DON QUIJOTE

[Roger Ryan]

The cinema scene is fabulous, although I suspect Welles would have edited it down in length if he had completed the film. One of my favorite shots in the unreleased footage comes when Sancho Panza is searching for Don Quixote in modern Spain. He approaches Welles himself who is seated in the backseat of a car. The car pulls away and we see Akim Tamiroff (as Panza) from the perspective of the rear window looking at us mournfully as he grows smaller and smaller. It would have made a great ending shot to at least one version of the film.

[halfaorson]

I'm a cinematography student from Italy. I just got graduated with a thesis on Orson's Welles "Don Quijote". This experience was wonderful for me. I got to know a tragical, beautiful story: The story of Mauro Bonanni, Orson, and his "only son". Yes, this is the way Orson called "don quijote" when he met Bonanni, an Italian editor who got to work with Welles for almost 2 years at the end of the 60's. I met Mauro in Rome, at his house, a wonderful person, with a wonderful family, but still, emanating a deep sense of lonelyness. He gave me the most beautiful interviews about Orson that i hope to translate soon.
The situation that i want to share with you is that 20.000 meters of celluloid, of wonderful, incredible material shot by Orson, who left it to Mauro, that are deteriorating. This is happening because of the legal problems between Oja Kodar, who claims to be the legal owner of this material, and Bonanni, who got in this "cause" after he refused to give the movie to Miss Kodar and Jesus Franco in 1991. We all know what Franco, a third category movie director, did with the ugly material that he got (Bonanni explained me that was "trash" that Welles eliminated). Bonanni refused to give the movie even tough he was offered a huge amount of money. When he met Franco, and he said that he was going to use Cervantes' book as a script, and that he assumed to do everything (editing, choosing the photograms, inserting the dialogues that were not included). Welles, indeed, never wanted to follow Cervantes' book. In the interview Mauro explained me how the movie was about to be completed by he and Welles.
Now, the problem is that nobody is doing anything to save this material. Bonanni can't move it, Miss Kodar doesn't take away the legal cause. What i'm thinking to do is to organize a symbolic (to start) association, to write a "program", a sort of "manifesto" of this association, and to collect the more signs (autographs) i can, so that we can show how many people want to save this movie. I got to see 60 minutes of the material...and is beautiful. A unique film in the Orson Welles production. Free from producers and financial problems, Orson could finally express his artigianal conception of "making movies". He is a painter in this movie, not a simple director. Mauro told me about his feeling for the celluloid, he wanted to touch it, to work on it just like a painter do with his work.
This is a true masterpiece, we got to do something for it. I got in touch with Manuel De Sica, son of the great Vittorio, who saved a lot of his dad movies with his Association. Indeed, it looks like he doesn't know how to help me with this. I talked about my project with one of my college Professor, and it looks like he will help me to meet a famous italian critic, to see if he can help. Another contact that i hope to get soon, is Nanni Moretti. But i wont contact him now, since he must be totally concentrated on his new movie "Il Caimano", that is going to be at Cannes Festival. I really feel like i got to start all this alone, and that the internet community can help me.
I'm never been able to express my feelings in English. I truly always thought is not a language for feelings, more for fast communication. I don't think you'll feel my passion from this post. I just want you to know that since i saw that movie, since i got in touch with this incredible, beautiful story, i feel like i got to do something. I feel like this was an appointment for me, for my life. Now i know why i choosed this career.
I'm not asking for help. Here we got an opportunity. An opportunity to let Welles express again, after this mediocre world killed him. An opportunity to give back to the humanity a masterpiece. We are obligated to do it.

Sigismondo Sciortino

I got the interview. But is in Italian. My english is not so good. If any of you is interested to read it in Italian...

[ToddBaesen]

Sigismondo:

It sounds like the interview you did with Mr. Bonanni would make for fascinating reading in regards to DON QUIXOTE... Is there any chance you could try translating it yourself? From your post it seems like you have a fairly good grasp of English, and then I'd be happy to look it over and make any corrections to it before it was posted anywhere in English - to correct any errors, etc... Unfortunately I don't speak any Italian.

Meanwhile, it seems a shame that all this material for DON QUIXOTE is not being preserved... Do you know if Mr. Bonanni is willing to hand it over to a film archive somewhere in Italy, so they could at least put it in cold storage and possible restore it at some future date?

Of course, the obvious choice would be to give it to The Munich film Museum, but since Mr. Bonanni and Oja Kodar obviously don't agree with one another, it doesn't seem too likely a prospect, but maybe Mr. Bonanni and Stefan Drosseler could work out a deal seperate from Oja Kodar's holding at the Museum.

Meanwhile, here's what Jonathan Rosenbaum had to say about this question, in a seperate interview that it available somewhere on Wellesnet, although it's rather difficult to find. (luckily I copied it):

JONATHAN ROSENBAUM: Well, (Jess Franco is a hack), but the point is, (Oja) signed this deal and set it up to be done that way. She put certain stipulations in, but didn’t bother about other stipulations, so she’s not totally blameless with what they did to it, since she had it written into the contract that they couldn’t use any of the Patty McCormack footage. What was even worse, was that Mauro Bonanni, the original editor of DON QUIXOTE, who is in Rome, wanted to work on this and give his input, but they were not interested. Oja’s reaction to him was, “you’ve stolen all this footage, give it back.” But Welles left the film with him, and Bonanni rescued it from being destroyed. I’ve seen about two hours of DON QUIXOTE, and in all that footage, Bonanni has the greatest sequence. It’s stuff that even the Madrid Cinematheque doesn’t have, so it’s just abysmal what they did. It’s an amazing sequence, where Quixote is charging with his lance at a movie screen. Oja has never seen that footage, and I have, but the point is they couldn’t use it. Now, I think the obvious thing to do, is to put together a version with Bonanni as the editor. He was the original editor and he has some important sequences that are missing from DON QUIXOTE. But nobody seems to be interested in doing that. I would love to go to Madrid sometime and look at all of it. It’s not everything, but it’s most of the footage.

