Orson Welles films, et.al.

[MikeBSG]

I just finished reading Simon Callow's "Hello Americans!" the second volume in his biography of Welles. It covers the years 1941-8, from the time Welles began filming "Magnificent Ambersons" to when he left the US for Europe.

I think this was better than Callow's first volume, "Road to Xanadu," but it wasn't a perfect book. Callow is English, and he doesn't seem to get all the nuances of American politics. (And as he makes clear, Welles was a very political figure in the years of the Second World War and immediately after.)

This book does a fine job in showing the details of how "Magnificent Ambersons" and "It's All True" went off the rails and showing how busy Welles was in these years. Welles was into an incredibly breathtaking amount of different activities in these years.

[MissGoddess]

I'm not crazy about Citizen Kane but I do think Welles was quite brilliant. I prefer him as an actor overall, especially in Jane Eyre. To me, he is Edward Rochester.

Of all his directorial efforts, my favorite is one that has not been mentioned so far: Othello. I am not crazy about sitting down to watch Shakespeare, as perfect as he is, but this is the one version of his plays that I can not only watch in its entirety---but repeatedly. That he had to do so many short-cuts to save money shows how resourceful and creative Welles was. The movie looks great, despite lack of funds or perhaps because of it.

[traceyk]

Am I alone in having enjoyed "F is for Fake?" I liked the twisty turns the story made...I found it fascinating.

Tracey

[MikeBSG]

If you asked me right after I saw "F for Fake" in the Eighties whether I liked it, I would have said that it was okay at best.

However, I realize now that I remember long stretches of it, and the twists and turns, so I guess it is better than I gave it credit for back then.

Once seen, never forgotten.

[MissGoddess]

Am I alone in having enjoyed "F is for Fake?" I liked the twisty turns the story made...I found it fascinating.

Tracey

It definitely kept my interest, and I love all the twists. I also appreciate what he's revealing about human nature---how easily we're taken in, maybe because we want to be.

[Mr. Arkadin]

I have the DVD. It's quite a good documentary.