Orson Welles interview on The Magnificent Ambersons and It's All True

Leslie Megahey interviews Orson Welles for The Magnificent Ambersons and his unfinished film It's All True, also, Robert Wise and Peter Bogdanovich talk about The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), from the documentary Arena - The Orson Welles Story (1982).

[@josephcottenii8463]

Butchered masterpiece notwithstanding, a shining memory for me was sharing The Criterion Collection laserdisc production of “Ambersons” with my uncle, Joseph Cotten. Criterion created a cinephile masterpiece, a superb job of mastering and transferring from the best sources. The added features were “marvelous,” in Jo’s words, the script; the silent film version. We watched every frame of it. It was an unforgettable night down the rabbit hole of “Ambersons” with Jo.

[@TETCNY]

Welles was one of our geniuses . He may have been insane to deal with in life, but his art is incredible . CITIZEN KANE, MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS , OTHELLO ,MACBETH, THE STRANGER ,TOUCH OF EVIL -all films one can revisit again and again .

[@solarnaut]

It does not seem improbable that for a "would-be genius" to manifest as a "true genius" some "difficulty" (and even "insanity") may be required in the recipe ? B-)

[@TheRealValus]

@@solarnaut "It is difficult to conceive of genius without trauma - what it would look like - since it is difficult to conceive of genius taking shape in the world without passing through a gauntlet of continual abuse." - The Mirror of Kings

[@scottnapier943]

'They'll love me when I'm dead' Orson Welles (1915/1985)

[@charlesmoore7349]

Wise chopped up the opening sequence of Ambersons, which was, according to John Houseman, Welle's partner and cohort in the Mercury Theater, the greatest piece of filmmaking he ever saw (this was before they took the film from Orson. You can feel where Orson ends and the shlocky ending hits in Ambersons. He was one of the greatest geniuses ever in film, and Hollywood spent decades destroying him. The same morons still rule this business.

[@muhc8550]

Artists make wonderful films but Hollywood only wants propaganda

[@agathaellajadwiszczok9840]

But did you read the book? That schlocky ending is in the original novel! Tarkington was responsible for that ...

[@ericjohnson9623]

@Agatha Ella Jadwiszczok This is true, but Welles wrote an original ending himself. Joseph Cotton told Welles his ending (Eugene visits an emotionally broken Fanny in a dilapidated boarding house while other people creepily listen in) was more Chekhov than Tarkington.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

​@@ericjohnson9623 That conclusion to me is much more powerful. The end of a great family, a tragedy.

[@olftheterrible8450]

I still hope that someday the missing film will be discovered. I doubt it, though. It's hard to believe that when they took 40 minutes out they didn't bother saving the footage.

[@bolder2009]

Even if they did, what state would the reels of film be in? This is one of the greatest artistic tragedies, worthy of a film itself. As an Artist, I can't imagine what it must feel like to have my greatest work destroyed in my absence. Ambersons was the film that would have proved that Kane was not a fluke. They were not gonna let that happen. And what's crazy is that the version that the studio released still affirms Orson's greatness.

[@SymphonyBrahms]

"On the cutting room floor" means that it goes right into the trash. They didn't care that they were destroying a masterpiece. The only thing that they cared about was money.

[@GiantSandles]

There's some documentary where someone's gonna go to Brazil later this year and film himself trying to find this original cut that Welles had sent to him while he was over there (Wise mentions sending him a print in the video)

[@nimos1]

RKO not only destroyed ‘The Magnificent Ambersons’, but also the fledgling directing career of Orson Welles at the same time. What a tragedy!

[@RSR423]

As always, studio involvement ruined Welles vision. Today 2019, and for some years now, Citizen Kane is always quoted, by many film institutes, directors, actors and film historians as the greatest movie ever made. Now that is some statement to make, and it could very well be true. Making Kane was the only time, while working for a major Hollywood studio, that Welles had 100% complete control over every aspect of the movie, directing, casting, producing, cutting etc etc, and look at the result, maybe the greatest movie ever made. If only the studio had had the foresight to keep their meddling hands out of more of Orson's work. Even so, Welles did make some other masterpieces after Kane, The Stranger, Touch of Evil immediately spring to mind, plus every role he played as an actor was also totally immersing to watch. The thing that makes Orson Welles the great man he was, in my eyes, was the fact that he faced a lifetime of adversity from Hollywood after making Citizen Kane, and the wrath of media mogul, of which Kane was based, William Randolph Hearst, but never caved in under pressure, rejection or setback after setback. He often struggled financially to get funding for his projects, but still, against all this he managed to produce master works of statements in film.

