There's More To Orson Welles Than Citizen Kane

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Although most celebrated for his first film Citizen Kane, there's so much more to Orson Welles. This video essay explores his entire career, featuring films such as Touch of Evil, F For Fake, The Lady From Shanghai. Chimes at Midnight, The Trial, The Other Side of the Wind and more.
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[@Andy97K]

YES! Thank you. Finally, someone goes in depth about what a true artist Welles was. Everyone loves to bring up Citizen Kane, but what he did afterwards is just as impressive considering he had all of Hollywood turn his back on him. I would have loved to see Welles' much darker cut of Touch of Evil, as well as the longer cut of The Magnificent Ambersons and Lady from Shanghai.

[@Jimmy1982Playlists]

Hear, hear! I've been saying the same for decades... the original cuts for Ambersons & Lady From Shanghai would have been so incredibly amazing.

[@erikramaekers63]

He never became cynical.He was a great guest in talk shows and enjoy ed life to the full.

[@karlkarlos3545]

Touch of Evil was restored to Welles' vision some time ago. I've actually never seen the theatrical cut.

[@Andy97K]

@@karlkarlos3545 the recent restoration is the closest they came to Welles' vision, but it is still not Welles' film. He wanted Heston's character to be much darker, and the studio got rid of that aspect of the film.

[@karlkarlos3545]

@@Andy97K Well, if it was never filmed in the first place you can't have a "darker cut" can you. Never the less, Orson Welles left a treatment to the studio which served as template for the restored cut by Walter Murch.

[@SteRDLK]

Touch Of Evil is like no other film there ever has been. The atmosphere, the camera shots and set-ups, the direction of the actors, the locations, the script. Individually great, collectively becomes Welles' masterpiece, an all-time classic.

[@sclogse1]

Have you seen The Trial?

[@velox5598]

The Trial (1962) is so good. Welles managed to bring Kafka to life with the endless persecution of K (played brilliantly by Anthony Perkins), amazing set design and a gripping soundtrack. Welles' films are so well presented, they are eye candy to watch (the 2nd long track scene of Touch of Evil is so smooth to watch). Welles is an all-time great, he is my 2nd fav director of all-time behind Kubrick.

[@chasegeyer3825]

Chimes at midnight is wildly underrated

[@TheDiscardedImage]

Definitely his best Shakespeare film

[@sebastian11346]

@@TheDiscardedImage I like Othello better..

[@sudabdjadjgasdajdk3120]

@@TheDiscardedImage Definitely his best film, even he thought as much.

[@adikravets3632]

@@TheDiscardedImage what about othello?

[@patrickcraig8022]

This and F for Fake are his best imo, though they’re wildly different so apples to oranges

[@sebastian11346]

Welles is the most interesting director ever, for me. All of his films are very different. He was always experimenting.

[@BugVlogs]

The Magnificent Ambersons deserves more respect than it gets

[@TheDiscardedImage]

Still hoping that one day they find the original cut

[@BugVlogs]

@@TheDiscardedImage Apparently, a search for the lost cut was underway earlier this year, but was postponed because of the pandemic.

[@TheDiscardedImage]

@@BugVlogs Heard about that. Could be in Brazil somewhere 🤞

[@JJJameson.]

Isn't it on afc's list as well? That's pretty respectful

[@BugVlogs]

@La Zona Oscura The ending was not what Welles intended

[@SilasHaslam]

My favorite Well’s film has to be The Trial

[@mrmogford8117]

F for Fake is my favourite An absolute joy to watch

[@annaclarafenyo8185]

It's today the basis of KZbin video essays, it's the most influential of his films.

[@yusefendure]

'Mr. Arkadin' is sorely underrated. The Criterion Collection version is the best. That film and 'The Trial' are my favorites by him. Orson Welles was a visionary.

[@sclogse1]

Welles management of the crowd (party) on the boat was my favorite part of Arkadin. To be a fly on the wall to see how he choreographed that... and I also liked the scenes with Akim Tamiroff. They had an absurdist theater quality ala Samuel Beckett.

