Orson Welles

  • Gregory Ratoff & Orson Welles – Black Magic (1949)

    Gregory Ratoff1941-1950DramaMysteryOrson WellesUSA
    Black Magic (1949)
    Black Magic (1949)

    Synopsis:
    A gypsy man discovers that he is a natural hypnotist, and decides to make a fortune off of his ability. When he meets the Viscount who had ordered the execution of his parents and his own whipping and blinding (the latter from which he escaped), he uses his abilities to gain vengeance. Of help to him is a woman who has a startling resemblance to Marie Antoinette. Soon, his lust for power and his love for the woman gain control of him.Read More »

  • Orson Welles – Le Procès AKA The Trial (1962) (HD)

    Drama1961-1970ClassicsOrson WellesUSA
    Le Procès (1962) (HD)
    Le Procès (1962) (HD)

    An unassuming office worker is arrested and stands trial, but he is never made aware of his charges.Read More »

  • Orson Welles – Orson Welles’ Magic Show (1985)

    Orson Welles1981-1990PerformanceTVUSA

    IMDB wrote:
    What does it take to make a good magician? A bunch of good illusions and a lot of charisma. Orson Welles knows a few tricks, and his charisma is incredible! Did you ever feel an actor is pushing you into your seat only by his sheer performance? Welles did so, especially during his first trick.Read More »

  • Orson Welles – Le Procès AKA The Trial [StudioCanal 4K] (1962)

    1961-1970ArthouseDramaFranceOrson Welles

    Josef K wakes up in the morning and finds the police in his room. They tell him that he is on trial but nobody tells him what he is accused of. In order to find out about the reason of this accusation and to protest his innocence, he tries to look behind the facade of the judicial system. But since this remains fruitless, there seems to be no chance for him to escape from this Kafkaesque nightmare.
    Read More »

  • Orson Welles – Touch of Evil [Kino 4K] (1958)

    1951-1960250 Quintessential Film NoirsFilm NoirOrson WellesUSA

    Directed by Hollywood legend Orson Welles (Citizen Kane, The Stranger, The Lady from Shanghai), Touch of Evil is a film noir masterpiece whose Hollywood backstory is as unforgettable as the movie itself. Starring Charlton Heston (The Big Country, Ben-Hur), Janet Leigh (The Manchurian Candidate, Psycho) and Welles himself, this dark portrait of corruption and morally compromised obsessions tells the story of a crooked police chief who frames a Mexican youth as part of an intricate criminal plot. With its iconic ticking-bomb opening shot, shadowy cinematography by Russell Metty (Spartacus), evocative score by Henry Mancini (Arabesque) and memorable supporting turns by Akim Tamiroff (The General Died at Dawn) and Marlene Dietrich (Desire), Touch of Evil is a stylistic triumph that stands the test of time.Read More »

  • Orson Welles & William Vance – The Hearts of Age (1934)

    Orson Welles1931-1940ExperimentalShort FilmUSAWilliam Vance

    Quote:
    A colonial scene in the U.S. An old lady sits astride a bell while a man in blackface, wig, and livery pulls the bell rope. From an upper door emerges an old man, dressed as a dandy, who tips his hat to the woman as he walks down stairs grinning. Others leave the same door and walk down the same stairs: a shabby man, a cop, and, several times, the same dandy. The man in blackface hangs himself; the dandy continues to smile. A bell tolls, a grave beckons. In the dark, the dandy plays the piano. Is he Death?Read More »

  • Orson Welles – The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice [European Version] (1952)

    1951-1960DramaOrson WellesUSAWilliam Shakespeare

    Winner of Grand Prix du Festival International du Film 1952 Festival de Cannes

    Criterion Collection writes:
    Gloriously cinematic despite its tiny budget, Orson Welles’s Othello is a testament to the filmmaker’s stubborn willingness to pursue his vision to the ends of the earth. Unmatched in his passionate identification with Shakespeare’s imagination, Welles brings his inventive visual approach to this enduring tragedy of jealousy, bigotry, and rage, and also gives a towering performance as the Moor of Venice, alongside Suzanne Cloutier as the innocent Desdemona, and Micheál MacLiammóir as the scheming Iago. Shot over the course of three years in Italy and Morocco and plagued by many logistical problems, this fiercely independent film joins Macbeth and Chimes at Midnight in making the case for Welles as the cinema’s most audacious interpreter of the Bard.Read More »

  • Orson Welles – Vérités et mensonges aka F for Fake (1973)

    1971-1980ArthouseDocumentaryFranceOrson Welles

    Quote:
    Orson Welles’ free-form documentary about fakery focusses on the notorious art forger Elmyr de Hory and Elmyr’s biographer, Clifford Irving, who also wrote the celebrated fraudulent Howard Hughes autobiography, then touches on the reclusive Hughes and Welles’ own career (which started with a faked resume and a phony Martian invasion). On the way, Welles plays a few tricks of his own on the audience.Read More »

  • Orson Welles – The Stranger (1946)

    1941-1950CrimeFilm NoirOrson WellesUSA

    The Stranger is often considered Orson Welles’ most “traditional” Hollywood-style directorial effort. Welles plays a college professor named Charles Rankin, who lives in a pastoral Connecticut town with his lovely wife Mary (Loretta Young). One afternoon, an extremely nervous German gentleman named Meineke (Konstantin Shayne) arrives in town. Professor Rankin seems disturbed–but not unduly so–by Meineke’s presence. He invites the stranger for a walk in the woods, and as they journey farther and farther away from the center of town, we learn that kindly professor Rankin is actually notorious Nazi war criminal Franz Kindler.Read More »

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