Orson Welles

[dave jenkins]

Terry Teachout has some interesting recent thoughts on Welles, Bernstein, and Ralph Ellison in the WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120311487595072493.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Here's the passage on Welles:

I've had the boy wonder of Hollywood on my mind lately, having recently reviewed productions of "Moby-Dick -- Rehearsed," his 1955 stage version of Herman Melville's novel, and "Orson's Shadow," the 2000 play in which Austin Pendleton shows us Welles a few years after "Moby-Dick -- Rehearsed" -- demoralized by repeated failure and unable to get his career back on track.

Welles's story is one of the saddest tales in the long history of a hard profession. He became famous far too soon and was acclaimed as a genius long before his personality had matured. At 23 he made the cover of Time magazine. Two years later RKO gave him a near-blank check, which he used to make "Citizen Kane." By then he was convinced that he could do no wrong, and when the money dried up and he had to struggle for the first time in his life, he lost his creative way. Convinced that it was his destiny to make great movies, he turned his back on the theater, where he had previously done more modest but equally impressive work. In "Moby-Dick -- Rehearsed" Welles showed one last time that he still knew how to make magic happen on a stage, but otherwise he kept banging his head vainly against the wall of an indifferent film industry. The result was a half-dozen deeply flawed movies that wanted desperately to be masterpieces, though none of them, not even "Chimes at Midnight," Welles's fascinating study of Shakespeare's Falstaff, came close to making the grade.

I don't disagree with TT's assessment, but I do offer this rejoinder: rather than create great theater, might not making mediocre films--any films at all-- be a better strategy for ensuring one's immortality?

[titoli]

I say that Touch of Evil, Campanadas de medianoche, F For Fake and Othello are are masterpieces. Flawed ones? Probably. But of the kind you would look for vainly nowaday.

[The Firecracker]

My favorite Welles performance...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3qg4i22x9M

[PowerRR]

"My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless there are three other people." - Orson Welles

[dave jenkins]

I just finished watching his completed filmography, and now I will rank them.

1. The Trial
2. Touch of Evil
3. Citizen Kane
4. Mr. Arkadin
5. The Lady From Shanghai
6. The Stranger
7. Othello
8. Macbeth
9. F For Fake
10. The Magnificent Ambersons
11. Chimes at Midnight
12. The Immortal Story

This is by no means Welles's "completed filmography." As the writers of Orson Welles at Work put it, ". . . he left us twelve completed feature-length films, twenty television programmes, as many short films made in various circumstances and twelve unfinished works for the small and big screens." (10)

BTW, when they speak of "twelve completed feature-length films" they aren't necessarily including "The Immortal Story," which is a TV-length work (and thus one of the 20 that includes "The Fountain of Youth"). No, the 12th feature-length Welles film they're talking about is Journey Into Fear (1942). Although largely (but not entirely) directed by Norman Foster, the authors of OWAW make a persuasive case for considering JIF an Orson Welles film (see pgs. 99-100).

As to what else Welles did for TV, there are several episodes of something called Around the World with Orson Welles (1955). The aforementioned "Fountain of Youth" (1956) was followed by "Portrait of Gina" (1958), "Orson Welles on the Art of Bullfighting" (1961), nine episodes of something called "Nella Terra di Don Chisciotte" (1961-1964), "Filming Othello" (1977), and the pilot episode of "The Orson Welles Show" (1978-9).

Also, the Munich Filmmuseum has recently been assembling and finishing a number of projects that Welles was unable to complete, and has been releasing them under such titles as "Orson Welles' Magic Show" (2000), "Orson Welles' Moby Dick (2000), "Filming The Trial" (2001), etc.

Then there are the trailers Welles made for his films, notably those for CK, Ambersons, F for Fake, small works of art in themselves.

Then there is his juvenilia ("Hearts of Age," etc.).

Then there's all the stuff that they're still looking for (e.g. "Moby Dick - Rehearsed").

So, it's very difficult to cover the complete filmography. . . .

[PowerRR]

Although I hadn't seen it at the time I posted the list, I did watch Journey Into Fear a couple months ago. It's very clear that Welles directed most of the film, as the whole style feels very Wellesian in comparison to his other works.

I've also seen the documentary It's All True, which includes most of the surviving footage that he captured in South America in 1943. I still have a personally made bootleg of Don Quijote de Orson Welles (the Franco edit) sitting on my shelf as well, which I very much believe I will watch within the week.

I've been trying my best to see everything of his entire filmography, but as you said, it's incredibly hard to track this stuff down.

And do you care to tell more about Orson Welles at Work? What's the book like overall?

I've also seen Hearts of Age, Vienna, and the F For Fake trailer. I'm having a hell of a time tracking down The Fountain of Youth, and I'm still anticipating the future release of The Other Side of the Wind, which Bogdonavich says is "99.9% done". Though an update was released this month saying that there are still troubles in getting it released.

Netflix has Around the World With Orson Welles available, though I haven't had the urge to watch it yet.

[dave jenkins]

And do you care to tell more about Orson Welles at Work? What's the book like overall?

It's a biggish, coffee-table style book with a lot of pictures. Most of the pix are movie stills and promo shots, but there are also photos of documents, sketches, the odd screenplay page, what have you. There are also useful charts, for example, a matrix that shows how things progressed when Welles was doing Ambersons/Journey Into Fear/It's All True, all at the same time. There's another handy chart that assigns photographic credit for the different shots in Ambersons. Finally, there's a good deal of printed matter that takes you through the guy's career chronologically. Very useful.

[dave jenkins]

Sounds like the UK DVD of F For Fake is the one to get: http://www.wellesnet.com/?p=203

[PowerRR]

Wow -- that sounds great. I just wish it wasn't $50, which is a bit more than I'd like to pay.

[dave jenkins]

Wow -- that sounds great. I just wish it wasn't $50, which is a bit more than I'd like to pay.

Are you talking about the book or the DVD?

[PowerRR]

The book. I'll probably just pick up the Criterion for F For Fake if I ever see a good price on it.

It also includes the documentary One Man Band which I've been wanting to see.

[dave jenkins]

Oh, that's not quite what happens - it's his uncle that gets excited about using the computer to help Perkins with the case, but Perkins seems to ignore him and soon runs away when he hears more whipping going on in the stock room.

That is the scene I was thinking about. But, apparently, there is (or was) also this: http://www.wellesnet.com/Trial_MS_1.htm

[PowerRR]

Very interesting, thanks for the link DJ.

Bah, I wish this would get a Criterion release or something. The current American transfers are terrible ...I may pick up the R2 French DVD (I believe it's French), which is a much better transfer.

[dave jenkins]

Here's an interesting note on the sources of F for Fake: http://www.wellesnet.com/?p=205#more-205

[dave jenkins]

The Other Side of the Wind: http://www.wellesnet.com/?p=213