Orson Welles: The Eye of a Poet

[JackFavell]

Ah, now see, he had me at the big closeup of Akim... I just love seeing a good character actor get a meaty role and a lot of camera time. Do I care if it's about goose liver...not at all. What Akim can do with goose liver puts most movie actors to shame.

[Rita Hayworth]

Completely unbiased and objective lists --

The Masterpieces (feature length)
1. CITIZEN KANE (1941) -- My favorite film ever made.
2. TOUCH OF EVIL (1958) -- My second favorite film noir ever made (and OUT OF THE PAST isn't #1).
3. F FOR FAKE (1974) -- My favorite fictional film essay documentary ever made.
4. THE TRIAL (1962)
5. CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT (1966)

The Near Masterpieces (feature length)
1. THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS (1942) -- Some who aid and abet the destruction of Art are prosecuted. Others go on to direct THE SOUND OF MUSIC. There may be a connection.
2. FILMING "OTHELLO" (1978)
3. MACBETH (1948)
4. OTHELLO (1952)

The Merely Great Films (feature length)
1. MR. ARKADIN (1955)
2. THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (1948)
3. JOURNEY INTO FEAR (1943)(credited to Norman Foster)
4. THE STRANGER (1946)

Of the Masterpieces that ChiO has listed the only one that I like is the Touch of Evil; I've seen Citizen Kane and Chimes at Midnight and I great difficulty following these Welles movies because of the complexities they bring. The reason that I like Touch of Evil because Welles made it more believable for me. Kane and Midnight are too complex and I have a hard time following along period. So, therefore I'm sorry to say that I don't like them period.

Of the Near Masterpieces ... I seen all of them; and the only one that I like is The Magnificent Ambersons because Welles kept his creativity to check and I have no great difficulty following it because I'm a student of the arts ... and ChiO described this movie beautifully! The others 3 movies ... they aren't my cup of tea after watching them at least 2 times to get the flavor of these beautifully crafted films and sad to say I have a hard time following it.

The Merely Great Films ... I like all of these films ... but, I would not put The Stranger in the same class of the first three movies that ChiO has listed because I felt the acting was sub-par and some scenes throughout this movie causes me to misinterpret and I got really confused and being hard of hearing the only players that I can understand are Robinson (who played Mr. Wilson), Welles (played Professor Rankin), and Keith (played Dr. Lawrence); all the rest forget about it. I love Mr.Arkadin, The Lady From Shanghai, and Journey to Fear ... equally well ... and I consider these three are my favorite Welles movies.

In Closing, I have difficulty understanding Welles ... I felt that his creative approach to movies was unparalleled and sometimes his creativity gone too far with Citizen Kane, Midnight, and others that I don't care for ... I feel so sorry for having a negative feedback on Welles ... but, you have to understand where I'm coming to. Because of my disability ... I would not put Citizen Kane in my top 50 movies of all time.

[Mr. Arkadin]

For those of you who've seen the slightly longer version in the Criterion Collection: are there significant differences? Is the story more coherent? The length of TCM's 99-minute version felt about right, though a few more minutes of Welles' images probably wouldn't have hurt.

I have watched the second disc (the one which is supposedly cut to Welles direction) so much that I have forgotten the differences (I never watch the U.S. or Euro cut anymore), but as I remember it, the changes were mainly in the way the film was cut as opposed to adding scenes. Watching it for the first time, I marveled that I was seeing basically the same film, but with a changed structure, which created a completely different outlook. The results show the difference between a master and the amateur hacks who butchered many of his other films. Does it elevate the film to Kane status? No, but that was never Welles intention. If anything, Mr. Arkadin is Welles poking fun of himself and his Kane persona, while still using all the themes that had come to dominate his work.

[MichiganJ]

Anyone planning to buy the Blu-Ray when it comes out? I still haven't gotten to the point that I upgrade a lot of my 1:33 films (the movies of Michael Powell might be the only exception). I'd rather spend Blu-Ray money on purchasing/upgrading widescreen titles.

I have Citizen Kane on order and am anxious to see the restoration. I'm also looking forward to the included and long-unavailable in region 1 DVD of The Magnificent Ambersons, although it is disappointing that it is not on Blu. (I think Ambersons is the better of the two films.)

