(APRIL ‘25) MONTHLY MARATHON IN FILM - ORSON WELLES

Warning: Spoilers throughout.

I started out this month a bit scattered with this marathon. I started out with Soderbergh in conjunction with the release of Black Bag. I started out with Sudden Move, and listened to an interview with the man, and realized that I wasn't’t really captivated by the man. I didn’t have a bit of an internal excitement driving my viewing experience. I then thought, Why am I doing this, if not for my own pleasure? That’s when I transferred over to Orson Welles. I learned just now that this year marks his 110th birthday, but my original intention stemmed from a report I did for a psychology course I was taking concurrently. The prompt was to Pyschoanalyze a figure from history from 3 different perspectives. After some thinking, I decided that Orson was someone I was always a bit interested in and maybe related to, and there was probably plenty of material to psychoanalyze. I thought this project was a perfect opportunity to celebrate his entire filmography and thus the Welles-a-thon had begun.

My first Welles experience was likely Citizen Kane. This movie was one that I remember growing up was objectively the greatest movie of all time when you asked anyone. If you asked anyone, if they didn't say this movie as the all time best, you would propose it in response to whatever they had picked and they’d say something like: "Oh yeah, that is pretty good.” So in my youth I had this awareness of how critically acclaimed this film was, and being the pretentious little nerd that I was, I wanted to see it. My dad probably showed me this one and I was probably really bored by it. Hell I might not have even made it through the whole thing.

It wasn’t til later that I became aware of Welles as a cult of personality. I watched cartoon shows like Family Guy and Animaniacs and others that made a lot of references to old Hollywood, and I watched these shows enough that I undoubtedly formed opions on the man subsequently.

A couple years ago I watched a documentary on HBO MAX titled The Eyes of Orson Welles. I remember thinking it was pretty good; despite the narrator/creator/director having a strange voice, I remember being interested in Welles and learning about his uniquely creative, grand and regal mind. I was surprised to learn that Welles had a history of activism and briefly advocated against Police Violence at an early, early time. I learned that he spent his early days on the stage and had a love affair with Shakespeare. The most impactful part, however, was the takeaway of how visual the man was. The documentary included many of Welles’ drawings and sketches that he had made since he was young. He was a lifelong artist in many dimensions and wanted to depict the world in his art.

After re-watching this documentary this month, I bought a sketchbook. I have yet to do much in it, but I was very inspired.

I ashamedly did not watch enough of Welles’ filmography this month and might have to do a part II of simply his Shakespeare work.

The cinematography of Mr Arkadin feels kind of thrown together and imperfect. I had high standards from someone who could create something as directed and intentional as Citizen Kane, so this was a little surprising. Welles also has a tendency in some films to move the story very fast, looking frantically for the conflict. Besides, the idea behind the story is captivating and really demonstrates Welles’ idea of a good hook. Theres some beautiful shots like the man running horizontally next to the steam train, the various implementations of the fish eyes lens, the Castles, and Raina’s bedroom. This movie and other Wellsian projects reconfirm the idea that memorable set pieces help to make a great film. What are the moments that you look back on when speaking about a film, based on what’s going on, where it is and who’s there? This film has plenty of that.

“I never remember pretty women, it’s too expensive.”

Touch of Evil was one that I was excited to see. I had heard that Welles played a villain, and what a villain he was. Welles plays a fat slob of a dirty police detective and still oozes with charisma throughout the picture. I love the scene at the end where he gets shot and falls back into the water dramatically. What a dramatic figure Welles is in general. What a fantastic trait. The opening shot (I believe) is fairly legendary for the representation of good “time under tension.” This one also demonstrated to me the appeal of Charleton Heston. I didn't really see it before, but now I understand a bit. Eventhough it's a bit strange to me he plays a Mexican man; I suppose the fact this is in black and white helps. This film demonstrates many of Orson’s common themes like facelessness of men in the shadows as well as using the camera to look up at characters that hold the power; almost like a child looking up at a parent.

“All the border towns bring out the worst in a country.”

The Third Man was one I had seen before because of its general critical acclaim within the world of cinema-lovers. It’s a bit of a European Film Noir with Welles’ IRL friend and regular Joseph Cotten playing the tile character. Cotten is perfect in this and Welles might even be a bit better as Harry Lime; the charismatic swindler that everyone loves and misses. Valli was great as well with some of the most dramatic one-liners of the entire film. I do quite enjoy the score of this which provides a strangely jaunty tune for a dark tale of murder and deception. It pairs well with the sets which I believe were captured on-site in Europe. It’s one of those films where every scene feels like a painting and you could curate a whole gallery of the best ones. There are some great existential questions in the film about the worth of human life during and following the 2nd World War and lastly there are some great shots; my favorite perhaps is the one at the end. You know which one I mean. With Cotten waiting for Valli on the road, and she blows right by him. Perfect stuff.

“You know what the fella said- In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias, they had warfare terror murder and bloodshed but they produced Michaelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love. They had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The Cuck-coo clock. So long Holly.”

Citizen Kane is a good film. It feels really intentional and well-crafted. Parts of it feel very dream-like and curated like a painting. The visuals even during transitional periods are really interesting to consume. STRIKING visuals throughout. The movie demonstrates themes that are relevant today of American men with a drive for power and prestige, yet finding no deep fulfillment. It’s a story about how the media is warped and can be manipulated. Quite relevant today I’d say. I also realized that there’s a Shia LeBeouf meme where he’s clapping very hard for something that is directly referencing this and I thought that was funny. You can actually see the influence of this in many different ways.

“I’m CHARLES FOSTER KANE,” (Booming)

“F” is for Fake!, a rare portrait from Welles of a forger of great art. Claimed as the best of the 20th century. This features a late stage larger and bearded Orson. This film asks if fake art is an art in itself and involes a lot of quick cuts and rubberneckin’. The rubberneckin’ was pretty amusing. We also learn Orson himself has tabled in fakery; when he forged a resume to star in an Irish stage production when he was 16, when he did the radio show that scared many into believing that real Aliens had landed in the USA. One thing I love about this is Orson’s narration. I don’t think there’s a single person I’d rather hear a story from while sitting around a table drinking wine at 11:30PM on a Thursday. His whole aura is used in the action of him spinning a yarn. I wonder if he’s done any audiobooks. Art is incredible.

“I can paint a false Picasso as well as anybody.” -Picasso