Lots of Mercury Theater/Theatre episodes are on Spotify. Here’s a link to Les Mis: https://open.spotify.com/album/70Y461ysBFtE1QNBZa1H8F?si=Y-tJUK7RTXKsBYi3P2VWPw For a bunch more: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ctZiNmTRHOOfyJvMt2USM?si=JgsAnazuRm6RJYQCvYK-yQ
I've been fascinated by Orson for many years and have purchased a few books about him. I have, like others, slowly begun to purchase as much of his cinematic work as I can. I haven't seen his TV series yet. I'm very glad that Masters Of Cinema and Criterion have been slowly releasing his films on Blu-Ray discs, after many years in some cases (due to complicated legal and/or ownership issues) and I must say it is great to be able to enjoy them now at home in fine editions, with another new Criterion soon to come - 'THE TRIAL'. I must pick up THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI in its latest Blu-Ray release. We can all be glad that he accomplished what he did, excelling in a number of fields. It can be hard to simply enjoy his work without all the baggage that comes from making CITIZEN KANE when he was so young, but the viewer who is new to Orson's work does not need to start with that film - perhaps TOUCH OF EVIL would be better. There is so much to enjoy in his work and the new viewer and anyone who wishes to be a film student, actor, scriptwriter or cinematographer will be spoiled as they take it all in.
Yes it did. My grandmother threw her kids in the car and fled to her sister's house, where she tried to convince them to leave New York with her. They were able to calm her down. (My grandfather was a waiter at the fancy Tavern On The Green, he must've been working that night. Would she have left without him? No time to waste, save the kids!!) Awesome Welles, the father of fake news. Pretty much a fan of everything he did. Big fan of Kafka, too. The Trial is the best visual depiction of Kafka's world that I've seen.
Too bad that Criterion's cover for The Trial is just incredibly badly done, amazingly amateurish, it looks like it was designed in a few minutes.
It’s all subjective, I suppose. I don’t buy things for the cover. If it’s a dealbreaker for others, they’ll make the decision. I often buy the discs used myself and save money that way - the Aussie dollar isn’t what it used to be.
How about a list of "best DVD/Blu-ray versions" of Welles' movies? All the ones I have were purchased about 20 years ago - would appreciate a few upgrades.
I heard that story as well. People thought they were being invaded from aliens. That’s how realistic the whole thing sounded.
"Peter Bogdanovich: [Touch of Evil] was probably the first film to show a bunch of hopheads and to drop marijuana loosely. What do you actually think of people who take drugs? Orson Welles: Suicides. All real addicts are some form of suicide in my opinion. PB: And marijuana? OW: No, that's the beer of drugs. If there were no law against marijuana and no fuzz connected with it, its popularity would diminish enormously. Because its effect is rather less potent than that of beer, and all it does is give you extremely bad breath. It's a socially very unpleasant thing unless everybody's on it. But there's nothing really against it. It was a terrible mistake to make it illegal, because it's quite an innocent thing in itself. All over the world, children of eight and ten smoke it with less harmful effects than from the few glasses of wine the French kids have. Because taking it is given an illicit feeling, and because it's now sort of connected with protests and is generally antiestablishment, anti-fuzz, and so on, the sort of neurotic who has the marijuana habit can be led into real drug-taking. But it's a terribly overrated drug; and it's very hard to get quantities of good enough quality to give anybody enough of a bang to be worth all the carrying on that they do about it." Was Orson Welles "Experienced?" Orson Welles needed better weed. Orson Welles also gave us Joseph Cotton.
Orson often redubbed his dialogue on sound stages so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he used pre-recorded sound effects including laughter (I think of something else when you say canned laughter like in a sitcom). He was often known to dub dialogue of other actors if he wasn’t happy with the line readings or they weren’t available (as I recall he did Joseph Cotten’s few lines of dialog for Touch of Evil).
ORSON has demanded, from The Great Beyond, that each and every one of you watch THE WITCHING (1972). "You will use...your power . . . For Me!" Orson is Mr. Cato.
I'd love something like this too. Not only for the films he directed but also the films he starred in. I assume the Criterions of his films are preferred, but for the rest I have no idea. I'd love to have at least all of his director efforts on DVD. I found this Alfred Hitchcock website that details all versions of his films, which is extremely detailed. Wish there was one like this for Welles. https://www.brentonfilm.com/alfred-hitchcock-collectors-guide
heard over the last few years on a podcast Orson and John Ford and Rich Little are out for a meal, a woman comes up to the table "ohmy!! is that really you??? I love all your work" she was talking to Rich, then she leaned over to Rich and asked "who's your fat friend?"
I think Welles found the people who would ask him 'how' questions about his films (and of course he'd mention Gregg Toland to them) really tiresome, it mostly seemed a waste of well, Orson Welles, like asking him how to take out the trash or install a new light bulb. He might've responded to 'why' questions better but were they asked enough? Why did Orson Welles make Citizen Kane? Was this ever asked and answered? Why that which would cross him up with Hearst and his gal pal? I'm sure most people are glad it was made, and maybe the answer would be nothing else was as ready or as meaningful, but I can't help feeling that he might have had some other, or second, thoughts.
Welles not carrying about the How probably explains his erratic filmmaking career. Others cared more about the How, even if Welles had innovations he didn't care enough to make that his life's work. Why? Welles wanted to tweak the establishment, Mankewicz hated Hearst, and they fell in together. Then they came up with stuff from other rich men somewhat like Hearst. But Kane really isn't anybody. Marion Davies wasn't a "singer" and Hearst was understandably upset to be attached to some characters that really weren't all that close. None of the other tycoons used for material in Kane wound up alone either. Howard Hughes did, but that was more by choice or by mental illness, and handled a lot more sympathetically in The Aviator than it is in Kane. At the end of the day, Kane isn't anybody at all. He's an illusion, a magic trick, and we know Welles loved magic.
Orson Welles made some of my favourite black and white films. I've watched Citizen Kane numerous times as I'm sure many here have (The Roger Ebert commentary is great). Touch of Evil is a visual feast. His Othello is brilliant and not just because of how it was made.
There is a lot of Hearst in Kane however, it's impossible to say there isn't more Hearst than other role models, but yes, definitely a lot of things don't fit or even rhyme as only a read on Hearst and/or Davies. I suppose I just wished they'd dropped the whole newspapers part which feels like something that does hit you over the head as 'this is the Hearst story' to perhaps save them so much trouble. I've wondered too though if Welles and co. mightn't just have over-estimated William Randolph's capacity being similar to theirs in terms of shrugging off criticism or being commented upon. There may be entire books on this subject I'm ignorant of though and maybe I should try to find one. I did see a film or tv program about it years back.