[@markcarey67]

I think The Trial is one of his best - he did the impossible there - make a great movie out of a great novel while taking enough liberties with the novel so that it COULD be a movie.

[@shaunhall960]

Spot on! I'm grateful we got the chance to experience his work.

[@Grdnp03]

Welles is the greatest american director ever.The fact that this happened to him is terrible.

[@paulbaran549]

Only Stanley Kubrick comes very close.

[@vestibulate]

@@paulbaran549 Kubrick's not even in the same zip code.

[@rodycaz8984]

@@vestibulate Oof. This is some next-level snobbery right here.

[@omargonzalez2641]

Orson.The Magnificent Ambersons is still a masterpiece. A movie I get great enrichment from.

[@Lolabelle59]

If only those missing 45 minutes could be found.

[@plutovenus4101]

the studio burnt those reels.

[@philiphalpenny9761]

@@plutovenus4101 Incomprehensible as to why they would do that.

[@plutovenus4101]

@@philiphalpenny9761 some people ruled by ego. Especially those powerful and rich. Sad though.

[@BugVlogs]

I’m still holding out hope that the missing footage will be found somewhere

[@SymphonyBrahms]

When the studio edited a film instead of the director the cut footage was usually destroyed.

[@batman5224]

Apparently, RKO didn’t realize that you don’t hire someone like Orson Welles in order to make a lot of money. Any journeyman director could do that. You hire him because of his unique talents and artistic vision. He brings prestige and credibility to the studio. Warner Brothers understood this with Stanley Kubrick later on. Today, most people don’t even remember that RKO ever existed, but they remember Orson Welles.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Studios only care about money, not artistic integrity. Kubrick was allowed to do his films because his movies made a profit.

[@davehyde6207]

A loss to the world incredible , noble man.. rest well Mr Wells

[@gardensofthegods]

There's an interesting interview of him with Tom Snyder from 1977 here on KZbin and it's about 45 minutes long . If you haven't seen it you might enjoy it

[@daveb3809]

Still a fantastic movie with great stars: Agnes Moorehead, Joseph Cotten, Anne Baxter, etc. Seen it a couple of times as I have it. Hadn't realised that much was cut. I happen to like period dramas. Also discovered the novel and who wrote it which you can download for free as it's a classic. Welles was one of the greats.

[@Lolabelle59]

Rest in Peace, Mr. Welles. : )

[@Chkhitoooo]

Žižek considering Welles' version could be greater than Citizen Kane makes me wonder what would it be really like with that lost footage.. Wikipedia: "Final version released to audiences differed significantly from his rough cut of the film. More than an hour of footage was cut by the studio, which also shot and substituted a happier ending. Although Welles' extensive notes for how he wished the film to be cut have survived, the excised footage was destroyed. Even in the released version, The Magnificent Ambersons is often regarded as among the greatest films of all time. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and it was added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 1991."

[@tonyv2373]

Crazy. What a disgusting story.

[@randywhite3947]

I could never get behind Wise and others saying the released version of the Magnificent Ambersons is the best version

[@solarnaut]

"best" may have different measures to an artist and an accountant. what are the "jokes," . . . (you can fill in your own word choices) : " You'll never go broke underestimating America's sense of taste. " etc.

[@adamzanzie]

That is *not* what Robert Wise is saying here. Watch the interview again. Wise agrees with Welles that the longer cut was superior from an artistic standpoint. It's just that Wise and RKO were so disturbed by the negative test audience reactions that they were persuaded to put together a shorter cut which test audiences seemed to sit still for.

[@bigred9428]

Since we can't compare them, we don't really know.

[@rhuggard2011]

Wise and studio made huge mistake not saving the edits.