[@Jared_Wignall]

Orson Welles has made many excellent films aside from Citizen Kane, such as Magnificent Ambersons, Touch of Evil, Chimes at Midnight. I think a a few reasons why people look at Citizen Kane the most out of all the films Welles made is due to the fact so much has been said about that film, to the extent of it being called the greatest film of all time by many people, and also the fact he was given so much freedom in a time when that was basically never done for a first time actor/filmmaker. There’s also quite a bit of controversy regarding the script where people say Welles never wrote a word of Citizen Kane and it was all Herman Mankiewicz, which is absurd as we can see Welles wrote his own drafts and combined the best elements of his scripts with Mankiewicz’s scripts. I think because of all these things and so much more about Citizen Kane, everything he made afterwards is basically overshadowed. He’s made so many great films in his career. One can say Citizen Kane is his best film, there’s nothing wrong with that at all, but his other films deserve to be given a good deal of attention as much as Citizen Kane gets.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

The Trial is much harder to chew, but is so much tastier once you get to it. F for Fake is lovingly silly and irreverent for director who usually made quite bleak and pessimistic movies.

[@annaclarafenyo8185]

@@vksasdgaming9472 "F For Fake" is nowadays the most influential film he ever made, it is the template for KZbin video essays. He said, while he was making it, that this was the filmmaking of the future. I don't think he could know that the future he was aiming for was the 2010s and 2020s. It's "F for Fake" that cements his legacy as the greatest director of the 20th century, he was the only one who could see the 21st.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

@@annaclarafenyo8185 George Welles was genius director and fine actor and never took himself too seriously. F for Fake did perfect cinematic essay with it's mixture of real and fake and lovingly self-depreciating humor.It is openly deceitful movie and as such we can admire it's skill of deception. It also didn't come out of nowhere either.

[@annaclarafenyo8185]

@@vksasdgaming9472 It came out of nowhere, it came from Welles's imagination. And his name wasn't George, and he took himself hella seriously. He knew he was immortal.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

@@annaclarafenyo8185 How can you claim to know about someone if you don't even know their name? It isn't secret. Welles did not invent cinematic essay - he merely perfected it. Soviet filmmakers like Dziga Vertov had already experimented with such narrative techniques and French new wave also had similar studies. Welles took his directional work very seriously, but he certainly was not above making a fool of himself and anyone who dares to be a fool is not taking themselves too seriously.

[@Jimmy1982Playlists]

Thank you! Nothing is worse than hearing people disregard his films post-Kane... every film he finished has something brilliant and unique about it, that can't be found anywhere else. Ambersons, Lady From Shanghai, Touch Of Evil, Chimes At Midnight, F For Fake, The Trial, Othello, MacBeth, The Stranger, Mr. Arkadin, The Immortal Story... even his unfinished films are worth looking at. And Netflix released his last film recently, finished by others, shows he still had it. Among the 5 greatest figures in film history.

[@paulbaran549]

He's definitely up there with Kubrick, Tarkovsky, and Bergman.

[@NinesShow]

The immortal story is really underrated

[@muggsspongedice6762]

I watched Welles film the opening sequence of Touch Of Evil on Windward Ave, Venice, CA 1957 or 58. I was 4-5 and holding the hands of my grandparent who lived steps from Ocean Front Walk when Venice was still a Mayberry town. Welles looked at me and said: "Why is this child staring at me?", turned and disappeared into the dark of night.

[@karam2071]

Reject lynchian, embrace wellesian

[@terrortower666]

The Stranger is a fantastic film I would recommend to anybody who likes his style. Amazing thriller!

[@joaquinmombergbarria516]

The production value of these videos is amazing

[@sebastian11346]

I recommend for everybody to see his TV pilot: The Fountain of Youth (it is essential Welles!) and Around the World with Orson Welles (except for „Madrid epsiode” - it is amazing stuff).

[@PresentsIncThingys]

Thanks for the tip! I've been on the lookout for Fountain of Youth. Do you know if it's on a streaming service at the moment?

[@sebastian11346]

@@PresentsIncThingys It is on youtube

[@erikramaekers63]

A genius with an IQ of 184.Director,actor,writer, magician etc.

[@paulbaran549]

184? How do you know this?

