The first is by far the more interesting of the two; titled “Otello” Without the H: Orson Welles in the Oberdan Troiani Collection (L'”Otello” seza-acca: Orson Welles nel Fondo Oberdan Troiani), this volume, written and edited by Alberto Anile, author of Orson Welles in Italy, looks at the Italian-dubbed cut of Othello, and provides a description of how that initial cut of the film, for it indeed debuted before the English language version, differs from the later versions of the film. Notably, the Italian dub version is longer than the French cut by three minutes, and the U.S. cut by roughly six minutes, excluding credits. The book presents a detailed rundown of what differences exist in the Italian cut, with some accompanying stills where possible, and suggestions as to why Welles changed what he did in later cuts. Also included is an interview with camera operator Troiani, a chronology of the shoot and its locations, and a translation of a production document from Welles with shooting instructions for Mogador when he needed to leave to hustle for cash. It's all extremely interesting, and a vital source for study of the film.
It should be noted that the book runs only 125 pages, split roughly equally between the Italian and English versions, and the photos are the same for each section. So you're basically paying for a 60 page book whatever version you choose. That said, the book is a slick, quality presentation and reasonably priced (7.50 Euros, or about $8 at this writing)
The second volume, The Thousand Faces of Orson Welles (I Mille Volti Di Orson Welles) focuses on a specific period of Welles' career, namely the 1969-71 period when he was primarily working on The Deep and Orson's Bag. The photographs come from Mauricio Maggi, who worked on the projects as a camera operator, a role which he combined with set photographer once Welles saw and liked the pictures Maggi was taking. The pictures are both color and black & white, split between Welles directing or otherwise working on set and shots from the actual films (these more from the Orson's Bag material). The photos are accompanied by four short texts: an interview with Maggi, a piece on the “early Kodar years,” another on Welles and his “masks,” and one on Welles and Italian critics (mostly derived from the book Orson Welles in Italy).
My general opinion of this book is that it's fine, but not essential. The majority of the photos are Orson's Bag material, and if I'm honest, it's not a project I have much interest in (outside of Merchant of Venice) or need to see a variety of images from. How many stills of Welles in drag as a British housewife/Churchill/bobby/etc does one need, after all? The essays are decent but not revelatory. The book is attractively produced, on quality paper, priced at 18 euros, or about $20. Both books can be purchased with shipping to the USA, for around $40 at their web store.
For anyone interested in ordering, there is a slight hoop to jump through: if ordering from outside Italy, an order cannot be completed without inputting an "Codice fiscale" on the personal info page of the ordering process. This is basically a national tax ID that all Italians apparently have. If you go to this web site, you can create a phony one that will allow your order to go through. I did this and my order went through without a problem.
