When Wellesnet was launched more than 20 years ago, many major Orson Welles-directed films were unavailable on DVD.
In recent years, there has been a wealth of Welles titles available on home video and some pretty impressive box sets. Heck, even the little seen Filming Othello is available on DVD and Blu-ray thanks to the Criterion Collection.
As the home video market moves from Blu-ray to 4K UHD, it is worth noting that for U.S. fans there are still several Welles titles unavailable on Blu-ray. Here is a quick look at what is still unavailable as of June 2022:
• The Other Side of the Wind, and its off’-shoot Hopper/Welles, are unavailable worldwide on Blu-ray (or DVD for that matter) largely due an unwillingness by Netflix to issue a physical media release.
• The Trial, recently restored by StudioCanal, will be released in Europe on 4K UHD and Blu-ray in the fall, but a U.S. release of this 1962 film remains uncertain.
• Too Much Johnson, the silent footage shot by Welles for a Mercury stage show in 1938, is available in Europe from M. Bongo, but not in the U.S. Alas, it would have been a nice extra on the recent Citizen Kane release.
• Journey Into Fear, a Mercury Production co-starring and co-written by Welles under the direction of pal Norman Foster is unavailable. This 1943 release stars Joseph Cotten and Welles’ then-girlfriend Dolores Del Rio. A U.S. and alternate European cut exist and would make a fine release.
• Mr. Arkadin/Confidential Report, the two versions, along with a comprehensive version overseen by Stefan Droessler of the Munich Film Museum, were part of a wonderful DVD set from Criterion. However, the set was never upgraded to Blu-ray and it is out of print.
Two Welles-related films that make use of footage he shot are also unavailable on Blu-ray — the Morgan Neville documentary They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead and the 1993 doc It’s All True: Based on an Unfinished Film by Orson Welles from Bill Krohn, Myron Meisel and the late Richard Wilson.
While we are at it, let’s hope that someday the Munich Film Museum sees fit to put together a Blu-ray box set of the unfinished Welles films in its collection, most notably The Dreamers, The Deep and Merchant of Venice.
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