[@carlosandre1992]

Orson Welles 🎭 Theatre 🎭 legendary

[@dtzjones7632]

Orson Welles was treated terribly I wonder why though it makes me wonder was he sent to Brazil just to get him out of the way?he deserved more respect imo

[@andre1975pf]

Hearst's revenge...

[@dtzjones7632]

@@andre1975pf there seemed to be an agenda?

[@andre1975pf]

@@dtzjones7632 they mess his last movie,sent to Brazil for patriotic pourposes, I believe nothing happened by chance

[@dtzjones7632]

@@andre1975pf very curious??

[@ackamack101]

For years I have had the fantasy that I might be able to see a screening of Welles’ original cut of Ambersons in the after life. I sure hope I can whenever I pop out of here. Or if by some miracle, the removed footage is one day found. One of Hollywood’s greatest acts of barbarism ever.

[@shakesquire84]

Pandering to test audiences. This is the biggest failure in cinematic history.

[@invictusanimi]

Ironic he tackled a story about the downfall of a respected family (safe bet being first pulitzer prize winner), and it ended up being known as the last nail in the coffin of his career.

[@drchico40]

Apparently, hollywood has always been a dirty whore.

[@almeggs3247]

@@invictusanimi because they cut up the best parts of the movie but it couldn’t change Orsons genius!

[@bigred9428]

First, we don't know what the original was like. None of us has seen it, so we don't know if it was better or worse. Second, the film was MADE to show to the public, not Welles and his friends. Think of classic stories like the Iliad. That survived centuries because people liked it. There are countless others that did not get past the first telling because the audiences did not like them.

[@franknemeth7430]

When I watched The Magnificent Ambersons I always felt something was missing - because it just wraps up quickly - too bad the studio ruin it - and it was sad to see Robert Wise defend the cut film - because he turned out to be one of the better directors .

[@ricardocantoral7672]

I just finished watching it. I really hate that ending because everything is wrapped up nicely.

[@__hjg__2123]

The tragedy is not that the film was originally cut (that happens). As much as we love Welles as auteur, Hollywood (especially at that time) was a business before art. Welles was usually right - but not *always* right. And, there's no reason to see malice in the edits done while Welles was out of reach. No, but the true tragedy was the fire that destroyed the edited scenes. The fact that those moments were lost forever - that is the real tragedy.

[@silviocortez8787]

Cuanto más leo sobre este Gran Genio del Cine mundial, más lo admiro y he aprendido a quererlo por todo lo que nos legó a través de sus inolvidables películas,como... el ciudadano kane, Los magníficos amberson, el tercer hombre, the stranger, Sed del Mal, the Trail, JANE EYRE. Campanas de medianoche, . La dama de Shangai. Que el Olimpo de los grandes directores cinematográficos te otorgue un hogar de honor entre los mejores directores, actores de todos los tiempos. Tu legado está en nuestros corazones de los que amamos El séptimo arte.y a ti por tu legado impreso en el celuloide.

[@andrewmiller4885]

Wells, a brilliant actor, a brilliant director . Hollywood was never interested in critical acclaim , only in commercial success............ Nothing has changed . Rest in Peace Mr Orson Wells. Great story tellers and filmmakers have always struggled to bring their vision the the screen , because at the end of the day Industry moguls do not give one iota about the creative process. Their only obsession is the bottom line.

[@plutovenus4101]

When Mr Welles talked about butchering Ambersons, his eyes turned misty...a little. His voice changed. It's so sad, today we adore him as the greatest movie director. Then he was treated without any say on his own movie....Wish Robert WISE apologizes to Mr Wells when they meet in heaven.

[@TETCNY]

Wise did apologize and tried to keep as much of the film as he could . Wise respected Welles but Welles never forgave the future director.

[@vestibulate]

@@TETCNY If a quack surgeon mutilated your most beautiful child because the neighbors didn't like her looks, how would you feel?

[@dylanthrillmour866]

This horrid disrespect to artist continues all these years later. A completely different filmmaker, but looking at the hell Warners put Zack Snyder through with Justice League is blatantly corporate.