I've upgraded quite a few classics (1:33 and widescreen) and would definitely recommend doing so for any particular favorites. The blacks and overall picture on The Maltese Falcon, for instance, are much darker and richer, bringing depth and detail that is lost in SD.
And Marilyn in HD in Some Like it Hot is, well… (phew)

[ChiO]

Revisited F FOR FAKE last night for the first time in a couple of years. It's hard to think of another film that is so sly and uproariously funny. The constant visual allusions to THE THIRD MAN (how many times are you going to show us that cuckoo clock, Orson?), the one Welles film that is nearly universally beloved and that is so Wellesian in look that many think he directed it. Charlatan! And when he talks about The War of the Worlds radio play while showing clips from EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS...I was chortling all night. Reminding us IT'S ALL TRUE while a movieola goes out of control (where's Robert Wise and RKO studio heads when you need them?).... Magic!

To have a career effectively (although not literally) bookended by CITIZEN KANE -- a fictional biopic autobiopic -- and F FOR FAKE -- a fictional essay documentary that is the honest summation of a career and profession of fakery -- is absolutely stunning.

Houdin was the greatest magician who ever lived. And do you know what he said? "A magician," he said, "is just an actor. Just an actor playing the part of a magician."

I did promise that for one hour, I'd tell you only the truth. That hour, ladies and gentlemen, is over. For the past seventeen minutes, I've been lying my head off.

What we professional liars hope to serve is truth. I'm afraid the pompous word for that is "art".

[JackFavell]

I saw F for Fake about fifteen years ago, and had a good belly laugh at those words from the end of the film. Unfortunately, having a bad memory, that's all I can remember now. Time to revisit! I'm sure I would find a lot more in it now, after reading the informative posts here at the SSO.

[Rita Hayworth]

I saw F for Fake about fifteen years ago, and had a good belly laugh at those words from the end of the film. Unfortunately, having a bad memory, that's all I can remember now. Time to revisit! I'm sure I would find a lot more in it now, after reading the informative posts here at the SSO.

For what I'm been reading from all of you on this thread is that maybe I should give F for Fake a 2nd chance! I have seen the film but its been a very, very, very long time since the last time I seen it. Just like Jack Favell said "Time to revisit!"

[Professional Tourist]

.

[JackFavell]

Thanks, PT! I appreciate it!

[ChiO]

Yes, PT, thank you. Also on that site (and on youtube in three parts) is The Fountain of Youth (1958), the pilot -- and only -- episode for a planned Welles TV series. It was filmed at Desilu. It is an mesmerizing production.

[MichiganJ]

Some info on the restored Chimes at Midnight:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/ ... th_at_the/

[JackFavell]

Oh my Gosh, great news!

Oh. So that means I have to buy it again....

Ah well. It's worth it.

Speaking of Welles, some things I noted last night, watching the endlessly rewarding and fascinating Kane...


Trapped in a snowglobe aged 6-8, stays there for rest of life.

How sympathetically Charles' father is portrayed, despite the "needs a good beating" line. And how unsympathetically AM is portrayed. If you listen instead of look, Agnes sounds really evil, and Harry Shannon sounds so kindly. Check out how deep focused this shot really is.




The Fellini faces during the "There is a man" number.





The lighting in that scene and the ones around it, similar to Ambersons, that forces us into an early 1910's perspective.



This one is more complex than it first looks - there is the foreground where Kane and his new hirees are sitting, which is very flat, like a baseball game, and then there are the entertainers, who seem more remote but maybe more fully real, awash in footlights.



real gaslight!



Look at how interesting this scene is after he has turned off the gas behind him and is signing the Declaration - the lack of a keylight puts Charles "in the dark", but leaves Bernstein and Leland fully lit. Deeply thoughtful lighting, symbolic of the main characters' ability to see themselves or others. Also symbolic of the newspaper reporter's quest for the real Kane, who remains "in the dark" (even to Kane himself).

This very sad ending to the "Declaration of Principles" scene. It mimics the final scene. The way that Charles' finest moment (and I do believe this is his finest moment, much like many people think that KANE is Welles' finest moment) - his declaration of all that he is - is just part of a heap of newspapers that will be trash at the end of the day, buried in the detritus of a collection of junk that parallels Charles' life:





Who is Uncle John really? Is it supposed to be Teddy Roosevelt or Taft? I guess this is a moot question, because it's made up. Hearst did not actually marry into a political family.

The entire tone of the "If I hadn't been rich, I might have been a really great man" scene. I guess I never realized that Kane had to sell off his paper to Thatcher. Ugh! What a dreadful "comeuppance".

He did do pretty well for a rich man.

