Best Orson Welles film (as director)

ilx

Ambersons Ambersons Ambersons. Even what survives of it dwarves most filmmakers entire oeuvres

Touch of Evil = extremely overrated tho

ppl who voted for Arkadin or F for Fake: banned from filmwatching

I'm under the impression both are perfectly respectable choices. In fact, I'm under the impression anything short of The Fountain of Youth or The Hearts of Age is a respectable choice.

no way! The Stranger?!

ppl who voted for Arkadin or F for Fake: banned from filmwatching

I can see maybe saying that re: Arkadin (although I adore the shit out of it) but F for Fake? Please to explain.

it's a cute stunt. Doesn't operate on anywhere the number of levels that Kane, Ambersons, ToE, Othello etc do. Unless you fall for, OHHHH, MAGIC / HOAXES / REALITY, AH'M SOOO KONFUZED...

Touch of Evil doesn't really work on "the number of levels" either, but then again, I partially buy into Kael's pronouncement of Kane as a "shallow masterpiece" and don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.

What people often miss when they get het up over Kael's remark is that she italicized "shallow." She wasn't at all denying that CK was a great film deserving all the kudos.

Yeah, me neither. The deeper I think you get into Kane, the less rewarding, but if you just hang out at the surface, yeah, it's one of the greatest movies evah, obv.

ToE is the one I'd call the shallow masterpiece; brilliantly executed, and still "just" a tarted-up dirty-cop grinder. At least Welles never made a horror film. ;)

Kane's biggest weaknesses are in the parts of the dialogue where the Poor Little Rich Man theme is made overexplicit (more OW than Mankiewicz? I'll have to reread that Callow bio to check).

also, Simon Callow points out in his vol 2 that if Ambersons had been released acc to OW's wishes, there still would've been imperfect things about it, starting with the curious casting of Tim Holt.

Yeah, no perfection in this filmography, thankfully.

I don't mind Holt much anymore. His awkwardness helps the character, and he does look chastened at the end.

Other Kane weaknesses: the chronology of the first marriage and meeting Suzie is muddled; "What would you like to have been?" "Everything you hate!"; and Thompson's last speech.

Tim Holt is fine

but he's the wrong kind of (cowboy) actor! Not a persuasive silver-spoon Hoosier brat.

He persuaded me. I wanted to smack the shit out of him.

Seth Rogen for the remake, then.

I bet Holt could have pulled off Mozart in Amadeus.

He's much more in his element in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, sure.

I don't know if F For Fake is all that great a film, but the section with Welles's monologue on Chartres cathedral is one of my favourite things in all cinema.

i've decided to celebrate the new year by rewatching all of OW's films in order. anyone with me?

I don't know if F For Fake is all that great a film, but the section with Welles's monologue on Chartres cathedral is one of my favourite things in all cinema.

― Alba, Thursday, 7 August 2008 16:21 (1 year ago)

pretty much came here to post this

F For Fake is an awesome and compelling mindfuck and OW is like some sort of sly jovial God lumbering with Iberian aspect throughout a maze of artistic deflections

before Morbs leaps on me though I gotta say I need to see more Welles - only seen Othello aside from this

Why on earth are Chimes and Ambersons not available on DVD??? Very frustrating.

in the case of Chimes, rights disputes I'm sure.

it'd be sad to watch these on youtube but i guess that's what i'll have to do.

My copy of Ambersons is a PBS showing in the mid nineties. Good condition too.

Other Kane weaknesses: ... What would you like to have been?" "Everything you hate!"

of course alfred had to go and pick on my favorite line!

'ambersons' gets showed on TCM pretty often, i think. no idea why it isn't out on dvd, unless they're holding out for a 'metropolis'-style miracle. more and more i think it's his best film -- so many shots in there are like nothing else i've ever seen in a movie.

there was some shitty dvd of ambersons in spain or mexico or somewhere and it was rlsed on xvid years ago, only copy i've seen of it but still my favourite film of his

Saw Othello a few months ago in a theater — some audio sync problems but it's Welles at his sensory-overload baroquely excessive best.

Just watched "Black Magic" (aka "Cagliostro"). What a hoot. Probably the most 'fun' Welles prior to "F For Fake". Also, so obviously directed by him for the majority of the film that I'm surprised it's not considered his.

Didn't mean to put fun in quotes there.

i saw The Trial the other day. Great effort but kind of a mess. one of those things they shouldn't have tried to do in the first place

Nah, I love Anthony Perkins in the role, and the extra dialogue Welles wrote.

it's fine on its own

Poor Peter Bogdanovich couldn't understand how Kafka could be funny -- yet another example of the illiteracy of film directors.

feel bad saying this since OW is my favorite film guy for life but 'the trial' doesn't really work for me, the 'before the law' opening aside.

Certainly love the fact that Perkins was cast in the role, but it doesn't turn out to be as good as you think.

ppl who voted for Arkadin or F for Fake: banned from filmwatching
― Dr Morbius, Thursday, August 7, 2008 8:11 AM (2 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Awarded a long-overdue SB for this comment.

oh, cmon

and remember, Starman is John Carpenter's best.

And there's another one.

I really don't think it works that way, Pope Eric

Rest assured: I SB'd you both.

I'd like to re-poll this one. Also S&S '12 if Kane takes that one.

wau, ya woulda made a "great dictator"

(based on an idea by Orson Welles)

And you would've made a great court jester.

(based on a genre of film by untalented hacks)

the vessel in yer pestle

I really think I may have been wrong about Jerry Lewis.