[@erikramaekers63]

@@paulbaran549 several documentaries about his life, and books too.

[@ryantabor3026]

Cinema's greatest artist (in my opinion) is also its industry's most tragic titanic creative force, mistreated and unfairly disregarded. He's my favorite filmmaker. Well, I have four on my number 1 spot actually. Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Ingmar Bergman, Andrej Tarkovsky. They're all tied at number one,. It's just that sometimes, I favor one over the others the most. I most frequently have Orson Welles at the top among four.

[@annaclarafenyo8185]

Welles' brother-by-another-mother was Kurasawa. Similar blocking, sometimes similar angles, equally socialist.

[@adikravets3632]

There are a ton Orson movies that people today just don't know/watch. Yes citizen kane is great, but there is a ton more out there. PS: If you are a are a true fan :) check out his commerical about the french!

[@Frenzi]

Makes me wanna explore his other films :))

[@BmakinFilm]

This is a marvelous encapsulation of Welles on film - the clips are in great condition and well edited together - really makes me want to go on a Welles film binge. I love Orson Welles and although I never met him in person, I feel his presence like a loving, humorous, no nonsense, butt kicking uncle standing over me as I edit my own films.

[@marcl4000]

The fact that Welles spent 20 years in Europe you can see the influence of the french new wave in is last film. I’m planing to view «The other side of the wind» shortly. I saw «They’ll love me when i’m dead» and it’s absolutely a fascinating film about creation, perseverance, troubled friendship (with P.Bogdanovich), etc. Hats off to Netflix for financing the editing of this last film of Welles. But ironically there is very little of Orson Welles films on the streaming service. Hope Mubi is doing better on that! :-)

[@apseudonym]

I swear to god if I have to hear another person refer to 25 year old Orson Welles as 'wunderkind' or 'boy wonder' one more time

[@ChildArvin-x8s]

White Shirley Hernandez Paul Rodriguez David

[@agustindelavega6177]

What's the title for the Zeppelin-esque rock music from TOSOTW?

[@richardsiciliano7117]

To me, Welles made 5 absolute classics: Kane, Ambersons, Touch of Evil, The Trial, and Chimes.

[@nattmazzoni]

OMG what an amazing video, you highlighted all that I love so much about his filmmaking! Thank you.

[@martynhanson]

Great piece. He started with Kane and finished with The other side of the wind. Wow!

[@chrishall6337]

Excellent video, and thanks for the free month of MUBI! I'll be watching The Trial for sure.

[@sclogse1]

The technique of speeding up the scenes works perfectly in this for displaying the technique of Welles. Excellent.

[@alansmithee70]

Well done. Very impressive. Amazing job

[@joycestevenson1609]

Martin Richard Jones Donald Hernandez Sarah

[@madahad9]

The one film that I can watch over and over is his adaptation of The Trial. Other than moving it a more contemporary period and shifting the location it is a very faithful adaptation, capturing the nightmarish quality of the Kafka story. The photography is stunning, often using deep focused lens and stylised lighting. As with many European films of that period it was filmed silent and the voices added in post production which adds to the disorienting nature. I believe that Orson Wells dubbed over twelve (perhaps more) actors himself. Whether this was due to budgetary constraints or a stylistic choice I don't know but it has a very weird effect. A modern audience may find this distracting, especially those unaccustomed to this distinctly European style. Fellini often did this and dubbed all actors adterwards. I would place The Trial above Citizen Kane. Stripped of its innovative camera angles and stylised lighting the story itself I find rather bland. I understand why it is so highly regarded in cinema history but I have never been enthralled by the story of Kane. Whereas the story Joseph K. is like watching a nightmare. As in the source novel we are given no answers to the nature of his crimes. I've read the first two volumes of Simon Callow's biography of Wells but haven't had the opportunity to read the third which might cover the making of this film. I highly recommend the first two books as well as Young Orson which focuses on the early years, ending with the opening with Kane. He should have been America's greatest filmmaker but it becomes clear that he is his own worst enemy and should have heeded a piece of ancient Chinese wisdom which goes: That which doesn't bend is easily broken.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

In a sense Welles did bend with his acting work in small roles. I am certain there was sound recording in The Trial as Anthony Perkins said that he couldn't tell when Welles' voice was used instead of his original voice. In a very twisted way The Trial is absurdist comedy. Welles was a genius of his craft (movie-making) and one of few who actually mastered it and worst part for him was that he knew it and it wasn't just boasting. Nobody wants to have such genius as employee.

