Xixax Film Forum

The Director's Chair => The Director's Chair => Topic started by: modage on June 10, 2003, 03:36:08 PM

Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: modage on June 10, 2003, 03:36:08 PM
is it just me, or is there not a topic for ORSON WELLES?  re-direct me if i'm wrong, but that sounds like bad news.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: The Silver Bullet on June 10, 2003, 07:46:29 PM
Orson Welles is, for the most part and in my opinion, grossly overrated.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: SHAFTR on June 10, 2003, 11:39:04 PM
It's tough to really measure the greatness of Orson Welles.  Citizen Kane was the only movie he had complete control of (and look what happened there).

It seems that critics and directors seem to think he is the greatest director of all time...and i'm guessing they know more than me.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: modage on June 10, 2003, 11:56:06 PM
i loved LOVED LOVED Touch of Evil.  i dont care who made it, i thought it was perfect.  i preffered it to Citizen Kane.  i loved the Henry Mancini score, the gorgeous black and white photography.  the cool camera moves and the great film noir characters.  LOVED.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: The Silver Bullet on June 11, 2003, 12:38:34 AM
See, I have not seen Touch Of Evil or Chimes At Midnight, which a lot of people say you have to see before you can really make your mind up about Welles. I loved F For Fake [A+++], but thought Macbeth [C+], The Magnificent Ambersons [B] and Citizen Kane [B] were all pretty average at best.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: SHAFTR on June 11, 2003, 01:31:19 AM
I've only seen Citizen Kane and Touch of Evil, and I loved them both.  Citizen Kane gets better and better after every viewing.

I've only seen Touch of Evil once and I'm waiting around before I get the DVD (hoping for a different release).
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Pedro on June 11, 2003, 01:52:54 AM
Though overrated, Citizen Kane is fucking fantastic.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Ghostboy on June 11, 2003, 01:59:58 AM
I agree with everyone who says that Citizen Kane and Touch Of Evil are masterpieces of cinema. Citizen Kane is one of the few films that was built up enormously for me in the years before I saw it, and then actually lived up to all the hype. Maybe it is overrated, but still...it changed the way movies are made.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: The Silver Bullet on June 11, 2003, 02:04:30 AM
Casablanca lives up to expectation.

Citizen Kane gets raped by expectation.
Expectation makes Citizen Kane its bitch.

But to each his own.
For the record I really, really loved the Welles performance in Kane. Just not much else.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Gold Trumpet on June 11, 2003, 10:46:22 AM
I think Orson Welles is a genius myself and Citizen Kane not only lives up to expectation, but surpasses it because everytime I watch the movie I can feel every other movie made after it living through its veins. The Trial is another great film. Actually, about Touch of Evil, I am trying to relocate a letter Orson Welles sent to a British paper in which he bashed the film completely, even if his version was fulfilled by the studios. He just ripped on the entire project. When I find it, I am posting it immediately on "Everything Else Cinema" because I see a lot of flaws in the movie myself.

~rougerum
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: SoNowThen on June 11, 2003, 10:55:56 AM
I love Orson Welles. The man is a force. His voice is one of the most amazing things ever. I especially love his performance in Catch 22:

"Get in the car, you smirking slut"

Wonderful. And great with the camera as well. The man is an icon.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: children with angels on June 11, 2003, 11:05:33 AM
Has anyone seen Casino Royale? (One of the worst films I've ever seen, in my opinion) It was so sad to see Welles in that. Probably trying to get the money together for yet another attempt at Don Quixote...

And I too have to say I think Kane deserves all the praise it gets.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: ono on June 11, 2003, 11:22:58 AM
Quote from: The Gold TrumpetI think Orson Welles is a genius myself and Citizen Kane not only lives up to expectation, but surpasses it because everytime I watch the movie I can feel every other movie made after it living through its veins. The Trial is another great film. Actually, about Touch of Evil, I am trying to relocate a letter Orson Welles sent to a British paper in which he bashed the film completely, even if his version was fulfilled by the studios. He just ripped on the entire project. When I find it, I am posting it immediately on "Everything Else Cinema" because I see a lot of flaws in the movie myself.

~rougerum
I had checked out a Touch of Evil special edition DVD with some notes on the film from Welles.  Perhaps this is what you're talking about/looking for?
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Mesh on June 11, 2003, 11:26:36 AM
Quote from: The Silver Bullet
Citizen Kane gets raped by expectation.
Expectation makes Citizen Kane its bitch.

Say what you will about personal expectations, but Citizen Kane towers over films contemporary with it; it's just monumentally different, an unparalleled and revolutionary achievement in terms of acting, narrative structure, lighting, cinematography, social critique....everything.

I've said this before:  American films can be seen as falling into two groups: Pre- and Post-Citizen Kane.

Also: Touch of Evil is the boundary line between Film Noir and Neo-Noir.  Its both an entertaining, unconventional thriller and an enormous landmark for the genre.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: dufresne on June 11, 2003, 11:50:08 AM
Anyone see Touch of Evil only after Get Shorty?  :oops:
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: AlguienEstolamiPantalones on June 11, 2003, 11:55:10 AM
i just found out that wells is dead, first i find out that kubrick is dead and now this   :: sobs like a little girl::
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: SoNowThen on June 11, 2003, 11:55:36 AM
Yep, I just bought Touch. Will watch probably this week.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Gold Trumpet on June 11, 2003, 11:56:57 AM
I don't think the letter is in the special edition dvd, because that wouldn't be good for sales because from what I remember, Welles destroys all credibility of the film if it was even done his way.

~rougerum
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Pubrick on June 11, 2003, 12:04:43 PM
Quote from: SantaClauseWasA BlackMani just found out that wells is dead, first i find out that kubrick is dead and now this   :: sobs like a little girl::
dude, u won't like what i just found out on the kurosowa thread then:

Quote from: dufresneespecially since he's dead.

::freaking out:: this is not happening this is not happening!!
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: AlguienEstolamiPantalones on June 11, 2003, 12:08:07 PM
Quote from: P
Quote from: SantaClauseWasA BlackMani just found out that wells is dead, first i find out that kubrick is dead and now this   :: sobs like a little girl::
dude, u won't like what i just found out on the kurosowa thread then:

Quote from: dufresneespecially since he's dead.

::freaking out:: this is not happening this is not happening!!

