Filming 'The Trial' [1981] (Unedited) - Rare Orson Welles Documentary

[@andysydor1147]

Not only was I there, I'm the guy asking a question at 25:35. I never thought this footage would ever see the light of day. Kudos to the Estate for making this available!

[@skruff33]

Andy Sydor wish you were there with a Nagra. Any idea if Orson stayed afterwards to sign autographs and talk to people one on one ?

[@skruff33]

Andy Sydor thank you for your question. It was one of the more moving answers and not done with the least bit of pomp as it would have been now. Now it would be given a standing ovation and Orson would blush at such obsequiousness. Refreshing to see a room full of intellectuals not acting insufferable.

[@Claytone-Records]

Wow, Good question and what an amazing answer. Thank you young sir.

[@pnutb611]

@@Claytone-Records yes congratulations

[@tblack9711]

@@skruff33 I read this in Orson Welles' voice lol.

[@pauldavidking9083]

He was remarkably kind to audiences. So generous and honest and really giving.

[@arnoldimas9566]

Aa

[@arnoldimas9566]

ÀA

[@zantigar]

Yes, you can really sense his investment in communicating with anyone intelligent enough to listen.

[@CaptainUnusual]

Welles knew what it was like to be underappreciated and that kept him gracious to the people who did appreciate him.

[@VidHardt]

He was extraordinarily candid in many interviews, expressing regret for maligning charming and talented Marion Davies by implication in Kane, and so much more. He left a great record of a great artist's reflections.

[@dcdel1]

Love his voice, his attitude and intelligence. The sort of man you could listen to for hours.

[@NaNuNaNa43]

Its is fascinating to see welles directing technically AND rhetorically even a documentary about himself.he makes the audience being and feeling as his actors - together with giving them lots of fun. what a man, a real wizard!

[@DoojeenDoonican]

Fantastic - I could listen all day to Orson reading from a telephone book - what a wonderful man

[@skruff33]

DoojeenDoonican Agreed, but why waste him on regurgitation when he's the most interesting man in any room he's in. I'm sure we could listen to him all week without him ever repeating himself. One of our greatest raconteurs

[@DividedLine]

Everybody remembers Citizen Kane, but I've always thought the Trial was his best film. I've lost count of how many times I've seen it now and my appreciation of it deepens every time.

[@bencheshire]

Divided Line I def used to think that but I find it difficult to get through years later. Othello, Kane, Ambersons I find pretty smooth and enjoyable, can watch front to back. Trial with all its dark splendour, freezes me out after half an hour for some reason.

[@желтыйбанан-к5п]

Totally agree!!! The Trial is the most perfect his movie and one of my favorite film of all time

[@желтыйбанан-к5п]

We are used to thinking Citizen Kane is the best Orson's film 'cause we were taught by public opinion

[@MahmoudIsmail1988.]

Finally someone said it.. Thank you.. The trial IS his best film, better than Kane which is great no doubt

[@lallyoisin]

I'm not sure how I missed it as I edge toward the big 50. I'm gonna see it for the first time tonight. I'm only getting introduced to the director properly lately. Having seen the promo I get the sense Carl Jung is present in this film.

[@clockworkconor]

"It's cost me a lot more money to be a film director than I've ever made... so let that be an encouragement to you all." - 47:01 Thanks for uploading this!

[@buckleygeneration]

I think The Trial, Chimes at Midnight and F for Fake are all as worthy of being remembered in film history as Citizen Kane.

[@packman5906]

Fascinating interview. I was only going to listen a few moments, but the questions were so smartly asked (would never happen with today's youth)and the answers given with intellect and humor. A well spent 2 hours!

[@Laocoon283]

There are very capable youth in every generation you old fool.

[@KLINGKLANGINK]

The Trial is my favorite too. So many moments in this movie are timeless. To this day when I hear "Ovular" I have to smile.

[@Claytone-Records]

KLINGKLANGINK, Yes, I would usually select Chimes at Midnight. However...lately I have been watching The Trial every month, and sometimes once a week for more than 6 months. Sometimes I can view it with humor and others with the frustration and of trying to succeed in our world.