[@BenjaminFordPhoto]

Wise sounds like a sympathizer.

[@dbag3345]

Bootlicker more like it

[@mikejones9156]

Interviewer: "Do you ever get over something like that?" Orson Welles: "Not really, but you see I directed Citizen Kane and Touch of Evil."

[@EricVoegelin]

Wise was a studio employee, Welles an artist. Ambersons never had a chance when Wise took over.

[@nadiaghalem1780]

Un génie qui change la vie en quelques images (Citisen Kane), Othello etc.

[@AmatureAstronomer]

"The Magnificent Ambersons" Was one of the finest movies ever made, in spite of the efforts of the studio to ruin it.

[@bigred9428]

I don't know...on the one hand, I wish they would have saved a copy of the original, and I do feel that there is something missing in the version of the movie we've all seen. On the other hand, I don't think I've ever seen a "director's cut" that was good; they should be called "the egoist cut".

[@vestibulate]

@bigred9428 Citizen Kane is a director's cut. That the only version of the film. Welles had complete authority.

[@glenndoty739]

I'm sure there must be a copy of original preview of the film. Hard to believe film.is made with only one real.

[@SymphonyBrahms]

During that era, once a film was released to the theaters and show, it was returned to Hollywood and the copies destroyed. Even when they stored films the flameable nitrate they were made of would accidently catch fire and a whole warehouse of films would be destroyed. There are a lot of lost films in Hollywood history. The Valentino/Swanson film "Beyond the Rocks" was thought to be lost for decades. Until someone in the Netherlands found a copy of it in a storeroom of an old house.

[@glenndoty739]

@@SymphonyBrahms Possible a theater has a copy.? So sad.

[@pendejo6466]

What happened to the third installment of this interview, where Orson talks about his experience in a diner with a waiter?

[@alteredcatscyprus]

the Rockefellers…

[@richardsiciliano7117]

When I watch that film, I turn it off right after we see George praying to God.

[@SymphonyBrahms]

Up until then it's pretty much Orson. The final scenes after that were added to the film.

[@agathaellajadwiszczok9840]

But those final scenes are straight from the novel...

[@agathaellajadwiszczok9840]

But those schlocky scenes afterwards are straight from the book. Tarkington was responsible for them.

[@richardsiciliano7117]

@@agathaellajadwiszczok9840 You're totally right, but I believe that Welles had a different ending in mind. His own version of what happened to the Ambersons. He did something similar in his film version of Kafka's The Trial.

[@sallysmith8081]

When was this interview? I see 1982, but that is sketchy in that it uses that date for the documentary year, not when the interview took place. I find that true of many of these types of interviews; can't figure out when it was. He died in 1985, but he looks much healthier here than what you would expect 3 years before his death.

[@AndrewBarbacki]

There's a clip of him a few days before he died and he looked fine

[@nykolaszollbrecht9716]

Was there a video of Kane on this channel? I swear I remember seeing it but now I can’t find it. Thank you!

[@SymphonyBrahms]

Because the film is owned by a studio (and in these days the studios are owned by big corporations like Disney) if your download it on KZbin you are breaking the copyright law. The DVD of the film is available for purchase on Amazon and Ebay.

[@justincates2548]

#Freedom2022 ⚔️⚒

[@JesusEmmanuelChrist]

Watch Robert Wise squirm whilst he sends Orson down the river, again.

[@lookingatcartoons]

One of the greatest films I have seen....it's like mutilated carvings one sees in India...that makes them greater not worse..one fills the gap in mind

[@easylistening1377]

Hollywood is still garbage today. Orson was great. They forgot the guy that cut the film. But not Orson. Hello 2021.

[@NxDoyle]

Undernearh just about every Orson Welles-related KZbin upload you'll find the most ludicrous comments from people who, 'in 25 words or less', spout the most reductive nonsense about why Orson Welles and his work were so despised. But I don't think anyone _really knows_ why. Even the man himself was sometimes at a loss. There are myriad reasons, I'm sure, not least of which stemmed from the seemingly endless stream of venom on behalf of William Hearst's newspapers.