OHH WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK........... :: runs into the mountains waving his hands in the air and screaming jibberish::
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: SHAFTR on June 11, 2003, 01:19:26 PM
It's interesting that Welles helped start Film Noir with Citizen Kane and had one of the last film noir films with Touch of Evil.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: The Silver Bullet on June 11, 2003, 07:40:51 PM
QuoteSay what you will about personal expectations, but Citizen Kane towers over films contemporary with it.
Indeed I will say what I will about personal expectations. I personally found there to be nothing special about Citizen Kane. That is not to detract from its importance in a historical context, it's just saying that I didn't like it too much. So sue me.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: modage on June 11, 2003, 09:25:50 PM
Quote from: The Silver BulletCasablanca lives up to expectation.

Citizen Kane gets raped by expectation.
Expectation makes Citizen Kane its bitch.

But to each his own.
For the record I really, really loved the Welles performance in Kane. Just not much else.

i like your "expectation" quote.  its really funny.  and at first viewing (which is all ive seen the kane thus far), i think sums up how i felt about it after watching it as well.  whereas exactly, casablanca, on the other hand, i dont give a shit what it did, or didnt influence, i had a great time watching it.  i thought it was great all the way through.  kane on the other hand seems like a movie you have to know about to fully enjoy.  if you arent aware of all the cool shit going on then its going to not have a big impact.  i even watched the documentary first, so i knew allthe backstory, and i think that helped, whereas my girlfriend on the other hand was like "that was it?"
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: The Silver Bullet on June 11, 2003, 10:01:51 PM
See, I knew a lot about Citizen Kane [I had not seen the doco, however], but I dunno. I wasn't able to see what made it this masterpiece that everyone said it was. In terms of Orson Welles, give me F for Fake over Kane anyday of the week. His performance is just as good, and it is a much better, much more innovative film.

Bar the Welles performance, the only thing I enjoyed about Citizen Kane was noting what scenes The Simpsons ripped off for the Rosebud episode.

And for the record, it isn't as though I'm saying that I dislike Citizen Kane just to look cool. If anything, saying something like this could get a man stoned. With rocks, I mean.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: godardian on June 12, 2003, 01:41:30 AM
I prefer Kane to Touch of Evil... I do think it's a brilliant film. It's very, very rich. Unlike many other "great" films, I think it has a lot of cheek and spryness and is very fun to watch. I think it probably deserves its status, much more so than things like Casablanca and Gone With the Wind.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Keener on June 12, 2003, 02:04:00 AM
I've only been able to get my hands on Citizen Kane which I fully enjoyed and did think it lived up to the hype. I enjoyed it all. I'm dying to see Touch of Evil as well as his other work. Alabama has crappy video stores.  :cry:
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: (kelvin) on June 12, 2003, 08:20:14 AM
Don't forget his brilliant performance in The Third Man. Nonetheless, I don't think that Welles is in any way overrated. Just think of it: Citizen Kane was his first...his very first!...movie. It's just incredible that someone who has never worked as a film director can make such a film without any experience concerning cinematography and film aesthetics.
The Lady from Shanghai is a very good film as well, I love the mirror scene in the end. Even his "minor" films, such as The Stranger, which he didn't appreciate that much himself, always show his extraordinary talent. Idem for The Magnificent Ambersons, altough mutilated by Robert Wise and others, Confidential Report, the film essay F For Fake, and even his short films and documentaries.  For me, he is just one of the greatest directors.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: modage on June 12, 2003, 11:46:39 AM
yes, but a good first movie, and THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER CREATED EVER, are two different things.  thats a shitload of hype.

and i dont want to be misunderstood, i LOVE orson welles. i love everything ive seen so far.  but all im saying is that i agree with TheSilverBullet when i say that it didnt knock my socks off as much as id hoped.  hopefully that will change with repeat viewings.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: SoNowThen on June 12, 2003, 11:49:04 AM
In terms of Directing Zest it certainly is the greatest. More so than anyone else, he is responsible for the forming of style in EVERY single one of our favorite directors.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: modage on June 12, 2003, 11:53:36 AM
right, and i am not going to argue whether or not it was the MOST INFLUENTIAL movie of all time.  but is it still the BEST?  that'd be like saying the Model T was the best car ever created because it influenced the way everybody else made their cars.  yeah...but havent people learned what they could from that car and went on to design cars that were better?
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: SoNowThen on June 12, 2003, 11:57:22 AM
Yeah, I see what you're saying. "Best" has gotta be THE most subjective word in the English language.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: modage on June 12, 2003, 12:00:48 PM
that much hype can ruin anything.  even the best movie ever.  :wink:
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: SoNowThen on June 12, 2003, 12:01:53 PM
But what if it was the BEST hype ever?
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: modage on June 12, 2003, 12:02:16 PM
oh man, i am SO THERE!
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: SoNowThen on June 12, 2003, 12:04:37 PM
WhooHooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Um, yeah.... anyway, in all seriousness (disregarding the current "he's dead" jokes), is Orson still alive? I can't remember. I certainly hope so...
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: modage on June 12, 2003, 12:08:08 PM
"he's dead" jokes?!?!  :shock:

no seriously, he died 10 October 1985
Hollywood, California, USA. (heart attack)
he was 70.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: SoNowThen on June 12, 2003, 12:09:14 PM
Fucking hell.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: The Silver Bullet on June 12, 2003, 11:26:48 PM
I'm weirded out solely by the fact that you didn't know.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: tpfkabi on June 22, 2003, 09:19:42 PM
i like the Trial too. i bought it for 7 bucks in a crummy dvd bin. i believe he got shorted on budget for this film, so all the sound is done post, and a lot of the sound doesn't sync (i think he might have even had to do the voice overs for several other actors because of lack of funds). i don't know if this is the DVD people's fault or if this is just what they were given. none the less, the camera angles / sets are amazing, just like in Kane and in all his films i've seen.

i think it's one of the greatest tragedies of film that he didn't get moderate control on his films after Kane. to be honest, i really think film might be in a slightly different place right now if he did.

he was that good in ALL areas: sound / visuals / story / acting.

some directors are known for their striking visuals, but lacking stories etc, and any other combinations of the things listed above.......but he seemed to do it all well.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: (kelvin) on June 27, 2003, 04:23:40 PM
I saw his version of Othello today. Orson, if you can hear me right now, you are a genius...a genius, you hear me?
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Cecil on June 27, 2003, 09:16:43 PM
Quote from: chriskelvinI saw his version of Othello today. Orson, if you can hear me right now, you are a genius...a genius, you hear me?

yes, i hear you
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Sleuth on June 28, 2003, 01:15:51 AM
(takes a deep satisfying breath with a smile on his face, tears in his eyes, shaking head thoughtfully)  I knew it...
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: (kelvin) on June 29, 2003, 02:47:36 PM
Quote from: cecil b. demented
Quote from: chriskelvinI saw his version of Othello today. Orson, if you can hear me right now, you are a genius...a genius, you hear me?

yes, i hear you

erm, cecil, is your real name also Orson? Or is that the kind of jokes I just don't understand?  :roll:
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Sleuth on June 29, 2003, 02:50:13 PM
It's the kind you don't roll your eyes at!
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: (kelvin) on June 29, 2003, 03:41:20 PM
:?  :?:
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: SHAFTR on June 29, 2003, 06:07:19 PM
I am going to have to say that Citizen Kane deserves its hype, I didn't think so the first time I saw it though; but since than I've had a week of one of my film classes spent talking about the movie and I have since bought the DVD and enjoy it more and more.