[@kajgenell]

This is I think an extraordinary lesson in and on humanism and art. Love it. Every school in the world should have it on their schedule.

[@sonofsound]

Thanks for posting this! What a treasure!

[@robertadinolfi4217]

This is beyond amazing!

[@Claytone-Records]

Welles here is as lucid and gracious as he ever was.

[@cathrynm]

Welles is so sweet and generous here, really.

[@MrAnthonyRusli]

yeah, he never sound condescending or rude, eventhough there was so much pretentious questions.

[@bencheshire]

Anthony Rusli I love the menacing glee he has when the student says he can answer his own question.

[@intelligenceservices]

As soon as we get a working time machine can we please go back in time and give Orson Welles an infinite budget?

[@lsauriat]

Is it possible that a limited budget made him reach heights a larger budget would have prohibited?

[@Harvey1138]

The young kid who asks about pinscreen animation (roughly at 1:13:50) is screenwriter Scott Alexander! Who'd later inject Orson Welles into "Ed Wood."

[@scattjax3908]

Love that movie too. The book that "Ed Wood" is based on mentions several times how Ed revered Orson :)

[@DavidRPhillips]

Thank you for that link! I've been trying to see this footage since Scott and Larry were on Leonard Maltin's podcast and mentioned this.

[@maddymud]

I’ve wondered what future filmmakers in this audience succeeded

[@CarmenZynger]

Thank you so much for uploading this! A delicious treat of Orson Welles still very engaging, brilliant, and so kind and sweet with this audience. Never talking down to him regardless of his genius in so many subjects.

[@tomripsin730]

50:30 I've been a fan of Welles for most of my life & this is the first time I ever heard of him writing Sci-Fi for the Pulps.

[@packman5906]

Considering he did War of the Worlds, he was suited for the sci-fi genre!

[@josephinewhite6224]

This was just wonderful. I loved even the unedited parts. Thank you for showing every syllable spoken by this great genius of a man.

[@viggosimonsen]

Orson Welles is the epitome of class and masculine beauty - inside and out. A brilliant mind

[@WimGrundy]

Genius on stage. Genius on stage. Genius on stage.

[@bobstevens3265]

u can say that again

[@edcampion3998]

Thank you 4 this upload he is one person i would love to have as a dinner guest if he were alive today fascinating man

[@chriscooper3117]

ed campion And what would you prepare for dinner in this modern-day, dumbed-down, cultural-Marxist society... Cup o' Noodles, Kool-Aid, and some Twinkies for dessert?

[@nickkuhl3426]

thanks for uploading. I just discover how much a brilliant speaker Orson Welles was. Will explore ahis films now :-)

[@MrRazorblade999]

A brilliant speaker.

[@dannydontgoin237]

Wow, what a treat! Such a humble and modest guy considering he truly is a legend. Maybe the greatest independent filmmaker ever. He never gave up! On another note, in 90 minutes people couldn't figure out to wait for the microphone?

[@scattjax3908]

Maybe these film students haven't gotten to audio yet in class haha

[@villings]

(10 years later) thank you for uploading this

[@LoganKM76]

thank you very much for posting this.

[@nuclear5641]

Cinematographer Gravy Grover: "Orson intended to make Filming 'The Trial' like Filming ‘Othello’ (with other scenes added later) but we never got around to it. The Munich Film Museum took all my reels and stitched them together to make a 90-minute movie - and it works! A lot of people were there in the audience that day who are successful filmmakers now. It was pretty basic camerawork. I filmed Orson quite a bit and then I’d swing around to the audience whenever they gave a big response."

[@ArtistPare]

Isn’t that Werner Herzog on the left near the front?

[@laddiemeadows6180]

Hollywood just couldn't understand or handle the genius of Orson Welles, so they ran him out of town.

