Newbie/F For Fake DVD/One Man Band/Othello

[Kevin Loy]

Hello everyone,

My copy of F For Fake arrived yesterday. It was the first viewing for me, and I found it to be very interesting. Not necessarily my favorite or what I consider to be his best work, but it has a jovial prankster attitude that is pretty infectious. The film itself looks mostly spectacular, except perhaps during the interviews, which look like they were blown up from a 16mm print. I was surprised that it sounds as good as it does, given that this was (unless I'm mistaken) another independent effort from him.

What I was really looking forward to seeing, however, was One Man Band. It is a pity that the negative for The Merchant Of Venice was stolen, because the small snippet looks incredibly fascinating. Is there any chance that this film could ever be recovered in its entirity? It seems rather tragic and cruel that he was able to finish the film on his own accord, only to have it snatched right out of his hands (and it makes watching the re-recording of the monologue all the more difficult).

According to the film, only a few more scenes from The Deep needed to be shot before it would have been completed, but Laurence Harvey died before that could happen (which is a pity, because he was a tremendous actor). Does anybody know if enough of it was finished that it might someday see release in its incomplete form anyway, like Don Quixote (but hopefully better)?

(as a side note, I purchased Criterion's Cassavetes box set a few months ago, and was delighted when I discovered two easter eggs scattered on the set [I found the first completely by accident, which naturally sent me scouring through all of my criterion DVDs for easter eggs]. Given the tenor of F For Fake, it would have been a perfect candidate for hidden features, but I couldn't find any)

Also, one final thing...I read that the aural transcriptions that were made to re-create the soundtrack for the "restored" Othello were actually pretty far off from the original score, and since the dialogue dubbing in the restored edition still looks pretty far off (as well as an instance or two where dialogue seems to be missing), I'm interested in finding a copy of the original Othello. Is it available at all on DVD?

Thanks
Kevin Loy

[R Kadin]

The Original Othello is one of the great White Whales of Wellesdom, Kevin. To my knowledge the Criterion laserdisc version (long out of print and only occasionally visible as a hotly-contested item on ebay) is closer to what won OW the Palme d'Or in Cannes.

As for DVD versions, Beatrice Welles has got the market completely sewn up with her contentiously (according to earlier, spirited debates on this site) restored version, at least for now.

I think you'll find that a few of us here are lucky enough to have copies of the original in one format or another.

[jbrooks]

Although I have the Criterion Laserdisc version of "Othello" and prefer it to the "restored" version, I think the differences are very subtle. I don't think there was any need for a "restoration," and I abhor any tampering with Welles' work. Nevertheless, I feel compelled to point out that the two versions differ in only minor ways -- most of which require very careful, repeat viewings to be detected.

To put it into some context, the "restored" version of Othello is much, much closer to Welles' orignal vision than are the currently available versions of The Lady from Shanghai and Touch of Evil (even the 1998 version).

[tender branson]

I have the cassavetes box set and would like to know where you found the easter eggs. I had no idea there were any
thanks

[Tony]

Kevin:

Welles and company filmed the Deep during the summers of 67, 68, and 69. It seems most of it was filmed in 67, and shots were picked up over the next two summers. The rumour is that Jeanne Moreau didn't like Olga Palinkas (later renamed 'Oja Kodar' by Orson "Kane" Welles) at all, but still hung in as long as Welles needed her (this was her fourth picture with Welles) but refused to appear in The Other Side of the Wind", possibly because "Oja" was starring. But in 1970 the Deep just stopped; no further filming was done after 69, and it was probably due to funding. The hoary old story that Harvey's death prevented the finishing of the picture is laughable, as Harvey didn't die until 1973, four years after the cessation of filming. In fact, this legend is almost as ridiculous as the one Welles used to explain The Other side of the Wind not being finished: the fall of the Shah of Iran, whose brother-in-law was financing the picture, meant the negative fell into the hands of the Ayatollah. Which is ridiculous, of course, as Orson began the film in 1970, and was still filming in 1976; around this time he did indeed lose control of the negative to Apostrophee, however they offered him a deal whereby he could come to Paris ( I think it was) and finish editing the film. For some reason, he refused. And of course it's ridiculous to complain about your backers taking away the negative after 6 years of waiting for you to complete it, but that's our boy Orson!

[Kevin Loy]

Sorry it took me so long to reply about the Cassavetes box set easter eggs, but here are the two I found (I'm going by memory here, so bear with me)

The first one was by accident. On Disc Two of The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie, go to the "About The Versions" section, highlight Main, and then press down, which should place the asterisk onto the image of the wine bottle in the background.

For the second one, pop in the disc for A Woman Under The Influence, and go to the "Gena Rowlands And Peter Falk" section. Once again, move the asterisk to "main" and press down, which will place the asterisk to the right side of the "Gena Rowlands And Peter Falk" header.

Out of the two, I think that the Chinese Bookie easter egg is more interesting, though I was a bit bummed that I couldn't find any other easter eggs after scouring my other Criterion discs (and as I said, there was a squandered opportunity with F For Fake).

[Kevin Loy]

And of course it's ridiculous to complain about your backers taking away the negative after 6 years of waiting for you to complete it, but that's our boy Orson!

Well, as far as his later-day work habits are concerned, it is difficult for almost anybody to keep constant focus upon a project spanning several years, especially when considering the relative brevity of shooting schedules for films such as Kane, TMA, MacBeth (wasn't that one shot in less than a month?) and The Lady From Shanghai. He probably spent less time working on all of those films together than he did on, say, Othello, so perhaps it is amazing that he was able to sustain interest long enough in other films that took years to complete. I know that I certainly couldn't keep interest in working on the same project for years on end (even a few months really pushes my patience).

Still, I can't help but be bummed by the fact that he never completed The Deep. I know that everyone discusses The Other Side Of The Wind because of the edginess (or so it is purported), but I can't help wondering about a film with Laurence Harvey being directed by (and also starring) Orson. It just seems like such a neat prospect.