My top 3 Best Movies of All Time
Citizen Kane
Breathless
The Grand Illusion
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Cecil on June 29, 2003, 07:28:05 PM
Quote from: chriskelvin
Quote from: cecil b. demented
Quote from: chriskelvinI saw his version of Othello today. Orson, if you can hear me right now, you are a genius...a genius, you hear me?

yes, i hear you

erm, cecil, is your real name also Orson? Or is that the kind of jokes I just don't understand?  :roll:

just a joke. cause he says "genius." im saying im orson wells the genius.

its funny to explain jokes sometimes. :-D
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: tpfkabi on June 30, 2003, 07:11:58 PM
Quote from: SHAFTRI am going to have to say that Citizen Kane deserves its hype, I didn't think so the first time I saw it though; but since than I've had a week of one of my film classes spent talking about the movie and I have since bought the DVD and enjoy it more and more.

My top 3 Best Movies of All Time
Citizen Kane
Breathless
The Grand Illusion

same for me. the prof. pointed out so many devices, camera angles, sound links, etc.
i remembered he talked about 3 big shots/scenes
1. the diner table, where we see the ruining of a relationship and marriage in a very short time.....the length of the table grows in every shot, flower changes/die, etc
2. when Kane stills the best newspaper staff and at first you see the photo and then it "comes to life"
3. and for teh life of me, i can't remember the third........oh, i think i remember now......the shot of the opera (where we never actually see the crowd, but we feel like it's big) and then the camera "pans" up (while the sound changes accordingly) to the two guys in the rafters

but those shots alone make a great film and there are so many more:
the long "hall" of mirrors, the little Kane playing outside in the snow in focus like the rest of the shot, the shot of Kane speaking  behind the big poster of himself.......and there are many more
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: SoNowThen on July 04, 2003, 11:07:13 AM
Just saw The Trial yesterday. Damn!! David Lynch eat your heart out... THIS is how nightmare movies should be done. What a great flick!

Orson is cool. Must locate a copy of this on dvd.

As to Magnif Ambersons, even though the studio destroyed some of the stuff he shot, are there ANY copies of anything (like an intermediate print or something) so that someone could piece together the whole thing, no matter how shitty the quality? Or are we forever fucked out of seeing the whole story?
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Comte de Saint Germain on July 04, 2003, 11:26:59 AM
forever fucked.

~rougerum
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: SoNowThen on July 04, 2003, 11:28:53 AM
Seriously? Then I'm never watching Ambersons. I don't wanna see a mutilated version.


Anybody have the Trial on dvd, can tell me if the quality is decent? There seems to be 3 diff versions (2 all region, one region1)
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Pubrick on July 04, 2003, 11:47:21 AM
Quote from: SoNowThenSeriously? Then I'm never watching Ambersons. I don't wanna see a mutilated version.
what remains is pretty good.

u saw american history X didn't u? millions of things are butchered. orson is just the biggest shame.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: SoNowThen on July 04, 2003, 11:50:03 AM
Hmm, yeah, I guess I'm just pouting. I'll eventually see Ambersons. It's just such a damn shame.

The fact that things are taken away and changed is the one bit I hate about movies. So frustrating. It's like publishing a poem, and chopping the last two lines. Or when fucking radios get those Radio Single versions of good songs, and edit a minute out of them. Pure evil.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: MacGuffin on July 04, 2003, 12:27:19 PM
Quote from: SoNowThenAs to Magnif Ambersons, even though the studio destroyed some of the stuff he shot, are there ANY copies of anything (like an intermediate print or something) so that someone could piece together the whole thing, no matter how shitty the quality? Or are we forever fucked out of seeing the whole story?

http://xixax.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=952
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: tpfkabi on July 04, 2003, 02:01:36 PM
i bought the Trial on dvd for 7 bucks in a dvd bin. it was made by Laserlight. the quality is pretty bad, but i think i made a post on it a page or so ago.

what version did you see of it? is all the dialogue done post and out of sync?
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: SoNowThen on July 04, 2003, 02:07:28 PM
Yeah, I got a video copy (letterboxed) from the library. It looked pretty good, but I had to CRANK the sound on the tv. I just wanted a dvd for the chapter stops, and cleaner sound.

And yeah, it was mostly out of sync, but I'm so used to that from all the Fellini movies. :-D
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: cine on September 02, 2003, 01:56:17 AM
How about Orson's voice? I think I mentioned this in the past on another thread but really his voice really stands out and his presence is really felt when you hear him speak. This is of course because he was a great thespian already with his Mercury Theatre before making Kane. I only watch the film on DVD but sometimes I'll get out the TCM VHS of Citizen Kane just to listen to him talk about the actors in the CK intro when all you see is a microphone under the light. I'm waiting for the "It's on the DVD, dumbass" because I'm not *entirely* sure if its on there; I didn't think it was. Anyhow I love that whole intro. I'm compelled to listen to him speak until he's finished. One of the absolute greats of the cinema and in no way overrated.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: MacGuffin on September 02, 2003, 02:19:46 PM
Quote from: CinephileHow about Orson's voice? I think I mentioned this in the past on another thread but really his voice really stands out and his presence is really felt when you hear him speak.
I think his voice narration (along with the eerie, pre-1980 Nostradamus predictions) was one of the reasons "The Man Who Saw Tomorrow" scared the crap outta me.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: cine on September 02, 2003, 05:37:34 PM
And when he did "The War of the Worlds".. amazing. Orson Welles just had that raw intensity in his voice that every word he said, he said it with power and authority. Beautiful.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: ***beady*** on September 02, 2003, 05:58:16 PM
Yeah, the live broadcast, semi-journalistic style he did was fantastic.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: MacGuffin on March 08, 2004, 09:39:49 PM
Judge: Oscar Belongs to Welles' Daughter

LOS ANGELES - The Academy Award presented to Orson Welles for "Citizen Kane" belongs to his daughter, a judge said, ruling against Oscar overseers trying to prevent the sale of the statuette.