[@continentalgin]

So, it's very fascinating that Welles said in making The Trial, he wanted to produce a dream. I've always said that Kubrick was producing a dream when he made Eyes Wide Shut. Two dream pictures, Welles's The Trial and Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. Next time you watch Eyes Wide Shut, think of it as a dream from first frame to last. The other fascinating thing Welles says is that a film should never simply illustrate a book and it's the director's obligation to use a book to create something new. When I heard Welles say that, I immediately thought of The Magnificent Ambersons. The long version of that, the Welles director's cut which had a test screening in Pomona before roughly 50 minutes were savagely 'butcher' cut out of the film and all traces of footage destroyed by the studio, may well be the greatest American motion picture ever made. Some who witnessed the long version said it was better than CITIZEN KANE. If we had that missing footage, holy crap, what greatness would reveal itself. I recently read the Booth Tarkington novel, The Magnificent Ambersons, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone. Read the book and visualize it in your mind as if Welles were turning it into something marvelous in film form. It will blow your mind.

[@bobtaylor170]

I have The Magnificent Ambersons coming up on my reading list. As for the Welles cut of the movie and its one screening, I've never read anything other than that the audience laughed at it. Welles said so himself, though he wasn't present. From what I understand, the film as released by RKO much more resembles the novel than Welles' intended version. Is it possible that the flaw lay not in the preview audience but in Welles as a movie planner? And somehow I've never really believed Welles' story that he simply couldn't get back from Rio in time to fight for his movie. And I've been fascinated by Welles since I was a 13 year old boy, in 1965.

[@continentalgin]

@@bobtaylor170 Welles underestimated the power of William Randolph Hearst in Hollywood. Hearst was determined to destroy the career of the young Welles after feeling personally insulted by Citizen Kane. Hearst pressured distributors and exhibitors into short runs of Kane, severely limiting its profitability. When the Welles director's cut of The Magnificent Andersons was in test screenings, Hearst had his close friend, Nelson Rockefeller, Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, summon Welles to Washington for an urgent meeting. Secretly following Hearst's plan, Rockefeller, persuaded Welles to go to Brazil immediately and direct a documentary that would be used to thwart the rise of Nazi influence in Latin America. Welles, believing that his masterpiece, The Magnificent Andersons, was finished and ready for exhibition prints to be made, took the bait and flew to Rio. The Rockefellers held a controlling interest in ownership of RKO Pictures at that time. Hearst secretly paid 'plants' to be in the test screening audiences (I think there were two test screenings). The planted viewers were paid to scoff loudly and laugh during serious scenes in order to persuade as many in the audience as possible that the film was no good and laughable. Also the 'ballot box' was stuffed with bogus, audience test cards deriding the movie. Rigging the test screenings worked. With Welles now far away, RKO engaged in a butchering recut of Ambersons, ruining its chances to become popular and receive awards that it deserved. Welles tried to supervise the studio's demand for a recut remotely, without success. By all means, read the book. One cannot appreciate the greatness of the director's cut of Ambersons without first reading the novel. Hearst succeeded in destroying Welles, as Orson never recovered, financially or psychologically, from the butchering of his masterpiece.

[@bobtaylor170]

@@continentalgin , fascinating. Can you tell me how you learned this?

[@bobtaylor170]

@@continentalgin , also, knowing as much as you do, you probably know what came out of RKO's near bankruptcy, the Val Lewton movies. Those movies are wonderful. It's some consolation, anyway, for the loss of Welles. I've never understood this: there are always rich people whose lives are centered around the arts. Why didn't one or more of them give Welles the money he needed to go on being Orson Welles? I understand Hearst's power to instill terror, so I can understand their reluctance to do so while Hearst remained alive, but after 1951, when Hearst died, why didn't it happen then? Also, considering that Hearst was already quite old in 1941, why did Welles not have the sense to restrain himself from giving Hearst a nasty poke in the eye until Hearst was dead?

