One Man Band: Two Documentaries

[Tony]

Finally just saw Bogdanovich's version of One Man Band, and there are some strange differences betwwen it and the original by Vassili Silovic; for example, PB includes all of the F For Fake trailor, whereas the Silovic version only has about the last 31/2 minutes; PB's material from the AFI ceremony looks really good, but Silovic's looks borrowed; but PB's sex scene from TOSOTW looks really bad, like a video dub of a dub of a dub of a dub, whereas Silovic's is slightly scratched but has very good colour and is brighter; of course Peter includes more of some things (such as snippetts of TOSOTW), but less of others to make the room (for example he doesn't include the "British Tailors" or the 3rd "Moby Dick" excerpt). And surprisingly PB's voice is mixed far too loud in relation to the other audio material, but perhaps they adjusted this before airing; my copy is actually a Showtime promo.

Interestingly, PB's narration and more or less linear editing is more in sync with an American ethos, whereas Silovic's version is more philosophically written and more abstractly, non-linearly edited. And Peter is more optimistic about the future of Welles's ouvre, esp. TOSOTW, whereas Silovic is pessimistic, and doubts that that picture will ever be released. Peter also corrects some info, such as Silovic's claim that Welles's house never burned down though Welles mythologized that it did, whereas PB states the house didn't completely burn down, but Robert Shaw did actually burn a wing down. And finally, I noticed that OK states that OW always took 2 things with him on trips: an editing board and...in Silovic's version, she implies that it is a picture frame. But PB interjects at precisely that point and says: "A 35mm camera".

Actually, Peter has done a bit of an Orson here, editing Silovic's film and narrating it, shuffling pieces and changing meaning, just as Welles did with Francois Reichenbach's material for "F For Fake."

So now we have two "One Man Band" documentaries, with different editing, different narration, some different material, and a lot of the same material. And oh yes: the same creepy music, (albeit mixed way down in PB's version).

How appropriate for Orson Welles. :;):


P.S.: I noticed an interesting little credit at the end: "Licensed, but not approved by, the Orson Welles estate". Hmmmmmm....what does that mean?

[Glenn Anders]

Tony: Sounds as if, just so, the German version, which is the one I've seen, is the more pessimistic of the two. We need to get some editions of Welles' unfinished movies which are actually closer to what he intended. Too often, we have a picture no loving family member nor any sane producer would approve of.

God protect us, wherever possible, from family and commercial interference!

Glenn

[RayKelly]

Showtime acquired the German version for broadcast, but were very unhappy with it. They felt it assumed the viewer knew about Welles finished work and they didn't care for some other aspects (I was told this by a Showtime publicist). They hired Bogdanovich to re-edit the film to include an overview of Welles completed films.
As for the F For Fake trailer, the German producers were not happy that it had already been included in Working With Welles, according to Gary Graver.
As for the estate credit, Beatrice Welles Smith was not involved in the edit. She was paid a licensing fee. Some might feel this was paid to avoid any legal entanglements, I don't know.

[Store Hadji]

Reminds me of Welles' old quote about "approved but not authorized." Totally different context though - and we won't be seeing PB and BWS together on a talk show any time soon (though maybe a segment of Jerry Springer would be appropriate.)

I love the PB cut.

I have a couple more versions of OMB. One uses horrible reverb for many of the Welles clips. Another is called "The Lost Films of Orson Welles" and deletes most of the the sex scene. Both are otherwise just the Silovic cut.

[Tony]

I like that Springer idea very much- maybe the only way to "clear the air", though my money would be on Beatrice! :;):

[RayKelly]

I have never heard of any bad blood between Peter Bogdanovich and Beatrice Welles Smith.
I think the legal squabbles over the estate have been limited to Oja Koda and Welles Smith. And Welles Smith and Gary Graver (over the Oscar trophy).
When I interviewed Bogdanovich about One Man Band when it first aired, I dropped Welles Smith's name in conversation -- as well as references to estate squabbles -- and he was far too bright to take the bait.

[Tony]

RayKelly:

I may be mistaken, but I thought that it was Bogdanovich, Kodar and Graver who had put together the deal with Showtime regarding the editing, post-production and broadcasting of TOSOTW, which of course was stopped dead in its tracks by Beatrice. I think that could cause some animosity... ???

[ToddBaesen]

There's no doubt that Peter Bogdanovich was upset with the demands Beatrice Welles placed on Showtime before ONE MAN BAND could be aired... He was quite distainful of her when he told me Beatrice was the reason why the original showing of OMB was held up for so long. She and her demands had to be met by Showtime, hence the credit to the Welles estate.

And naturally, Bogdanovich wasn't too pleased when Beatrice's demands ended up schuttling the deal to complete the editing of OSOTW which Showtime had agreed to finance.

Naturally, after discovering what a gold-digger Beatrice was, Bogdanovich would not want to antagonize her further by blasting her in a public interview, but I don't know of any Welles friends, collaborators or associates who have found anything good to say about Beatrice's work to "protect" the legacy of her father.

[andrej]

Where is possible to buy or find the bogdanovich version of the one man band? I would be very glad to have one and thanks everybody for an helpful reply, even through mail

[RayKelly]

Todd,

I have never heard the PB comments you cite. Thanks for sharing them. Besides seeking a "licensing fee," was there any other demands Beatrice Welles Smith placed on One Man Band?

Also, Gary Graver told me he blames much of the OSOTW delay on top level changes at the cable channel. I asked him if BWS was the cause for the ongoing delay. He told me forcefully that she should not be a factor since she has no claim to ownership of the film, but added she had been taken care of. He further added that at Locarno he was approached by another party wanting to fund the final edit, but nothing came of it.

[Tony]

RayKelly:

"He added forcefully...that she had been taken care of."

Sounds kind of dark...like something Tony Soprano would say. Has anyone (gulp) seen Beatrice lately?

???