Wellesnet Message Board

by **Flint** » Thu Jun 05, 2003 6:46 pm

Hi all.
Just discovered this site. I'm in heaven!

Some questions:

1)This has to have been posted before, but does anyone have any info on when Simon Callow will be publishing the follow-up to "The Road to Xanadu"?

2) Which Welles books (both biographies & critical studies) do you consider MUST reads? (I have the James Naramore, Simon Callow & Higham books).

3) Does anyone know if Criterion has plans to release their laserdisc versions of Welles films on DVD? (I believe they had "Ambersons". "The Stranger", and "F for Fake" along with "Kane".)

Thanks!
-M.

by **colwood** » Thu Jun 05, 2003 8:09 pm

Welcome, I'm sure somebody here will weigh in with more in depth info, but to answer your questions:

1. There is no official word. Some reports say he's working on it, some say he's planning to work on it, some say he's not going to publish another book about Welles.

2. A former newbie asked the same question and memeber Tony gave a more than complete answer. Check out the link:
http://wellesnet.com/cgi-bin....2;t=164

If it doesn't work, the thread was titled "questions from a newbie" from early February ('03).

3. Sadly someone here emailed Criterion earlier this year with that question and the answer was that there are no plans for it in Criterion's future.

by **Cole** » Thu Jun 05, 2003 8:13 pm

Hi Flint – here’s a few answers to your questions.

1. It sounds like Callow is working on the second volume of his Welles biography at this time, but there’s no news as to when it will be released.

2. Here are a couple links at this board regarding books to read/avoid:

Book discussion

Another book discussion

3. Criterion is far too busy working to put out films by Kurosawa, Bergman, and lesser-known directors to be “bothered” to put out anything by people like Welles (or Mizoguchi).

by **Jeff Wilson** » Thu Jun 05, 2003 9:48 pm

Welcome to the board, Flint. Sadly, Criterion has ignored Welles in its collection of the greatest films ever, or however they term their line of DVDs. The lack of interest in bringing out F for Fake or Confidential Report is strange, given their great work on Welles titles during the LD days. The Janus Films arm of their parent company still has the rights to the two films mentioned above unless things have changed, so I don't see why they haven't released at least one of them. They release real obscurities and niche titles like Quai des Orfevres (a fine film, I might add) and Jubilee but no Welles. But hey, they've released two Michael Bay movies!

Criterion will likely never release Ambersons or Othello, which were their other LD releases with Kane. Warner Bros doesn't license out their films, and apparently have plans for Ambersons at some point, though their eventual release is highly unlikely to duplicate the thoroughness of Criterion's set. Here's hoping they get to Welles at some point.

by **Welles Fan** » Fri Jun 06, 2003 11:58 am

Most here do not care for Higham's bio. Some say it is because he refers to our favorite director in less than flattering terms. I say avoid it because after the apparent falsifying of records in his notorious Errol Flynn Nazi Spy "Biography", Higham should not be considered a serious bographer at all.

I wouldn't care if Higham thought Orson hung the moon. It doesn't really matter what he says IMO.

by **Flint** » Fri Jun 06, 2003 4:10 pm

Just a note of thanks for the responses! You've all been a great help.

-Flint.

by **Oscar Christie** » Wed Sep 24, 2003 12:51 pm

When will McBride's new WellesBio be published?

by **Eve** » Fri Oct 03, 2003 10:06 am

Hi all,

i´ve just learned that the follow-up of "The Road to Xanadu" will be published in the fall of 2004.

by **Christopher** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 5:46 pm

Hello, Eve, I would appreciate knowing how you found out that Simon Callow's follow-up to "The Road to Xanadu" will be published in the fall of 2004. There have been so many rumors about this long-awaited second volume. Thanks for any further information you would care to share with us.

by **Eve** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 9:21 am

Hello Christopher,

i come from Germany and I´ve collected books about Orson Welles for many years. From time to time I go to bookstores and ask there what books are available. That´s how I found out that the second volume will be published the next fall. But as always I think, there´s no guarantee for it (sorry for my bad English).

by **sergio** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 2:57 pm

This has been treated exhaustively in previous discussions, but I would add that David Thomson's book is best avoided, or rather, left until last, and that both Frank Brady's CITIZEN WELLES and the Bogdanovich/Welles/Rosenbaum THIS IS ORSON WELLES may well be the best books on Welles after Naremore's megisterial work. Brady's is still the best biographical work on Welles to my mind, although I haven't read Conrad's new book, which has had some strong reviews. Brady's advantage remains that he could talk to many people who have since passed away of course.

Sergio

by **Jeff Wilson** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 3:19 pm

Conrad's book isn't a biography, but rather a free-ranging discussion of Welles and his work, framed by the stories Welles told during his life and the characters Conrad finds Welles most identifying with. Not really something to be used as a reference work, as it's completely without citations of any kind.

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