[@continentalgin]

@@bobtaylor170 All good questions. Welles was 25 when he made Citizen Kane and the only reason he came to Hollywood to direct a picture was that RKO had given him total freedom to shoot and edit Kane as he pleased. After Hearst's gang threatened distributors and exhibitors, talking them into terribly short runs of Kane at theaters, the production barely broke even (by Hearst's plan), thus giving RKO an excuse to tell Welles that he would not have freedom of approving the final edit of Ambersons. Welles went along, because he believed that his final edit of Ambersons would be a towering achievement, better than Kane (some who viewed the Welles cut of Ambersons said it was the best American film in history, better than Citizen Kane). Welles and Herman Mankiewicz crafted the character Kane to be an amalgamation of several real people: William Randolph Hearst, Joseph Pulitzer, Samuel Insall and Harold McCormick. Welles did the final editing and screenwriting, in which he changed the draft to be almost singularly about Hearst. He thought the life of Hearst made a better story and naively thought he played the role himself in such a way as to have empathy for Hearst and to portray Hearst as a brilliant entrepreneur. Welles was only 25 years old when he made Citizen Kane. Some of the characterizations of Hearst in Kane, Welles thought were attributes of greatness, whereas Hearst thought they revealed character flaws. Hearst took the movie as an outrageous insult, partly because he thought Welles should have given him final script approval, which Welles was not about to do! The whole rosebud sleigh scene and rosebud ending was entirely made up by Welles (pure genius), but Hearst was upset because it never happened in his real life. When Hearst died, Welles was already a Hollywood outcast whom studio executives considered too risky to invest production money in. Even if art loving philanthropists wanted to finance Welles (which they didn't), that's not how it worked back then. Studio executives decided what would be produced and what would not be and Welles was essentially blacklisted.

[@RussMcClay]

What a treasure! Thank you, Akash!

[@violetcadburry932]

The third man

[@kaitykline]

thanks for posting this, really interesting.

[@TV-fu1ec]

Thanks so much. Appreciate this great man and those who made it possible to hear him

[@Luxsky]

Regardless of whether you are interested in film, this is fascinating. Orson Welles is an intrinsically interesting person. A great man.

[@covechgo]

He liked Pacino. Very cool.

[@Colt2571]

my left ear enjoyed this

[@ListenWell]

Yes

[@rtt1961]

Wow! A really great interview.

[@bridget87]

finally. i have been waiting for this forever. thanks!

[@MrRazorblade999]

One of his top 3 films.

[@77wasted]

amazing interview

[@mon2089]

Interesting reflections from a great filmmaker. To me, The Trial is one of his greatest accomplishments as a film director.

[@BattlegroundVictory]

Outstanding.... thank you for uploading this film

[@OrdoSanctiBenedictus]

The questions so intelligent.Orson such a breath of fresh air.

[@BrettHeth]

Talking about Salkind who'd died he says at 5.18 he has "​g​one to dwell beyond the morning stars." I googled it. No specific reference to it anywhere else. Did he just make it up himself? If so, wow: just a throw away line.​

[@MariaCristinaFurtado]

Obrigado pela postagem com opção de tradução de legendas !!! considerando que esse filme tem mais de 50 anos!!!

[@laddiemeadows1156]

I know I'm in the minority, but "Touch of Evil" is my favorite Welles film.

[@maxshenkwrites]

Me, too, for reasons I can't put a finger on... and CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT.

[@RSR423]

Touch of Evil, is an excellent movie, and so, so, underrated.

[@litteliten4999]

It is so in your face... and you cant get away from that... touch/grab of evil :-)

[@peterrossi4844]

Touch of Evil is a very stylized film

[@RSR423]

@Randy White Yeah? Ask the average film goer and see how many have even heard of it.

[@lizardman7364]

what a beautiful man

[@beverlymccollum8861]

yes! A beautiful man. I only discovered what a man he was on the internet. Had only heard of him before. I have to say I am in love with him now. His voice is haunting in my head. He was sooo interested in people. Forgive me but I must say I wish I could hug and kiss him so much and hear his voice in my ear. But then I am a woman and you know how emotional we creatures are.

[@baronzaebos8888]

So glad I was born in the same century as Orson Welles.

[@adampratt1925]

I like his answer about not storyboarding, and the follow up comment about lighting the set first and then placing the actors AND THEN positioning the camera. I can only infer that this was informed by his origins on the stage.

