Orson Welles

CITIZEN KANE Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: September 19th, 2011 at 3:55 pm

Approaching Citizen Kane is like approaching the Mona Lisa or Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Such are great works of art – they’re often encased in amber. And with whatever the innovations they’ve created or expanded upon, coming at them at a later time is often like solving a mystery – you know there’s a reason why they’re so important, but you have to understand the context. And then there’s the legacy of its writer/director/star Orson Welles. The man who directed the greatest film in cinema history only to be denied the chance to repeat himself. That’s a lot of baggage to sort through, so let’s unpack, shall we? Our review of Citizen Kane on Blu-ray follows after the jump.

Citizen Kane Comes to Blu-ray on September 13th; New 4K Transfer from Original Nitrate

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 13th, 2011 at 8:30 am

Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane will be making its debut on Blu-ray on September 13th to mark the film’s 70th anniversary.  While folks can debate whether or not it’s the best American movie ever made, its contribution to cinema is undeniable.  Welles devised both technological and narrative innovations for Citizen Kane and if you have a favorite director who was born after the film’s release, he or she probably cites the film as one of their inspirations.

Warner Bros will be going back to the original nitrate for an HD restoration in 4K resolution.  I couldn’t be happier that Warner Bros is handling the transfer.  Their Blu-ray for Casablanca is mind-blowing.  You watch it and you realize that no one who made the film ever saw the movie in the condition you’re seeing it in, but it still has the quality of film.  Hit the jump to learn about the new extras that will be added to the Blu-ray package.

Book Review: WHAT’S A NICE ACTOR LIKE YOU DOING IN A MOVIE LIKE THIS?

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 27th, 2011 at 8:24 am

As a movie nerd, I’m attracted to cinematic train wrecks.  I love learning about how movies went drastically wrong and the cinematic schlock that once stuffed video store walls and now fills up video streaming services.  Obviously, I want to see all the great films, but there’s also something to be said about movies where everything went horribly wrong.  Furthermore, it’s not enough to know the “popular” terrible movies.  True cinephiles know how to dig deeper into filmographies and find the real travesties.

Author Dan Whitehead is a true cinephile and has used his encyclopedic knowledge of movies to compile an engaging overview of A-list actors slumming in Z-movie hell.  And if you’re thinking, “Yeah, we all know George Clooney was in Return of the Killer Tomatoes,” Whitehead fires back with “Yeah, but have you seen him in Return to Horror High?”  Whitehead’s book What’s a Nice Actor Like You Doing in a Movie Like This? not only examines the films that celebrities wish you’d rather not see, but does so with humor and insight.

Unseen Orson Welles Film THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND to Finally Get Released?

by Jason Barr    Posted: January 23rd, 2011 at 5:38 pm

A previously unreleased film from the legendary Orson Welles may soon see the light of the silver screen.  According to The Observer, Welles’ The Other Side of the Wind is inching closer to a resolved legal battle and, in return, public exhibition.  The Other Side of the Wind was shot by Welles in 1972 and catches the final hours of an aging film director (played by two-time Oscar-winner John Huston).

An ownership dispute has kept the unedited film from being released for almost forty years.  Per the report, though, a producer on the film, Jacqueline Boushehri, and co-star/co-writer/Welles’ former lover, Oja Kodar, are now prepared to sell their interests in the film, giving hope to its eventual release.  If its status as a previously unreleased Orson Welles film isn’t enough reason to be pulling for a legal resolution, F Is for Fake producer Francoise Widhoff (who spent a month on the set of the film) is quoted describing The Other Side of the Wind as a masterpiece saying, “the way it’s shot, the way it’s acted.  It’s very modern and free.”  Here’s to hoping we’ll soon be able to catch a glimpse of The Other Side of the Wind, albeit nearly four decades after the fact.

Is George Lucas Trying to Digitally Resurrect Deceased Actors?

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 6th, 2010 at 6:14 am

George Lucas may be going a little Dr. Frankenstein and not just in the hubris department.  Actor-director Mel Smith tells Mail Online [via AICN],

“He’s been buying up the film rights to dead movie stars in the hope of using computer trickery to put them all together in a movie, so you’d have Orson Welles and Barbara Stanwyck appear alongside today’s stars.’ Whether Lucas’ attempt to superimpose the golden-era stars on to today’s screens is doomed to failure or not, Smith will be too busy to be part of it.”

Lucas wrote the story and executive produced Smith’s 1994 film, Radioland Murders.  Hit the jump for what Smith had to say about the experience and his thoughts on Lucas’ reliance on digital effects.

Studio Canal’s THE THIRD MAN Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: September 20th, 2010 at 1:41 pm

Criterion has had a number of titles go out of print throughout their run on DVD. This had everything to do with who owned a particular title as Criterion often will license something, and if those rights change hands, or the owners think they can do a better job or make more money than you get a collector’s item. One of the most viscous blows (or best news ever for people who like selling out of print material) was when Studio Canal took back the rights to about fifty titles, including two titles that had made it to Blu-ray: The Third Man and The Man Who Fell to Earth. For those who just want the movie, The Third Man has been re-released by Lionsgate in an addition that features a different 1080 transfer of the movie and mostly different supplements. Criterion-o-philes are going to tell you that the new version is inferior. And my review of The New addition of The Third Man on Blu-ray follows after the jump.

Orson Welles Rises from the Grave to Tell CHRISTMAS TAILS in 3D

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 25th, 2010 at 10:45 pm

This is one of the more bizarre stories I’ve posted in my time here: Orson Welles, who died in 1985, will be in a new movie.  Well, his voice will be in the movie, but it’s still bizarre how it came about.  THR reports that “lost tapes” of Welles narrating a book called Christmas Tails have been uncovered and that Drac Studios will now use them as basis for a movie.  The tapes are a result of Welles narrating the book for his friend Robert X. Leed.  Leed, in speaking with Drac Studios president Harvey Lowry, remembered he had the tapes, shared them with Lowry, and Lowry started brainstorming ideas for a picture.

Christmas Tails is about Santa’s dog saving Christmas by gathering other canines in the North after the Reindeer fall ill.  Welles’ voice will be interspersed throughout and part of the movie will be about uncovering the tapes.  Matt Thompson wrote the script based on Leed’s book and Todd Tucker, who directed the upcoming Monster Mutt which Lowry produced, will helm the project.

The plan is to use a mix of live-action and CG with Drac, who are best known as a special effects and makeup shop for movies like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, will create the dogs and the North Pole using computer graphics.  The plan is to shoot the live action in the summer or fall for a Christmas 2011 release in 3D.   THR says the incorporation of Welles’ narration will be like Peter Lorre’s in 1966′s animated The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.

THE THIRD MAN Remake Rumor – Are Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio Planning a Trip to Vienna?

by Adam Charles    Posted: October 23rd, 2009 at 4:32 pm

Well, you’ve been waiting for a big remake bombshell. One of those major “Don’t you DARE you touch that!!” kinds of licenses.  There have been some “relatively” big pictures to receive the remake treatment in recent memory, such as “The Day the Earth Stood Still” but nothing to really stand in disbelief at.  Not a “Citizen Kane”-esque level of audacity, but a recent rumor of there being a potential “The Third Man” remake starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire does tread dangerously close.  Luckily, if proven to be true, there may be some talent to pull this off.  Click on the jump, and let’s hop on this ferris wheel together.

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