U.S. District Court Judge Dean Pregerson ruled in Beatrice Welles' favor, saying the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has no claim to the Oscar awarded to her father for co-writing the screenplay of his 1941 classic. The March 4 ruling was made public Monday.

"Welles has unrestricted property rights in the original Oscar, which she may dispose of however she sees fit," Pregerson wrote.

Her attorney said Monday that Welles plans to sell the Oscar at auction and hopes it will fetch $1 million.

The academy will appeal the ruling, said David Quinto, an attorney for the academy.

Welles had tried to sell the Oscar last year, but Christie's auction house pulled it from a scheduled sale because of the ownership dispute with the academy.

The dispute centered on a right-of-first-refusal agreement that the academy adopted in 1950, which stipulates that if an award winner or the winner's heirs ever put an Oscar up for sale, it has to be offered to the academy first for $1.

The Oscar presented to Welles, who died in 1985, had long been presumed lost, and his daughter asked the academy for a replacement in 1988. The academy agreed, but asked her to sign the agreement regarding potential sale of Oscar statuettes.

Orson Welles' original Oscar surfaced in 1994 in possession of Gary Graver, a cinematographer who had worked with the director. Graver sold the statuette for $50,000 to Bay Holdings, which then offered it for sale through Sotheby's auction house.

When Beatrice Welles heard of it, she sued to block the sale of the Oscar, which eventually was returned to her. After she offered the original Oscar for auction, the academy notified her she was obligated to return it under the agreement she signed for the duplicate statuette.

Welles then sued the academy, arguing the agreement applied only to the duplicate, not the original.

In last week's ruling, Pregerson agreed, saying the wording of the agreement did not cover the original award.

The academy "always knew they had no right to this Oscar, but they made this woman sue over it," said Welles attorney, Steven Ames Brown.

Academy attorney Quinto said he believes Welles understood that the academy's intent was to prevent the sale of any Oscars so the statuettes would not become "articles of commerce."
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: grand theft sparrow on March 08, 2004, 09:47:47 PM
Why did I think that Spielberg owned this?
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: MacGuffin on March 08, 2004, 09:53:25 PM
Quote from: hacksparrowWhy did I think that Spielberg owned this?

Spielberg owns Rosebud. But usually when an "celeb" Oscar is put up at auction (Clark Gable's, for example), Spielberg will buy it and return it to the Academy.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: tpfkabi on March 08, 2004, 10:13:01 PM
i wonder how many Rosebud's there are then, since it/one got toasted at the end of the film?

are people's names actually printed on Oscars? i just wondered how you would know one from another
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: MacGuffin on March 08, 2004, 10:15:18 PM
Quote from: bigideasare people's names actually printed on Oscars? i just wondered how you would know one from another

Yes. A little plaque that has the name and what catagory it was won for.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: jwebb202 on March 30, 2004, 12:19:43 AM
i just saw the trial yesterday & it blew me away
what an incredible piece of cinema

its so ahead of its time [just like every other orson welles movie]
brazil owes a lot to it

my mind has been further expanded

how can anyone deny welles' greatness??
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Pubrick on March 30, 2004, 05:37:08 AM
Quote from: jwebb202how can anyone deny welles' greatness??
these are the reasons i've noticed..

-they havn't seen his movies
-they're not smart enuff
-they think the world began in 1994.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Alethia on March 30, 2004, 07:56:11 AM
Quote from: jwebb202i just saw the trial yesterday & it blew me away
what an incredible piece of cinema

i just saw it for the first time, too, a few days ago, and i agree 100%.....orson welles is definitely one of my top directors/writers/actors EVER
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: tpfkabi on March 31, 2004, 07:00:13 AM
so what versions / or how did you see the Trial?
somewhere, someone told me that there was a SE released rather recently. maybe '03?

does anyone want to talk about the ending? i'm not really familiar with Kafka, so i don't konw if i can bring anything to it.

the shots where K is running through those wooden panes with light shining through.....and with the creepy kids are pretty cool.......it looks like it's slighty sped up and it makes it even more creepy
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: SoNowThen on March 31, 2004, 09:07:28 AM
It's Welles best, from what I've seen.


The locations make the movie.

Oh, and as to the ending, supposedly it's a bit different in Kafka's book. K struggles more or something. I have it on order, but haven't read it yet...
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: tpfkabi on March 31, 2004, 02:17:31 PM
it was shot in an abandon airport hanger i think.
the shots will all the extras are amazing, too.
i wonder how he managed that with so little money?

isn't it funny when Welles first appears underneath the hot towel and makes some weird sound?...........and then when he takes it off to finally reveal his face, steam is rising from his head.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Ravi on March 31, 2004, 10:22:17 PM
How is his Macbeth?
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: The Silver Bullet on May 05, 2004, 08:03:23 AM
"You look pretty splendid yourself, Orson."

A CONVERSATION WITH CURTIS HARRINGTON (http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/44/curtis.htm) by Peter Tonguette
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: modage on February 02, 2005, 10:03:15 PM
i watched Lady From Shanghai a few weeks ago and i liked it pretty well.  although his thick irish accent took some getting used to.  (as did rita hayworth as a blonde for that matter), but overall it was a pretty good film with a few great scenes (like the funhouse) and definitely worth checking out for fans of noir.  its been a few years since i've watched either Kane or Evil though so i wonder how i would respond to either now.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Fjodor on March 06, 2005, 03:36:09 PM
Interesting Article (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12411243%5E16947,00.html)
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: tpfkabi on March 06, 2005, 10:57:43 PM
http://www.wellesnet.com/Ambersons%20video.htm

i wish someone would make take the Criterion laserdisc of Magnificent Ambersons and make a bootleg DVD. i want to see it so badly.

for those that have seen it, does it have a lot of the same visual flare as Citizen Kane, i.e.; interesting transitions, camera angles, etc?
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: UncleJoey on March 06, 2005, 11:15:30 PM
Yeah, it uses a lot of the same Deep Focus style you see in Citizen Kane. I can't really comment on any specifics since I saw it in a pretty poor environment, but from clips I've seen since, there's a lot of interesting cinematography to watch for.