[@annaclarafenyo8185]

@@vksasdgaming9472 They hated him for his poitics, the socialism is written over all his films. The USSR banned Citizen Kane for being too sympathetic to the capitalist, but all who saw it knew it was a socialist film. The same is true for Ambersons, for Touch of Evil, for all his films, really.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

@@annaclarafenyo8185 I do not see Orson Welles as having overtly socialist views by seeing his movies. I can easily see him having healthy amount of disrespect towards well, everything.

[@annaclarafenyo8185]

@@vksasdgaming9472 That's incorrect. That attitude is a conservative one, born of the druggy end of the 1960s. He was a committed socialist, like his friend Hemingway. Like his comrade Kurasawa. He even shot a picture inside Stalin's USSR (Journey Into Fear), and narrated a history of the Soviet Union. I believe he left the US to escape McCarthy as much as the studio system.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

@@annaclarafenyo8185 Real pathetic projection by wannabe pseudo-intellectual.

[@hombrelobomedia3503]

That alter-ego director is a fella named John Huston

[@Hannibal082]

I loved The Other Side of The Wind.

[@ElvaJones-c7g]

Clark Susan Lewis Sandra Lee Scott

[@josephduarte1886]

Love the channel and video God bless brother

[@AzherZarach]

Taylor Helen Miller Anna Miller Donald

[@thevfxmancolorizationvfxex4051]

One of Welles' last films; Touch of Evil brought Charlton Heston to more critical acclaim . Though coming back to the topic of Citizen Kane, Orson passed away around the time that Ted Turner decided to start coloring in old black and white films. Welles was one of the few protesting against colorizing films because of the fact that Turner was ruining someone else's creation for profit gains. Welles said "Keep Ted Turner's crayons away from my films!". In 1989, Turner announced he was considering the idea of coloring in Citizen Kane, but when he looked into Orson Welles' contract, Turner realized just how personal and Kane was to Welles, and he decided not to color in the film. Personally, I agree that colorization can ruin a film sometimes, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be done at all. I feel like part of that controversy came from the fact that Turner was doing it for profit gain. People love Citizen Kane, but there's nothing wrong with wondering what it would look like in color. So colorizing the film shouldn't have to be made illegal, so long as it's only a personal experiment and not something to be patented, packaged, and sold, because the latter part was what people were mainly angry about

[@TheDiscardedImage]

Bogdanovich said it was Welles that convinced him to shoot The Last Picture Show in black and white as Peter wanted deep focus shots and Orson said he'd never get it in colour.

[@thevfxmancolorizationvfxex4051]

@@TheDiscardedImage that’s such a fascinating fact. Welles was right in that Last Picture Show would’ve gotten its tone better in black and white

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

The VFX Man: No it didn't. Heston was already a superstar, having been the leading man in blockbusters like The Greatest Show on Earth and The Ten Commandments before this, and he had just been cast for the superproduction, Ben-Hur. You actually have it backwards: Welles was only allowed to make Touch of Evil because of Heston's clout; Heston insisted that Welles be the director or he wouldn't star in it. Get your facts straight.

[@thevfxmancolorizationvfxex4051]

@@OuterGalaxyLounge Ok, I forgot. Sorry

[@vksasdgaming9472]

I think coloring something originally black-and-white does not work. Movie which has been designed for black-and-white does not fundamentally get anything from added colors. Exception to this is in all kind of archival footage like soldiers of WW1 on the field as color in these cases makes it more authentic and real. In short: no color to finished movies unless it was explicitly intended, color to raw footage which is not part of movie.

[@user-rc7gz4ok4e]

Welles was unique: that explains it.

