8. Rosebud Gets People Past The Hype - Citizen Kane
The Twist: Rosebud is Kane's childhood sledge. The oldest, most famous movie twist, Rosebud is the driving force through Kane and for a moment at the end it seems like we won't even get a resolution. Instead, to hammer home how in the end that one word did exemplify a man, there's the tragic scene of the sled burning; a solution will never be known. This is the one twist you really should ruin for someone. After fifty years dubbed as The Greatest Film In The World, Kane has an incredibly stuffy reputation, viewed as a critic's darling; beautiful to look at and analyse, but with little entertainment value. Revealing a twist (and reaffirming there's a serious plot, not just artistic imagery) actually makes Kane more appealing. Old films are viewed as slow, boring and undeveloped. While you can use the former in the case of action cinema (but not really as a criticism), this stigma is a falsity that's very hard to shake. Citizen Kane is a great entry for people of that disposition and the twist is the easiest way to prove them wrong.