However, the film did seem more subtle stylistically than Kane, but again, I wasn't able to watch it as closely as I would have liked and could be wrong about that.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: SiliasRuby on March 20, 2005, 06:24:20 PM
Just watched 'the third man'. Great film. Orson wells does a wonderful cameo. Citizen Kane is fantastic. I'm really hoping to see the magnificent ambersons soon.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: cine on March 20, 2005, 07:06:36 PM
Quote from: SiliasRubyJust watched 'the third man'. Great film. Orson wells does a wonderful cameo.
not much of a cameo, really..

Quote from: SiliasRubyCitizen Kane is fantastic.
hmm should i buy it?
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: cron on March 20, 2005, 08:07:33 PM
Quote from: Cinephile
Quote from: SiliasRubyCitizen Kane is fantastic.
hmm should i buy it?

do so, and don't you forget to post about it!
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Ravi on March 20, 2005, 09:07:01 PM
Quote from: Cinephile
Quote from: SiliasRubyCitizen Kane is fantastic.
hmm should i buy it?

Buying Citizen Kane is overrated.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: MacGuffin on March 30, 2005, 03:03:31 PM
[JeffWilson of thedigitalbits.com] about THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, any update on the status for this? Last I heard you were looking for better elements? Also, any plans for JOURNEY INTO FEAR (1943)?

[WarnerHomeVideo] Deja vu! We're still looking for great elements on AMBERSONS & JOURNEY.
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Pubrick on May 10, 2005, 08:46:44 AM
Quote from: flagpolespecialwhat's the best edition of 'touch of evil' to buy

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/6305999872/qid=1115723428/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl74/103-5245078-6772610?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846

does anyone own this edition or can vouch for or suggest a better edition.

thanks.

bookmark these sites:
http://www.compare.dvdbeaver.com/film/compare.htm
http://www.dvdcompare.net/
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: tpfkabi on May 10, 2005, 07:01:33 PM
well, i thought i was going to be able to see Magnificent Ambersons.
i noticed it was playing on Turner Classic Movies last Wednesday, so i asked two people i know to record it (to make sure i got a copy of it). well, one couldn't get ahold of their husband in time and another didn't set the VCR right to record.
blast.
this needs to be on DVD yesterday.

(love was such an easy game to play)
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: modage on May 10, 2005, 11:07:48 PM
1. get tivo. its cheap and it will change your life (even if you dont really watch tv).

2. get the kind with a dvd burner attached, (its not that expensive and thats pretty awesome, no?)  

then it will never forget to record and you can burn yourself a copy on dvd.  vhs sucks. :yabbse-thumbup:
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: Two Lane Blacktop on May 11, 2005, 09:00:30 AM
Quote from: flagpolespecialdoes anyone own this edition or can vouch for or suggest a better edition.

That's the one you want.  Terrific movie, too, BTW.

2LB
Title: Welles, Orson
Post by: tpfkabi on May 27, 2005, 11:10:55 PM
how was it?

my town's cable co. actually added TCM. i looked to see if they're playing Magnificient Ambersons anytime soon. July 1st:

http://turnerclassicmovies.com/ThisMonth/Article/0,,89424,00.html
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: Gamblour. on January 08, 2006, 06:11:21 PM
I just watched F for Fake. The first hour is such a jumbled up tapestry of fakeries, it's hard to stay attached. It flows and poses interseting points, but very difficult. The last half an hour is just great, very playful, as Bogdanovich puts it. Did anyone buy/see this? I blind bought it the other day. Not entirely pleased, but at least it's very intriguing cinema.
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: MacGuffin on February 28, 2007, 10:44:42 PM
The following is from an on-line chat with executives from Warner Home Video, held on Monday, February 26th on The Home Theater Forum.


[PeterNichols] All's well that ends Welles... My subject is Orson Welles. When will WB release The Magnificent Ambersons and/or Journey Into Fear? Or heck, any other Orson Welles related stuff? Including HD.

[WARNER] We have finally found good elements on AMBERSONS, and plan to release both AMBERSONS and JOURNEY in 2008.
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: MacGuffin on April 04, 2007, 11:11:25 AM
Peter Bogdanovich: "Showtime has greenlit work to finish Welles' THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND"
Source: Wellesnet.com

Craig Weinstein and Drew Reiber, two Wellesnet correspondents in Florida wrote to report that Peter Bogdanovich appeared at the Florida Film Festival in Orlando last night (March 30th) and announced that Showtime's long simmering deal to finance the completion of The Other Side of the Wind has finally been consummated.

Apparently the contract was signed last week, and while on the surface, this is very good news, as with anything pertaining to OSOTW there are many obstacles that still may appear. However, there is little doubt that this is a giant step foward in getting the film completed. 

As Bogdanovich told Weinstein and Reiber, "We now have a lot of work ahead of us."  That work will begin with taking inventory of all the footage that has been locked away in a Paris film vault for over 30 years. 

Bogdanovich's plan is to attempt to assemble the footage as closely to Welles original vision as is possible. He outlined his approach in the Searching For Orson documentary: 

BOGDANOVICH: This is Orson Welles only unrealized film project that could possibly be completed without the great man himself. There are many arguments to support this hope. But my goal would be to work with everybody who worked on the picture, Oja Kodar, and anybody who was around a lot. Frank Marshall was there for quite a while, so I would ask them what they all remember, and we would all pool are memories of what Orson had in mind. The idea would be to try and get as close as we can to what Orson had in mind, following the script and following notes that he made, and things he said to Oja about writing the script, and things he might have said to me. There's a certain rhythm (in the film) that he obviously had in mind, and we'd try to get to that kind of  rhythm, depending on the scene and also depending on the things we know about Orson.
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: Sunrise on April 04, 2007, 01:43:13 PM
I saw that yesterday. This is a great...great thing.
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: tpfkabi on April 04, 2007, 04:21:54 PM
I never go to see my movies once they're finished, because they're on film, in a tin can and can never be changed. If you direct a play, it's opened, and if you see it again after it's been running awhile, and you don't like it too well, you can take the cast and say, "well, we'll have a rehearsal tomorrow, we'll rewrite that scene, we'll play that a little differently," but a movie is locked up forever. You can always do it better, but you can't change a finished movie. So I never see my movies, because it makes me nervous not to be able to change anything. I have two main projects which are unfinished. One is THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND and when I tell you that my partner in that project is the brother-in-law of the late Shaw of Iran, you will understand why we are having a little legal difficulty. The other unfinished film is DON QUIXOTE, which was a private exercise of mine, and it will be finished as an author would finish it- in my own good time, when I feel like it. It is not unfinished because of financial reasons. And when it is released, it's title is going to be "WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO FINISH DON QUIXOTE?"

