you want unlimited access to servers, though, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan. The same goes for data — 15GB won’t last long if you’re a regular streamer. Find out more in our Windscribe review

Free
  • Up to 15 GB free with email confirmation and Tweet
  • 15GB
  • Unlimited

Should I Watch the Citizen Kane Full Movie Before Mank?

In 2020, Netflix released Mank, a film about screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz’s work on Citizen Kane. It might be worth watching Citizen Kane before you watch Mank — which is available on Netflix — to get a better understanding of some of the references, but it’s not necessary. You can still enjoy and understand Mank without watching Citizen Kane at all. 

Final Thoughts

If Citizen Kane is next up on your watchlist, we hope our guide on how to watch it from anywhere with a VPN has been helpful. A VPN is an invaluable piece of software for streamers because it can offer you a much wider selection of content from around the world.

Have you tried out a VPN with Citizen Kane? If so, do you plan to continue using one for streaming? What do you think of the mystery of Charles Foster Kane’s final words and his Xanadu mansion? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading.  

FAQ

  • No, Citizen Kane is not available on Netflix.

  • Yes, Citizen Kane is available on Max.

  • Citizen Kane is considered a profoundly influential film because of both its outstanding and vast array of cinematographic techniques, and its powerful narrative.

  • Wherever you are in the world, you can connect to a VPN server in Canada to access Citizen Kane on Amazon Prime Video. You can also access your Max account with a VPN while traveling in Australia.

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