[@SymphonyBrahms]

Hearst hated Orson for making Citizen Kane. But Hollywood hated Orson because he was a genius in a land of donkeys.

[@vestibulate]

@NxDoyle Welles wasn't shy about airing his left-wing political convictions. He wrote an incendiary newspaper column at one time and was, of course, one of the first figures named on the Red Channels blacklist. He was also an immensely original, gifted and highly articulate artist. In a sense, he represented everything studio executives, media magnates, racist demagogues and just plain ignoramuses hated about America- the promise of freedom stripped of commercial constraints.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Welles didn't do himself any favors with his own attitude.

[@mgn5667]

greatest movie ever made was the search 4 the 1 eyed jimmy.. sam rockwell turturro bros sam jackson & others.......

[@Slopmaster]

Shortsighted studio interference to be sure, but why was Orson Welles in South America when he should have made sure his version of he movie was finished?

[@SymphonyBrahms]

Because he was asked to go there by the government to make a documentary.

[@Slopmaster]

@@SymphonyBrahms how convenient...

[@bigred9428]

@@Slopmaster , They tried to communicate with him, but he did not answer. They probably would have done the same thing, but at least he would have known about it if he had bothered to answer a call or a telegram.

[@bernie4268]

Apparently the cut scenes were saved but were lost in a fire. Sounds like the film was meant to be a vision of the American dream. Quite pathetic really that Robert Wise- who brought us The Sound of Music - got his mainstream fingers on something as special as Ambersons.

[@patriciaotoole5930]

When you r as good as orson wells was the people in power try to destry him

[@robertbrown6879]

So Robert Wise and others F'd the film up!

[@shaunhall960]

Let's call it what it was... Censorship.

[@mark-shane]

Im afraid Robert Wise was a typical Studio director, Untalented just a stooge

[@randywhite3947]

I’m not sure I would say he was untalented as he directed The West Side Story and Sound of Music

[@adamzanzie]

Wise masterfully edited Citizen Kane, so he was hardly "untalented". As a director, Wise was often journeyman-like and uneven, but there are some gems in his filmography. "The Set-Up" and "Odds Against Tomorrow" are both pretty good.

[@mgn5667]

. . . . . I Have Those Reels ::::::...........

[@bh9225]

If so, please make them public! Thanks!

[@bigred9428]

You forgot the Bwa Ha Ha Ha.

[@Paul-lm5gv]

It was like altering the Mona Lisa but then I never did think the Mona Lisa was a great work of art! And that's the essence of this. The audience doesn't see or appreciate what the artist sees. And if you're making a film to MAKE MONEY AT THE BOX OFFICE, and when the audience laughs and walks out, you've got to do something to save the work and that's what the studio execs did!

[@glenndoty739]

Horrible what happened. The Wizard of Oz was a complete flop when it came out. But they didn't destroy that movie .

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Oz was not a flop. That movie grossed nearly 30 million against a budget of 3 million.

[@Dartrook]

@@ricardocantoral7672 According to MGM records, during the film's initial release, it earned $2,048,000 in the U.S. and $969,000 in other countries throughout the world, for total earnings of $3,017,000. However, its high production cost, plus the costs of marketing, distribution, and other services, resulted in a loss of $1,145,000 for the studio

[@yanisleidimirandaperez9714]

The eviseration of Ambersons was the terrible price he paid for catering to, though he's loathe to admit it, his carte blanche debaucheries in Brazil.

[@frenchmime1972]

ether go to south america or go and fight in europe.

[@josephbeans3542]

I want Welles' version so I'll never watch Ambersons.

[@richardsiciliano7117]

Don't do that, it's well worth watching. 95% of it is still incredible Welles brilliance, just skip the last 10 minutes.

[@drewbakka5265]

How drunk was he when they did this?

[@nikosvault]

Robert Wise?

[@thirpalshk]

What?? This is his best interview.. perfectly coherent and charming.

[@QuadMochaMatti]

The interviewer?

[@bunny.thebest9103]

Ah funny

[@SymphonyBrahms]

My great uncle drank a bottle of whiskey every day of his adult life and died at the age of 102. And when he had been dead for three days he looked better that you do right now.