Welles series coming to New York

[Jeff Wilson]

As mentioned on the Mobius Home Video Forum, the Film Forum in New York City is going to run an eight week Welles series in early 2004, which will include some of the rare material restored by the Munich Filmmuseum. As quoted from Film Forum's site:

"February 20-April 15 ORSON WELLES—8 weeks!
A major retrospective of one of the screen’s greatest directors and actors, from his still-astonishing debut with Citizen Kane through the 40-plus years of his work in front of and behind the camera. Highlights include new 35mm prints of The Stranger, Lady from Shanghai, F For Fake, and others; documentaries examining different phases of his career; a weekend of Welles rarities from the Munich Filmmuseum; and, book-ending the series, one-week engagements of two of his greatest films, both in new 35mm prints:

February 20-29 Welles’s “THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS”—New 35mm Print!
(1942) Welles’s masterwork maudit and “his most moving film” (Geoff Andrew, Time Out London), the saga of the decline of a family and the end of an era, re-edited with its ending re-written and re-shot under studio orders, but “even in this truncated form it’s amazing and memorable” (Pauline Kael).

April 9-15 Carol Reed’s “THE THIRD MAN”—New 35mm Print!
(1953) Welles in one of his most iconic roles, as Harry Lime in the über-atmospheric, Graham Greene-scripted tale of corruption and duplicity in occupied postwar Vienna. With Joseph Cotten and Alida Valli."


This sounds great, but I wish it were in Chicago. I could actually attend some of these, then.



Edited By Jeff Wilson on Dec. 05 2003 at 10:21

[mteal]

Here's hoping Rosenbaum or anyone else has enough clout to get it to Chicago and elsewhere throughout the country. I know I'll be there if it does, but it may depend on how well the series does in New York first. Is Beatrice actually going to allow this series to happen in the states? I'd be pleasantly surprised if she doesn't try to sue somebody.

[Harvey Chartrand]

Speaking of Welles series, whatever happened to ORSON WELLES TALES FROM THE BLACK MUSEUM?

[colwood]

Excellent news. Ever since I first visited Film Forum when they hosted the traveling Kurosawa-Mifune retrospective in 2002, I've been hoping they'd have something on Welles. Can't wait to see it!

[Jeff Wilson]

I imagine the only thing Beatrice might sue to stop is OTHELLO or FILMING OTHELLO (if they are even included), since both either are hers or include parts of her property. The rest, though, shouldn't be held up in any way by her. Especially if the stories of financial difficulties are true, I would think this is small potatoes to her.

[Glenn Anders]

Does not this series sound like the one which was recently in London? Perhaps the idea is to move the showings from Europe to New York, and then west, across the United States, possibly in preparation for some other commercial or DVD activity.

I hope so.

Glenn

[Harvey Chartrand]

What about Canada, eh?
We haven't had a good show up here since "Hitchcock and Art: Fatal Coincidences" ran at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art in early 2001.

[Jaime N. Christley]

The Film Forum press rep specifically mentioned in a recent conversation that FILMING 'OTHELLO' will be shown. I'll be really surprised if it goes off without a hitch, but for now, at least tentatively, it's on the bill.

I wonder if these things will be met with packed houses as they were in London. Certainly CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT will be a big draw, of the later works.

[Jaime N. Christley]

I predict that they will show OTHELLO, but Beatrice's OTHELLO, not the pre-restoration version. Not only will this avoid potential legal issues (and by virtue of that, the cancellation of a major title), but that version is probably the only one that's "lying around" for theaters to show.

[Jeff Wilson]

The actual schedule for this series is now up and viewable, assuming you have Adobe Acrobat or another pdf viewer. Interestingly, CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT is not part of this series; I presume rights issues are the cause of this, since it's been seen elsewhere, yes? FILMING OTHELLO is to be shown, as is almost every single thing Welles made, in addition to numerous films where he only appeared as an actor. New prints of THE STRANGER (billed as a restoration), LADY FROM SHANGHAI, AMBERSONS, and F FOR FAKE are also listed. It's an impressive series, no question. To see the schedule, go to the bottom of the linked page and click the FRONT OF CALENDAR/BACK OF CALENDAR links.

Film Forum Schedule Page

[Jaime N. Christley]

I wonder if the documentary (playing March 30) called ROSEBELLA: ORSON WELLES IN ITALY (aka ROSABELLA: LA STORIA ITALIANA DI ORSON WELLES) is actually the documentary mentioned in Rosenbaum's ARKADIN essay, TUTTA LA VERITA SU MR. ARKADIN. It's also directed by Ciro Giorgini. Even more confusing, the Rotterdam Film Festival site has a listing for a Girogini doc called FUORI ORARIO: THREE ARKADINS.

That doc, whatever it is, will be projected digitally - as will THE DOMINICI AFFAIR, the ROGOPAG and THREE CASES OF MURDER segments featuring Welles, and presumably HEARTS OF AGE.

No "digital projection" notes on any of the other programs.....but weren't the TV programs and/or the rarities shown digitally in London?

[Jaime N. Christley]

On a non-Welles-related note, that 3-D program looks really cool.

As does a big-screen LOLA MONTES. Oh I might as well camp out on the sidewalk next to Film Forum.

[Jeff Wilson]

ROSABELLA is probably just the documentary of the same name distributed here by Chip Taylor Communications. I don't recall TUTTA LA VERITA SU MR. ARKADIN having all the material mentioned in the blurb, as it focused on, obviously, ARKADIN.

[blunted by community]

i have the 3 arkadins documentary, don't wait in line for that one.

rosabella kicks butt

[colwood]

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