-Orson Welles

http://www.wellesnet.com/wind_index.htm

there's some info. i had never heard of this project. my first thought was that he died before finishing shooting, but apparently he had all the film in the can 10 years before his death, he just hadn't finished editing it. correct me if i'm wrong.
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: Sunrise on April 04, 2007, 04:27:21 PM
You are not wrong. My understanding is that Welles shot all the footage and edited a great deal of it...just never finished the editing, etc. The supplements on Criterion's F for Fake release explain a lot of this and are also quite terrific.
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: MacGuffin on March 26, 2010, 01:57:16 PM
Orson Welles heading back to big screen
Source: Hollywood Reporter

The late Orson Welles is back in the movie business. A rare recording only recently discovered of the filmmaker narrating a children's Christmas novel is being used as the basis for a film. It is being produced by Drac Studios, best known as a special effects and makeup shop for movies like "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" but now moving into full-fledged production.

Drac is in development on "Christmas Tails," a 3D live-action/CG hybrid movie to be directed by Todd Tucker and narrated by Welles, who died in 1985.

"It's a movie about how Santa's dog saves Christmas, but on one level, this a story about the discovery of Orson's lost tapes," Drac president Harvey Lowry said. "This is a substantial find. It's something that a filmmaker dreams of."

More than 25 years ago, author Robert X. Leed self-published a book titled "Christmas Tails," and in 1985 got his friend -- who happened to be the legendary Welles -- to narrate it, making five reel-to-reel recordings. The filmmaker passed away a few months later, and apart from Leed making the occasional copy of a reel to pass along with his book, the recordings stayed on a shelf in a closet of his Las Vegas home.

In December 2008, Lowry was discussing a project with a colleague, Karl Fritz, who mentioned in passing a rumor of the "lost tapes," believed to be the Welles' last professional recordings. The remarks went over Lowry's head at the time, but a month later he called Fritz back and wanted specifics.

Lowry contacted Reed, who confirmed the tapes' existence and sent them to Lowry's Burbank offices. Lowry heard the distinct voice and began brainstorming.

"We worked out a deal to option the book, and I got the recordings from him," Lowry said. The tapes were so old, he had to have them go through a chemical bath and baking process at Chemical Records so they could be digitized. He also verified their authenticity.

Lowry then approached Welles' estate to make a deal about getting the film icon back onscreen.

"I had the recording, but that didn't mean I could use them," he said. Deal in hand, Lowry began getting the movie on track.

In "Tails," Santa's reindeer fall ill, forcing him to consider canceling Christmas. Meanwhile, his dog gathers other canines in the North to help save the day. Matt Thompson wrote the screenplay based on Leed's book, and Tucker, who directed "Monster Mutt," an upcoming feature Lowry produced, came on board as helmer.

Drac, using its expertise in animatronic movie animals, will create the dog heroes and create a fantastical North Pole with computer graphics. The creative team -- Lowry, Tucker, Ron Halvas and creative director Greg Cannom -- has won Oscars for "Bram Stoker's Dracula," "Mrs. Doubtfire" and "Benjamin Button" and was nominated for "Titanic" and "The Passion of the Christ" among others.

Welles' voice will be interspersed throughout the movie, much in the same way Boris Karloff's voice was used in the 1966 animated version of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

Lowry said he already has fielded interest from talent from word-of-mouth alone. "People see this as their last opportunity to act in a movie with Orson Welles," he said.

Leed will serve as a consultant on the movie, and Fritz will be an executive producer. The plan is to shoot in the summer or fall with an eye toward a Christmas 2011 release.

"We're still hoping to do the project we were talking about, but this one took over as priority, you know what I mean?" Lowry said.
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: MacGuffin on August 07, 2013, 02:17:47 PM
Lost Orson Welles Film Found in Italy
George Eastman House supervised restoration of 1938's 'Too Much Johnson'
Source: Variety

Orson Welles' long-lost 1938 film "Too Much Johnson" was recently discovered in an Italian warehouse and has now been restored, according to the George Eastman House and other preservation orgs.

The restored film will premiere October 9 at Pordenone, Italy's silent film fest Le Giornate del Cinema Muto. U.S. premiere is set for October 16 at the George Eastman House in Rochester, N.Y.

The silent film was originally meant to be shown as part of the Welles' stage adaptation of an 1894 William Gillette play, and the Mercury Theater planned to show the three short films as prologues to each act of the play. The three-part slapstick comedy, which starred Joseph Cotten, was originally planed to be screened with music and live sound effects, but was never finished.

The film was found in a warehouse by the staff of Pordenone arthouse Cinemazero.

Other Mercury Theater actors that appear in the film include Eustace Wyatt, Edgar Barrier, Ruth Ford, Arlene Francis, Mary Wickes, Welles and his wife Virginia Nicholson. The play opened without the film on August 16, 1938 and flopped.

The unfinished nitrate work print was given by Cinemazero to Italian film archive Cineteca del Friuli, which transferred it to George Eastman House to be preserved with a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation.

The only known print until now was thought to have burnt in a fire at Welles' home near Madrid in 1970.

"This is by far the most important film restoration by George Eastman House in a very long time," said Paolo Cherchi Usai, senior curator of film, who supervised the project for George Eastman House. "Holding in one's hands the very same print that had been personally edited by Orson Welles 75 years ago provokes an emotion that's just impossible to describe."

More information on the restoration process and screenings are available on the Eastman House website.
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: Reel on August 07, 2013, 08:01:10 PM
Quote from: Reelist on December 12, 2012, 08:23:37 PM
wracking my brain trying to come up with a porn title for this one..


Man, I really need to hit up that Eastman house sometime. They're always premiering Lost shit (http://xixax.com/index.php?topic=11658.0)
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: wilder on August 30, 2014, 12:34:38 PM
Workman Orson Welles Documentary Will Debut at Telluride
via Thompson on Hollywood

(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FmEJuI1e.jpg&hash=e8df359d2485636978cc547f0fd9ebde26f2fb37)

You can always count on a few cinephile documentaries to show at the Telluride Film Festival. This year Chuck Workman will debut his newest film "Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles."

Workman digs into Welles' oeuvre on the eve of his centenary, from his career as a Hollywood star and troubled director to his true identity as an independent filmmaker.

