The Criterion Collection DVD has a wealth of material that will delight any fan of Orson Welles, and maybe a lot of others as well. First there is the film "F for Fake." Welles narrates, directs, and appears as himself. He opens with a magic trick and performs a few more in the film. The thrust of the movie concentrates on Elmyr de Hory (the master art forger) and Clifford Irving (the author of the fake biography of Howard Hughes). Welles puts himself, as a filmmaker, as a faker as well, noting that movies and actors are engaged in creating illusions--this is the thread that pulls the somewhat disjointed elements of the movie together. There is documentary footage of de Hory at work--he could toss off a fake Picasso in a matter of minutes. His work fooled many an art expert and was accepted by museums and art auctions. His work was not just a copy of originals, but done "in the style of." His work was so good that fake de Hory's started turning up. If a fake is so good as to be taken for the real thing, is it of any less value? Of course the movie would not be complete without Welles ultimately pulling a fast one on the audience before it is over.
Also contained on the DVD is the 90-minute film "Orson Welles: The One-Man Band." This is a collection of archival material of some of Welles' work, including things that had never been released before. There are some real highlights here, like Wells reading passages from "Moby Dick" and as Shylock from "The Merchant of Venice." These are examples of Welles' commanding presence. I came away from this movie with a greatly altered opinion of Welles. He could be quite playful and whimsical. There is a sketch that has him being measured for a suit by a couple of Pythonesque tailors that had me laughing out loud. There is documentation about the difficulties Welles had in getting funding for his projects and how frequently funding would be withdrawn before film completion. Apparently "The Merchant of Venice" was completed but the film disappeared. The film "The Other Side of the Wind" was close to completion in the 1970s but it ran into production difficulties--it is supposed to be completed and released in May of 2015. After watching this material of Welles I was saddened by thoughts of what might have been.
Welles is shown accepting an American Film Institute life Achievement Award. I was expecting some sharp words or some evidence of anger in his acceptance, but he was quite sincere and gracious. There is an extended segment that has Welles answering questions from a large audience. Here again I was surprised to see how affable and quick witted Welles could be.
The DVD contains an interview with Peter Bogdanovich, who obviously admires Welles. There is a 60 Minutes interview with Richard Irving (after he had been exposed as a fake biographer) that is interesting. There is also a straight one-hour documentary on Elmyr de Hory.
You get your money's worth from this DVD.
Also contained on the DVD is the 90-minute film "Orson Welles: The One-Man Band." This is a collection of archival material of some of Welles' work, including things that had never been released before. There are some real highlights here, like Wells reading passages from "Moby Dick" and as Shylock from "The Merchant of Venice." These are examples of Welles' commanding presence. I came away from this movie with a greatly altered opinion of Welles. He could be quite playful and whimsical. There is a sketch that has him being measured for a suit by a couple of Pythonesque tailors that had me laughing out loud. There is documentation about the difficulties Welles had in getting funding for his projects and how frequently funding would be withdrawn before film completion. Apparently "The Merchant of Venice" was completed but the film disappeared. The film "The Other Side of the Wind" was close to completion in the 1970s but it ran into production difficulties--it is supposed to be completed and released in May of 2015. After watching this material of Welles I was saddened by thoughts of what might have been.
Welles is shown accepting an American Film Institute life Achievement Award. I was expecting some sharp words or some evidence of anger in his acceptance, but he was quite sincere and gracious. There is an extended segment that has Welles answering questions from a large audience. Here again I was surprised to see how affable and quick witted Welles could be.
The DVD contains an interview with Peter Bogdanovich, who obviously admires Welles. There is a 60 Minutes interview with Richard Irving (after he had been exposed as a fake biographer) that is interesting. There is also a straight one-hour documentary on Elmyr de Hory.
You get your money's worth from this DVD.