By MIKE TEAL
2014 was quite a year for Orson Welles fans.
There were special events, theatrical and home video releases, and the promise of bigger things in the months ahead.
Here are some of the highlights:
10. INTERVIEWS WITH BEATRICE WELLES – Ray Kelly’s exclusive interviews with Welles’s youngest daughter in April provided many fascinating revelations, and helped rebuild some of the bridges between key Welles insiders.
Part 1: www.wellesnet.com/beatrice-welles-interview-part-1-treasures-to-be-auctioned-life-with-orson-welles-and-public-misconceptions/
Part 2: www.wellesnet.com/beatrice-welles-interview-part-2-orson-welles-early-autobiography-found-art-exhibit-planned-othello-on-blu-ray-and-fate-of-chimes-at-midnight/
Followup on TOSOTW: www.wellesnet.com/beatrice-welles-on-completing-the-other-side-of-the-wind/
9. TWO ONLINE AUDIO EVENTS (November, December) – Another wonderful audio program from The Projection Room on Othello, after their epic look at The Magnificent Ambersons two years ago. They also announced one on The Other Side of the Wind for next year. projection-booth.blogspot.com/2014/09/episode-185-othello.html The BBC’s presentation of The Lost Tapes of Orson Welles, a selection of excerpts from the Henry Jaglom tapes which became the 2013 book, My Lunches With Orson. Featured additional commentary by Jaglom and biographer Simon Callow: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02cn121
8. TWO MAJOR WELLES RETROSPECTIVES – HUGE WELLES EVENT IN BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA (April)– This was arguably the biggest Welles party of the year, though sadly most of us didn’t hear about it until it was already over. www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/cinematheque/past_programs/2014/orsonwelles
THE ESSENTIAL ORSON WELLES (July-August) – Los Angeles hosted a six-weekend tribute to Welles, including a showing of the rediscovered and restored Too Much Johnson footage. www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-turan-on-film-20140420-story.html#axzz2zNXFzh7e&page=1
TWO MAJOR BLU-RAY RELEASES:
7. TOUCH OF EVIL BLU-RAY (April) – Universal’s Limited Edition Blu-ray of Touch of Evil was an almost exact duplicate of the contents of the multi-disc DVD set from 2008 … but with the added resolution and broader contrast range really making a big difference in image quality. https://www.wellesnet.com/touch-of-evil-blu-ray-set-due-out-april-15/
6. F FOR FAKE BLU-RAY (November) – Criterion reproduced for High Definition their excellent 2005 DVD package of Welles’s last released feature, with all the abundant extra features that were on the original set, plus an important new one of Welles’s 1975 interview with Tom Snyder. www.wellesnet.com/f-for-fake-blu-ray-due-out-in-october-from-criterion/
5. WOODSTOCK WELLES FEST (May) – Welles’s “hometown” hosted this three-day fest that not only marked the 80th anniversary of Welles’s 1934 Woodstock Theatre Fest, where he made his professional debut as an actor/director, but also served as a great preliminary event for their 2015 celebrations. The event, spearheaded by Kathleen Spaltro, Michael Dawson and the folks at Woodstock Celebrates Inc., was attended by Joseph McBride, Jonathan Rosenbaum, and several longtime Wellesnet people. Great discussions and events. Todd Tarbox, author of Orson Welles and Roger Hill, gave a great introductory speech that can be read at www.wellesnet.com/80th-anniversary-celebration-of-orson-welles-and-roger-hills-todd-theatre-festival-underway-in-woodstock-illinois/
4. THE MAGICIAN (December) – Chuck Workman’s dazzling 90-minute thrill ride through Welles’s life and career, played at several film fests throughout the country, had a limited theatrical run in New York and Los Angeles, and hopefully will open wide soon in 2015. Chuck’s Q&A with Wellesnet can be read at www.wellesnet.com/magician-director-chuck-workman-talks-about-the-astonishing-life-and-work-of-orson-welles/
3. CARLOTTA RESTORATION OF OTHELLO (June) – This new, and pristine-looking 2K DCP edition of the 1992 restoration of Welles’s 1955 re-edit played theatrically at art houses across the country. It was released by Carlotta on Blu-ray in France, along with Macbeth. Criterion will handle the U.S. Blu-ray release in 2015 and include the original ’55 version www.wellesnet.com/criterion-to-release-orson-welles-othello-in-2015/
2. TOO MUCH JOHNSON FOOTAGE UPLOADED TO THE INTERNET – The restorers of this early Welles work graciously uploaded this fascinating and historically important footage to the Net for free viewing and downloading by all Welles fans.
Workprint: www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-films/screening-room/too-much-johnson-work-print
In addition, they also posted an expertly done 30-minute edit that attempts to approximate what Welles might have done with the footage if he had had a chance:
30-minute reimagining: www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-films/screening-room/too-much-johnson-reimagined
1. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND AND OTHER AMAZING ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR 2015 – The biggest announcment was for the longed dreamt for completion of Welles’s legendary unfinished final film, The Other Side of the Wind: www.wellesnet.com/producers-detail-plans-for-completing-the-other-side-of-the-wind/
Centenary festivals were announced for New York, Indiana University, Woodstock, Sedona, Miami. Others are rumored, although they have not been announced yet.
Books were announced, including:
- The third part of Simon Callow’s in-depth trilogy on Welles’s life and career
- “Orson Welles’s Last Film”, Josh Karp’s look at the history of The Other Side of the Wind
- “Young Orson” by Patrick McGillan, said to have new revelations about Welles’s early life
- A new translation of Andre Bazin’s legendary 1951 monograph on Orson Welles
There’s lots to look back on this past year, and even more to look forward to next year!
Want to look back further? Check out our 2013 roundup
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