Movies
There is something obnoxious about artists discussing art, F for Fake is no exception. What almost saves this documentary is the rather pleasant presentation. In the end, it can't hide the fact that Welles is handling the same themes that always tend to pop up in films like these, but it did make it a bit easier to sit through. I just didn't care too much for the message, also because other films have done a much better job since. The flashy editing and more experimental presentation did keep me interested, I'm sure that if Welles had gone with a more basic presentation I would've absolutely hated the film. Now, it was passable, but far from great.Read all
I was going to start by calling this film Kafkaesque, but it turns out The Trial is an actual adaptation of one of Kafka's novels, so yeah. If the story of a man stuck in an absurd legal system sounds like it'll be a critique of our bewildering bureaucratic structures, you now know the reason. This is one of Orson Welles' better films, though the second hour is a tad repetitive. Once the point of the film is made, Josef simply goes through variations of the same absurdities, which gets a little boring after a while. The performances are decent though, the build-up of the film is interesting and Welles and Kafka make a fair point, but a shorter edit would've been better.Read all
A pretty simple noir that fails to impress. The plot is rather basic, Welles is a terrible actor and the soundtrack doesn't do the film any favors. The cinematography is a little highlight though, Welles works well with contrast, but it's not at a level that could actually save the film. At least it was short.
Welles' final film, finally completed. I'm not a big Orson Welles fan, this pompous, self-important film about film didn't do much to change my mind about him. The editing is poor, the dialogue is grating and the running time is impossible to defend. He should've taken it to the grave with him.
Orson Welles does Henry IV, bringing his own play to the big screen. It's a pretty straightforward historical drama, with Welles playing what looks like a drunk Santa Claus. Somehow I find it impossible to take him seriously as an actor (or a director for that matter), but he had a decent eye for cinematography at least. The black-and-white cinematography is decent and harbors some pretty shots, though they are few and far between. I didn't care much for the plot, the performances were terrible and the two-hour runtime turned this into a sluggish film. Fans of Shakespeare and Welles might get something out of it, I didn't.Read all
Orson Welles was a better director than he was an actor, sadly he just loved to cast himself as the lead role of his films, actively cheapening the entire experience. Mr. Arkadin is a pretty tepid noir film, struggling to stand out, but Welles' terrible performance just made it that much worse. Like most noirs, there's a lot of conversation to wade through, and most of it isn't all that interesting. The performances are poor and feel forced, the pacing is relatively slow and this certainly isn't Welles' most attractive-looking film. There wasn't a lot here I cared for, which seems to be the case for most classic noirs I've watched these past months.Read all
A simple noir, which got a little extra popularity push because Welles directed it I assume. It's the only reason I can think of why this one stood out to people, as the film itself is very basic and neatly sticks to genre conventions. Unless you're a big noir fan, there's not all that much here. Performances are rather weak and overstated, the story is bland and predictable. The black and white cinematography is somewhat decent, but Welles did a lot better in the past. He simply rolls through the simplistic narrative here, which is not something I particularly care for. Very forgettable.Read all