[@TheBarbaroony]

Thanks to whoever sent this to me

[@mopacmedia]

45:40 -- "I light a set before I decide where anyone goes." -- his reasoning is worth the entire interview :D

[@danielyoung6630]

Always a class gentleman.

[@vincenteoppolo9025]

I love this man more and more

[@flatscan1978]

Welles was so smart and well educated, without being snobbish or elitist. I don't think that he would write off comic book movies as "theme park rides" as Scorcese did.

[@lisaburns4131]

Love, love him comes across as a very polite and well mannered man. Gosh he was a one off.

[@MegaFount]

I love the adaptation of The Trial. There are many brilliant cinematic moments in this film. A great adaptation of the novel.

[@cheyenneasiafoxe292]

a genius --love him

[@brutusalwaysminded]

Thanks!

[@erikcampbell5436]

Thank you. "The Trial" is a wonder.

[@sclogse1]

Watch the preview to The Haunting, directed by Robert Wise, who also edited for Welles...besides it looking a great deal like a Welles film, you can even see little dedications to Kane in it...the preview is on youtube. Be sure to be watching the early first version of THe Haunting, with Julie Harris.

[@RanBlakePiano]

Akash. Thank so much for this Post. I recorded my impression of touch of evil on my film noir cd just saw tomorrow is forever. Very impressed by work there

[@Mrsilenciobackgammon]

That is absolutely amazing in it's own way. The way he glared at you was fascinating. Good question and good answer.

[@ttrons2]

Martin Scorcsese's "After Hours " was a film of a dream.

[@ACNC1]

Dude is filming this on his 80's smartphone

[@machia-mw1lm]

Great artist.

[@lunaig]

my favorite movie ever.

[@Johnconno]

A genuine goddamn uniqueity! 🔥

[@Karpefilm]

great one.

[@123must]

Beautiful ! Thanks

[@packman5906]

That last part about Hemingway was one of the best parts, even if the visual mostly vanished..

[@ferabra8939]

If the Devil exists, I imagine him to be something like Orson Welles. All charm and wisdom, but with an evil aura about him. Funnily enough, I guess God could also look like Welles.

[@katieorjonikidze-casey6516]

I don't see him as an evil, because evil has a ugly face and Orson has very beautiful feature. But I defenetly agree that God could look like Welles. In my childhood I always imagine God the same looking man as Welles.

[@Claytone-Records]

Katie Orjonikidze-Casey, Thanks for the personal input. I so enjoyed reading it.

[@lsauriat]

We all look like God. Imago Dei.

[@gregor-samsa]

that's great.

[@mbarbarelli]

An excellent question which elicited a very interesting response, as well.

[@MariaCristinaFurtado]

Por favor postem uma cópia ou com legendas em português e inglês porque precisamos conhecer ao vivo e a cores Orson Welles graças a #Internet# temos esse privilégio!!!

[@vicmclaglen1631]

28:13 The cellphone and social media. Nailed it decades ahead of time.

[@detroitsandiego5159]

💙Love,love,love him💙

[@1dapug]

Wow it's amazing how rude some of these people were.

[@farrokh2]

1dapug Like who?

[@1dapug]

In particular the guy who brought up Orson Welles financial problems. It was spot on, but if you know someone has failed to finance 8 movies, probably not the most sensitive question to ask.

[@augustusbetucius1572]

I'd take it over today's ignorant elitism.

[@blacquesjacques7239]

James Barlow it still is this day

[@ThunderZandor]

Since the 16mm film cartridges had to be changed every 10 minutes how many seconds or minutes were missed when the 16mm film ran out. Someone should of had the audio tape recorder Nagra running continuously.

[@scattjax3908]

So many missed moments in between those cartridges. If only they had a video camcorder with longer tapes, but I guess those only came out a few years later. It makes every second of footage of Welles all the more precious.