"Magician" includes clips from almost every existing Welles film, from "Hearts of Age," which he shot in one day at age 18 to rare unfinished films "The Other Side of the Dream," "The Deep," and "Don Quixote" as well as some appearances on television and commercials. Also in the film are interviews with Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Richard Linklater ("Me and Orson Welles"), and of course, critic and filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich.
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: wilder on April 25, 2015, 01:54:34 PM
August 24, 2015

"Around the World with Orson Welles" (1955) on blu-ray from BFI

(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F6YtcjzO.jpg&hash=4b45ed630a7e16ce0d3e78470605b922cba33e69)

"Around the World with Orson Welles" (1955) - Amazon UK (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Around-the-World-with-Orson-Welles-Blu-ray/dp/B00WQT4PSQ?SubscriptionId=AKIAIY4YSQJMFDJATNBA&tag=bluraycom-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00WQT4PSQ&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE)

Around the World with Orson Welles is a series of six short travelogues originally written and directed by Orson Welles for Associated-Rediffusion in 1955, for Britain's then-new ITV channel. Despite its title emphasizing the world, it was entirely filmed in Europe. Among other incidents in the episodes, Welles visited Jean Cocteau and Juliette Gréco in Paris, attended a bullfight in Madrid and visited the Basque Country.

Quote from: Wikipedia
In March 1955, Associated-Rediffusion had originally commissioned a series of 26 half-hour programmes, but in the end, only 6 were broadcast, and even then, in rather troubled circumstances. Before a contract had even been signed, Welles had rapidly shot a pilot episodes himself (the third episode broadcast, "Revisiting Vienna") using loaned money and on the basis of an informal agreement. As Welles had made an agreement with producer Louis Dolivet in 1953 to work exclusively for him (beginning with their troubled film production Mr. Arkadin), Dolivet was brought on board as the series producer.

The filming schedule was ambitious. Once the contract was signed, Welles was expected to make a further 25 episodes in 25 weeks spread out over nine months, with the first broadcast scheduled for September 1955. However, Welles's other commitments interfered with his ability to meet deadlines, and much of the series was left incomplete. Welles spent much of 1955 working on writing, directing and acting in his London stage production Moby Dick—Rehearsed, and after that flopped on the West End, he switched to shooting an (aborted) film adaptation of the play, first in London, and then in Rome - filming Moby Dick—Rehearsed in Rome was under the pretext of working on the Around the World with Orson Welles TV series.

Although Associated-Rediffusion retained a number of rights, including approval of episode synopses, script approval, music approval, and viewing rights for the rushes and final cut, film scholars Jean-Pierre Berthomé and Francois Thomas argue that Welles remained in control much of the time, due to the fragmentary, piecemeal way in which much of the footage was shot, with the writer/director/presenter being the only person who could piece it all together. For instance, Welles shot most of his interviews with only one camera, focussed on the interviewee, and all of the reverse shots of him asking questions had to be shot later in a studio. Frequently, Welles's entire episodes would be heavily studio-dependent; his entire participation in an episode on bullfighting consisted of filming himself entering and sitting down at a bullfight, then filming the bullfight; and the reconstructing part of the audience seats in a studio, so he could record his bullfight commentary months after having watched it.

The first episode missed its initial broadcast deadline, and it was still not finished when it went out the following month - Welles had to provide the voiceover himself, live from Rome, when it was broadcast in the UK. The second episode was missing a voiceover in several sections. The third and fifth episodes, were the most complete.

Welles had effectively abandoned the production to move back to the USA at the end of 1955, so the fourth and sixth episodes were particularly badly hit. Episode four, on the Paris district of St.-Germain-des-Prés, had to be padded out with stock footage from other documentaries. Episode six had only half the necessary footage, so it was padded out by having two friends of Welles's, Kenneth Tynan and Elaine Dundy (who had been present at the same bullfight he recorded), become guest hosts for the first half of the episode, until the existing footage of Welles could be used. The seventh episode was not originally completed or broadcast.


Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: wilder on May 07, 2015, 02:53:38 PM
IndieGogo campaign (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/other-side-of-the-wind-orson-welles-last-film) to raise $2 million in finishing funds for Orson Welles' last film, The Other Side of the Wind
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: OpO1832 on May 13, 2015, 09:41:47 PM
This is such an exciting time to be a Orson Welles fan. I am so happy these treasures are being unearthed! For me Welles and Cassavettes are the greatest American Directors!
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: wilder on May 13, 2015, 11:45:57 PM
Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach (https://www.facebook.com/432784776893981/videos/vb.432784776893981/439945189511273/?type=2&theater) chime in on the restoration effort
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: tpfkabi on May 18, 2015, 07:20:37 PM
TCM is showing Welles films on Fridays this month with David Edelstein doing intros.
Saw Journey Into Fear. Even though it was not technically directed by Orson, it really feels like he was pretty involved by the look of it - reminds me of the Poltergeist/Hooper/Spielberg situation.
Apparently, the studio chopped it up. It looks like it had the potential to be a decent noir.

Re-reading my really old comments about Mag A's, it seems the film is still not really that easy to get ahold of (DVD appears out of print on Amazon). That film and Journey were supposed to get nice DVDs, but it looks like it didn't happen.

Good that I read the questions on the fund raiser - that was my thought, too - why don't all the millionaires promoting it pay up themselves?

Why don't Turner Classic Movies and Criterion put up some money, and then later they will get rights to broadcast and manufacture the finished film later.
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: OpO1832 on May 18, 2015, 08:58:35 PM
good idea
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: wilder on December 07, 2015, 06:47:54 PM
The Shadow: A hundred years of Orson Welles - The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/12/07/the-shadow)
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: wilder on April 05, 2016, 02:58:29 PM
Netflix Negotiating To Complete & Distribute Orson Welles' 'The Other Side Of The Wind'
via The Playlist

It has been a long and winding road for Orson Welles' "The Other Side Of The Wind." For years, there has been a concerted effort to try and complete the director's "lost" film, but it has been slow going. A 2015 release date was teased but never materialized, while last year, an Indiegogo campaign raised $406,605 to help with the editing, score, and post-production work required. Word on the movie has gone quiet since, but it looks like one of the biggest movers and shakers in the industry is aiming to finally finish "The Other Side Of The Wind."

Wellesnet reveals that Netflix is negotiating with producers for a two-picture, $5 million deal that would include the completed "The Other Side Of The Wind," along with a companion documentary. The potential deal needs the signoff of producer Oja Kodar, and apparently talks have been going on for months.

Featuring a roster of Welles' buds including John Huston, Peter Bogdanovich, Henry Jaglom, Susan Strasberg, Dennis Hopper, Paul Mazursky and Claude Chabrol, the movie, shot in 8mm, 16mm and 35mm, follows an aged Hollywood director attempting to revive his career by making a trippy film filled with sex and violence.

