The Venice International Film Festival will mark the centennial of Orson Welles’ birth with screenings of new restorations of the lost The Merchant of Venice (1969) and an early edit of Othello (1951) on Sept. 1.
The Merchant of Venice was conceived as part of a television special, but when CBS stopped financing the film, it remained unfinished.
In 1982, Welles claimed the film negative was stolen and only fragments existed within various archives.
Agenzia Giornalistica Italia reported that the restoration was possible due to the recent discovery of new material by Cinemazero (Pordenone), which made headlines two years ago with the unearthing of the long-lost Too Much Johnson footage.
With the recent discovery of The Merchant of Venice script in the Orson Welles-Oja Kodar papers in the Special Collections at the University of Michigan and the composer’s notes, the film was reconstructed and restored by Filmmuseum Muenchen and Cinemazero.
The Orchestra Classica di Alessandria will perform the original unpublished score for The Merchant of Venice, by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino, live on Sept. 1. (Lavagnino composed the scores for Welles’ Othello and Chimes at Midnight).
A new restoration of the 96-minute Italian version of Othello will also screen. The film was slated for competition in Venice in 1951, but Welles withdrew it saying it was not ready. A shorter, English version was presented in Cannes in 1952 and won the Grand Prix.
The early Othello was restored by CSC – Cineteca Nazionale in Rome.
Screenings will be held on Sept. 1 in the Sala Darsena (Palazzo del Cinema) on the Lido di Venezia.
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