[@gdavisloop6289]

I was there, and I don't think too much was missed. As each roll ended, the cinematographer said the word "out" and we stopped talking until he said "rolling" again. Although the end of this film may seem abrupt, what actually happened is the cine said "out" for the Nth time, and I guess Orson thought he had done enough, so he said, "Okay, we're done." Then he left, and they showed "The Trial".

[@MariaCristinaFurtado]

Não tem importância os problemas técnicos o que precisamos e conhecer esse personagem sensacional que nos privilegiou como ator e diretor toda sua vida!!!!

[@OriginalRocketJock]

23:57 "Marvin the Martian, do you have a question?"

[@1dbanner]

Come back to us, Orson

[@SenorZorrozzz]

Audio is low, but that’s for posting.

[@zantigar]

At 1:13:54 , isn't he the punk who went on to write the screenplay for "Ed Wood", etc.!? This amazing talk must have been the inspiration for the great scene in which Ed Wood briefly meets the Orson Welles' character. But his question about the pin screen technique prologue really got big Orson excited, ha!

[@juliaross5268]

“The set is all we have besides the actors.”

[@anwvererere]

such old school dress and speech loll love it. Orson Welles is dazzling and ofc Kafka brought me here.

[@ttrons2]

Orson and Stanley and everybody else.

[@paulbaran549]

Yes the two best. They are actually very similar people and filmmakers.

[@fouziabee]

thank you so mucho much. Oncredible

[@haggis655]

Did Welles make a mistake when he referred, in the opening response, to Gesualdo? I think he meant to say Albinoni. Gesualdo wasn't even Baroque, but Renaissance, while Albinoni was Baroque and fits the adjective "romantic" (at least in that Adagio) far better. Of course, the Albinoni became enormously popular, since it was reconstructed from fragments after WW2.

[@ZeroChannelZero]

4 years and no answer to this question? I'll take a crack. I've had a mild obsession with tracking down said Gesualdo ever since I saw this interview, but I've come up with absolutely nothing. All google searches for "Orson Welles Gesualdo" point to this interview, nothing more. I had assumed maybe Orson had selected a Gesualdo piece which was later edited out or replaced with the Albinoni (the most iconic theme of the film), but maybe it makes more sense to assume as you guessed that Orson just made a mistake citing the composer's name. It wouldn't be the first time he flubbed a line... "crumb crisp coating" haha.

[@Adam-XL]

He had drunk too much Paul Masson wine and made a mistake

[@nflmlbclassics]

@ 1:25:30 a masterful definition of acting - cjrory

[@arthurbudd2900]

I wish Orson Welles had completed Merchant of Venice , and i think its called the Deep but actor Laurence Harvey died before being completed.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

It's such a shame that most only remember Welles for Citizen Kane. He did so much better after that. The Trial was a triumph.

[@kentallard8852]

Where did you get this it was unfinished and unreleased at the time of his death?

[@rickfischer5297]

I am afraid that we will never see the likes of him again.

[@chriscooper3117]

Rick Fischer I'm afraid yo might be right. However, there is always a possibility that the long-term regression/destruction of American and Western societies will reverse with the proper initiatives of the population. If so, the brilliant art culture, and minds, previously nurtured and encouraged, shall return. There is ALWAYS the opportunity for another Renaissance; we are at that crossroads now.

[@SenorZorrozzz]

If someone wants to they could color correct this, stabilize the image, clean up the audio, and then edit it so it makes sense and runs as smooth as you can get it. etc.

[@burberrybritchick]

Great footage! Does anyone know what process Welles was taking about when he describes the depth of field after 1:09:05? The audience calls it out but I can't understand what they say...thanks!

[@Lasselucidora]

Made at the time young people was beautiful.

[@scattjax3908]

23:30 Interesting how Welles can hear the girl's question perfectly but couldn't hear the guy's question about evil before haha

[@blacquesjacques7239]

I am strongly drawn to my notion of Orson Welles . I know it must be off the mark . Can anyone recommend a biography that is generally well supported ?

[@maddymud]

Blacques Jacques - the Simon Callow one is good but also weird on some of Callow’s anger with the subject and love for Agnes Moorhead