Who knows if this latest attempt to finally finish "The Other Side Of The Wind" will pan out, and it's worth bearing in mind that Sasha Welles, Kodar's nephew, "has indicated negotiations have not gone as smoothly as he had hoped." Moreover, an attempt was made by Bogdanovich to complete 'Wind' for Showtime in 1999, but he ran afoul of Kodar, who he blamed for stalling the project.

"For decades we have been optimistic, otherwise we wouldn't be trying for so long to get this film released," Sasha Welles said about the current situation. "How optimistic should we be about this particular deal? Hard to tell. We have been dealing with [producer] Filip [Jan Rymsza]'s not-so-honest claims and promises; [producer] Frank [Marshall] brings the only legitimacy and fairness to their side. All in all, I am not so optimistic since they keep on chiseling away from our old agreement. Every time I give in to something they want, they come up with something else, this keeps going on and on and I don't know where the end is."
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: jenkins on April 05, 2016, 03:22:24 PM
as this is a palace for movies, clearly, let it be said that everyone's been waiting around forever for this release. and netflix will see it through to the end, it's always been within reach. Welles means to cinema what the Apostles mean to the New Testament, and this is a book we'll be glad to have around:

Quote from: wilder on April 05, 2016, 02:58:29 PM
Featuring a roster of Welles' buds including John Huston, Peter Bogdanovich, Henry Jaglom, Susan Strasberg, Dennis Hopper, Paul Mazursky and Claude Chabrol, the movie, shot in 8mm, 16mm and 35mm, follows an aged Hollywood director attempting to revive his career by making a trippy film filled with sex and violence.

Who knows if this latest attempt to finally finish "The Other Side Of The Wind" will pan out, and it's worth bearing in mind that Sasha Welles, Kodar's nephew, "has indicated negotiations have not gone as smoothly as he had hoped." Moreover, an attempt was made by Bogdanovich to complete 'Wind' for Showtime in 1999, but he ran afoul of Kodar, who he blamed for stalling the project.

is Bogdanovich having production money similar to Harry Knowles having production money, as in is it meant to be accepted that life is also a factor? maybe this movie's release will coincide with The Man Who Killed Don Quixote... but that's ridiculous, because this movie is already done. if Kodar is the missing key here well, as i'm not him i can say that he has his own reasons, and my fingers are crossed.
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: wilder on April 23, 2021, 05:26:50 AM
TCM To Finance A Search For The Lost Cut Of Orson Welles' 'The Magnificent Ambersons'
The Playlist

You know how fans of Zack Snyder went crazy about all the cuts to "Justice League" that happened before that film was released in 2017, eventually demanding that Warner Bros. release the original cut of the film? Well, 75 years before that happened, there was a Snyder Cut situation involving Orson Welles and his 1942 film, "The Magnificent Ambersons." And in honor of its upcoming 80th anniversary, there is a real effort being taken to see if the Welles Cut of the film can be located and released.

According to WellesNet (https://www.wellesnet.com/brazil-hunt-lost-ambersons/), Turner Classic Movies is funding the efforts of documentarian Josh Grossberg as he attempts to travel to Brazil in search of the long, lost cut of Welles' Oscar-nominated feature, "The Magnificent Ambersons." The original film is based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel from 1918 and tells the story of a Midwestern family that sees their fortune dwindling as the automobile age comes about.

Prior to its release, RKO Pictures took over the editing of the film from Welles and changed large portions of the film, including a completely different, happier ending. While the changes have been long documented, the footage from the rough cut of the film, which is the true vision of Welles, was thought to be destroyed. Regardless of the discrepancies in edits, the theatrical release of 'Ambersons' would go on to be nominated for multiple Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Enter Josh Grossberg.

The documentarian has received funding from TCM for a new documentary that will chronicle his quest to find this lost cut of Welles' film. Though Welles himself said the footage was destroyed, there is optimism about the footage being preserved from when reels of the film were sent to Brazil for Welles to edit. The thought is that there are still reels in Brazil that might have survived.

"I'm cautiously optimistic that we will find the print," Grossberg said. He also confirmed the September expedition "is our last, best chance of finding the original version of 'The Magnificent Ambersons.'"

Regardless of whether or not a Welles Cut of "The Magnificent Ambersons" can be released, it appears there will be a documentary that will at least dive deep into the whole situation that you'll be able to watch on TCM next year.
Title: Re: Welles, Orson
Post by: wilder on May 10, 2022, 05:45:09 PM
4K Restoration of Orson Welles' THE TRIAL will Premiere at Cannes Film Festival
STUDIOCANAL

STUDIOCANAL and la Cinémathèque française are pleased to confirm the brand new 4K restoration of Orson Welles' (CITIZEN KANE, THE THIRD MAN) psychological thriller, THE TRIAL(1962), will receive its Premiere at the 75th Cannes Film Festival within Cannes Classics.

The Wellesian classic celebrates its 60th Anniversary this year and will be available on UHD, Blu-ray and DVD in select territories later in the year.

The film will receive its home entertainment release via STUDIOCANAL in the UK, France, and Germany in September 2022. A theatrical release is also planned in France via Potemkine in September, as well as in the USA with Rialto Pictures later this year. The first public screening of the film will take place on July 2, 2022, at 2:30 pm at La Cinémathèque française.

A new artwork and trailer are being developed to promote the release. There will also be new bonus features included on the STUDIOCANAL home entertainment editions.

Based on Franz Kafka's 1925 posthumously published novel of the same name, Orson Welles himself called THE TRIAL "The best film I ever made". Anthony Perkins (PSYCHO) stars as the guilt-ridden Josef K, who wakes up to realise he is under arrest for an unspecified crime. The victim of a nightmarish, dystopian scenario, K ultimately begins doubting his own innocence. Jeanne Moreau (JULES AND JIM), Elsa Martinelli (DONATELLA) and Romy Schneider(SISSI) co-star, with Orson Welles also appearing in the film as Hastler, an advocate that K consults. With high contrast black-and-white cinematography and sharp, disorientating camera angles, the film deftly utilises the vocabulary of film noir. It is considered by many to be an underrated masterpiece within Welles' oeuvre.

THE TRIAL was restored by STUDIOCANAL and la Cinémathèque française. The image and sound restorations were carried out in 4K at the L'image Retrouvée laboratory from the original 35mm negative. The project was supervised by STUDIOCANAL's Sophie Boyer, responsible for library restoration at STUDIOCANAL, and Jean-Pierre Boiget, EVP distribution Services & IT at STUDIOCANAL.