[Mr. Arkadin]

Oh my Gosh, great news!

Oh. So that means I have to buy it again....

Ah well. It's worth it.

Speaking of Welles, some things I noted last night, watching the endlessly rewarding and fascinating Kane...


Trapped in a snowglobe aged 6-8, stays there for rest of life.

How sympathetically Charles' father is portrayed, despite the "needs a good beating" line. And how unsympathetically AM is portrayed. If you listen instead of look, Agnes sounds really evil, and Harry Shannon sounds so kindly. Check out how deep focused this shot really is.

If you listen carefully in the background, you will hear young CFK recreating the civil war as his life (like the nation) was being torn asunder, making lines like "The Union forever!" especially chilling (pardon the pun). It's also interesting that Rosebud is used as a weapon here. For the rest of his life it will be his defense against a world of loneliness.

real gaslight!



Look at how interesting this scene is after he has turned off the gas behind him and is signing the Declaration - the lack of a keylight puts Charles "in the dark", but leaves Bernstein and Leland fully lit. Deeply thoughtful lighting, symbolic of the main characters' ability to see themselves or others. Also symbolic of the newspaper reporter's quest for the real Kane, who remains "in the dark" (even to Kane himself).

Kane speaks of his newspaper providing light "like the gas in that lamp" and then promptly turns out the light!

This very sad ending to the "Declaration of Principles" scene. It mimics the final scene. The way that Charles' finest moment (and I do believe this is his finest moment, much like many people think that KANE is Welles' finest moment) - his declaration of all that he is - is just part of a heap of newspapers that will be trash at the end of the day, buried in the detritus of a collection of junk that parallels Charles' life:





Who is Uncle John really? Is it supposed to be Teddy Roosevelt or Taft? I guess this is a moot question, because it's made up. Hearst did not actually marry into a political family.

The entire tone of the "If I hadn't been rich, I might have been a really great man" scene. I guess I never realized that Kane had to sell off his paper to Thatcher. Ugh! What a dreadful "comeuppance".

He did do pretty well for a rich man.

Possibly one of the keys to this film is the line that comes right before this one, where Kane is signing away the rights to his newspaper.

Bernstein: We never lost as much as we made.

Thatcher: Yes, but your methods! Do you realize Charles never made a single investment? He just used money to--

Kane: To buy things.

Emotionally devastated by the loss of his family, Kane is afraid to personally invest in relationships for fear of abandonment. In the words of his best friend Jed Leland:

You don't care about anything except you. You just want to persuade people that you love 'em so much that they ought to love you back. Only you want love on your own terms. Something to be played your way, according to your rules.

He was disappointed in the world so he built one of his own, an absolute monarchy.

That's all he ever wanted out of life... was love. That's the tragedy of Charles Foster Kane. You see, he just didn't have any to give.

[ChiO]

(Applause...applause...whistles...Brava!...Brava!)

Who is Uncle John really? Is it supposed to be Teddy Roosevelt or Taft? I guess this is a moot question, because it's made up. Hearst did not actually marry into a political family.

With the mish-mash of historical characters, plus artistic license, it is tough to figure out, isn't it.

Given that Hearst was not the only figure that Kane was based upon, several speculative possibilities open up. Welles said that Samuel Insull and Robert McCormick also provided bases for the character. Both were Chicagoans and powerful magnates whose lives were familiar to Welles. Insull helped finance the building of the Chicago Civic Opera House (he selected Aida and its cast for the opening) and was married to a stage actress, Gladys Wallace. To add more intrigue, Herman Mankiewicz panned her performance in a NY play in 1925. (hmmmm....) Insull apparently had a good relationship with Woodrow Wilson and was a bitter enemy of Harold Ickes.

McCormick, among his many interests, was publisher of the Chicago Tribune. He was an arch-conservative and lived for his attacks on FDR. His older brother was a Progressive Republican and served a few years in Congress. More curiosity factor, McCormick's mother would be the great-great aunt-in-law of Madelyn Albright, but since she was born only four years before the release of CITIZEN KANE, I'll go out on the limb and say she doesn't factor in.

[MissGoddess]

After seeing this movie a gazillion times without ever being able to spot him, last night I finally saw ALAN LADD!! And in not just one but two shots and I heard him speaking two lines! I don't know how I missed that it was him all this time when I would constantly strain to seek him in every scene with a reporter. Whew, I'm glad I solved that mystery for myself. I was beginning to think everyone was lying about his appearance in Kane.