[@DellDuckfan313]

aaAAaAAAh the French champagne, hasalwaysbeencelebrated for it sexcellence There is a California champagne I n s p i r e d By that same Frenchexcellence It's fermented in the bottle and like the best French wines It's vintage Dated So Paul Masson - "Paul Masson 1979", Orson Welles

[@mikestamos445]

THERE IS WELLES THEN DAYLIGHT

[@alberto5147]

You must have no audience in Australia or Canada if you're not mentioning what's playing on Mini in those countries. I'm sorry but I hate it when British KZbinrs single out the bloody US as if it was the only English speaking country outside of Britain. It's annoying.

[@FedoraProductions]

🤯

[@GeneralArmorus]

you dont say?

[@teodelfuego]

Winderkind? This makes me wunder. Magnificent Ambersons, the “least edited” of his films? Really? The one where the studio reshot the ending while he was in S. America? Who writes this stuff?

[@p_nk7279]

There’s a lot more to him before Citizen Kane also - his theatre and radio work was startling and innovative. He was also a good actor with many meaningful roles outside of his directing (Jane Eyre, The Third Man, Compulsion).

[@devindevon]

What!!! Orson Welles made films other than Citizen Kane? Oh my gawd, who knew?

[@sebastian11346]

F for Fake is his best after Citizen Kane. It very sad that we dont have longer cuts of Ambersons and Shanghai.

[@danmorgan7775]

As much as I understand wanting to keep the video concise and moving along it somehow feels sacrilegious to speed up these iconic and majestic long takes. Very fascinating overall though.

[@royrush5374]

Brilliant

[@alexanderrabey6718]

Citizen Kane is a great debut, but I personally think The Trial and Chimes at Midnight are his greatest films

[@johnminehan1148]

Never forget Mercury Theater of the Air, his newspaper column and his BBC TV Show in the 1950s, where he talked and sketched . . . ..

[@johnminehan1148]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iXbFi5JmjahgsLs Welles talking and drawing was more entertaining than you might guess . . . .

[@pacothesheep]

thank you for putting out quality content so consistently. you guys are extremely underrated! :-)

[@DungeonStudio]

One of the most unsung movie to me is Catch 22. Just so beautiful in it's shots and surrealism. And how nervous Nichols was having Orson to come in and play Dreedle. And just love how Orson didn't raise a peep, did his parts, and left amicably. And Nichol's finds out after that Welles had opted for Catch 22 and spent a long time trying to figure out how to tackle it. So by not saying a thing to Nichols, and just 'following orders' - that's gotta be the HIGHEST compliment Welles could've given to another film maker! And the humor of Welles in that movie. Right up there with George C. Scott in Strangelove! Over the top, but with such precision!

[@vksasdgaming9472]

I find Welles' performance comically straight and subtle. A singular professional in huge sea of maniacs, idiots, weirdos and innocents who just tries to comprehend constant lunacy around him. George C. Scott in Strangelove is source of comedy while Welles is its foil.

[@DungeonStudio]

I don't know about subtle, as he always wanted to have men shot - or at least court-martialed. And professional - after he learned how the press might take the botched bombing run, by all means - let's give them all medals then! Even if one's totally naked! Him keeping a straight face through all that while still exuding authority, just brilliant!

[@punyam6913]

You should put this on your Instagram ? Please

[@johndavies5052]

No mention of It's All True. Pourquoi?

[@oaa-ff8zj]

I’ll swear by touch of evil and the third man as a noir mark

[@ChicagoMonsterPunk]

Great video essay. Thank you.

[@gorespentwell4489]

watched the trial tonight was not disappointed

[@vaneyck8186]

Perfect Videography

[@KeebGuy]

Love this

[@erickbigboy1]

list of movies quoted?

[@VinceFS]

Thank you

[@richiegray6847]

3

[@davidreynold7919]

Wow it's mind boggling that citizen kane wasn't a hit at the time .... It's better than a lot of movies that comes out today

[@oaa-ff8zj]

Suppressed by the studios and came out right before wartime

[@gypsylily2949]

It was better than ANY of the movies today.

[@stinkypete2771]

Man or Legend ?

[@TheDiscardedImage]

A legendary man

[@RED01SEA]

@@TheDiscardedImage a manly legend

[@vksasdgaming9472]

@@RED01SEA Two huge steaks and pint of scotch is stuff of legend.