[halfaorson]

Bonanni DESIRES to give this material. But he won't let it to somebody "Who only wants to write his name close to Welles' one". That's what he told me. This is a honorable man, that loves Orson. Orson was his mentor, his maestro, and his friend. I want you to know also that Bonanni was the ONLY person to work with Welles on the DQ editing. The shame here is that Mauro is the only person that can tell us something about Welles conception of the movie, but nobody looks really interested. I've been to a lot of Welles' conventions...you can feel it in the air...these people ( in every convention you find almost the same people, Droessler is always there ) loves to talk about Orson. A bunch of narcisists that try to write the more original "opinions" about Welles' work (and most of them are incredibly "forced", getting in a simbolism that Welles never put in his movies). They read their "works" to each other, they applauding to each other....is like a Club. How is possible none of these people Droessler, Rosenbaum, Giorgini etc couldn't see the potential of this movie????? the beautiful, tragical message that Welles wanted to send us doing this movie and then, refusing to finish it (cause this is the truth in my opinion and Bonanni's one, he refused to give it). I told you, i got to see 60 minutes of Bonanni's material (and let me tell you Rosenbaum never saw it. From Mauro's material he only saw some minutes he gave to Ciro Giorgini for Rai Tre long time ago). This material is amazing. Welles was finally free working to this movie, positive, full of love. If you'd ask me which kind of movie DQ is, i would say "a love movie".
Here we got the real story of Don Quijote. Orson Welles, his life, his fight with the movie industry, in his willing to be again a "craftsman" of cinema, like the Griffiths, Stroheims, DeMilles, Chaplins.... Welles is dead now, killed by that system. Our role now, is to defend his work. To defend Sancho Panza (Mauro Bonanni).
Please people, help me to do this "foundation". We are people from all over the world, all together we could do something really important for this movie. We have got to do it. This, for me, became a reason to fight. I hope it will be the same for you.

[Jeff Wilson]

I think everyone here would like to help preserve this material, but I'm not sure what many of us can do being rather removed from the situation. Do keep us informed of what's happening, please.

[halfaorson]

Dear Jeff,
We are all "removed" from the situation. The question is how deep we desire to get involved. With an international movement, i'm sure we can help.

[catbuglah]

Hi Sigismondo,

I don't know if this helps, but I came across this cool website that may be relevant to your project. Quijote is certainly the lost Welles film that I'm most curious about. I'd love to see it released in a properly restored form one day.

Eisenstein

[Glenn Anders]

Catbuglah: The Eisenstein project certainly looks like the model for the kind of venture that Bonani, Ciro, and the other artisans need to complete Welles' DON QUIXOTE. [Is this version substantially different than the Criterion edition, which I bought but never got to see?]

Sigismondo: Having met a couple of the people involved, courtesy of one of our correspondents here, I second your criticism. But from my limited experience, many of these people, certainly some here, are not wealthy people. They may love Welles' work, have contributions to make, but few, not even half-a-dozen of them, could sit down and write checks which would underwrite a small fraction of funding required.

That requires a government agency, a University grant, a company like Criterion, or at least several very rich patrons to see it through. For what it might add, I would be happy to lend my name and a small cheque to the cause. I have suggested as much in a case for completing THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND, but as in the gatherings you describe, there seems no practical interest beyond "a hearty, Hear! Hear!" or two."

I think, in the case of DON QUIXOTE, what is needed is an Italian or Spanish agency or philanthropy, well-established and above board, which could provide matching funds. As you suggest, Sigismondo, wonderful as our commentaries may be, not many are ready to send our hard-earned disposable funds or savings to the otherwise admirable people who, for decades, have been traveling wine and cheese reception circuits, which keep the cause alive but fritter away the funds.

Are project grant proposals being written and submitted? Here is the source, direction and momentum which would bring several of Welles' unfinished works to completion.

No need to persuade us of what they are.

Let us each do what we can, but we do need a place to concentrate our resources.

Glenn

[halfaorson]

I'm not talking about Cash. I'm talking about passion, a symbolic association. Collecting "signs" (or i should say autographs) in different states and different colleges, schools, anywhere, would be a good start. That's something that anybody can do.

[The Voice of Cornstarch]

Who has title to this property?

[Clive Dale]

There is a trusted respository of Orson Welles works that has professional staff, excellent facilities and outstanding reputation. For over a quarter of a century it has worked quietly and effectively to preserve Welles's treasures.

It is called The Lilly Library

[catbuglah]

Catbuglah: [Is this version substantially different than the Criterion edition, which I bought but never got to see?] Glenn Anders

Good Question - Actually I found the Eisenstein link while discussing another important Welles restoration possibility :

It's All True

[DexyMan]

This is very exciting to hear that someone has actually seen the DQ footage. Does any of this contain sound? Specifically the Patty McCormick scenes? I have always been under the impression that even if the McCormick version was made that someone would need to overdub all of her dialogue.

[tony]

Mauro Bonannini has a print of the film; apparently the stuff that Oja and her team used was just trims and stuff that Welles had set aside; Mauro edited the film with Welles for about a year, c. 1969-1970, in Italy, until the paparazzi broke the news of Welles's affair with Olga Palinkas (Oja Kodar); work was abandoned on DQ, never to be resumed, and Welles moved back to America. You can see Mauro interviewed in the documentary "Rosabella". He won't give 'Oja Kodar' his print, because she'll destroy it: Welles told her that he wanted to refilm the framing device of him telling Patty McCormick the story of DQ with him telling Beatrice the story (which he never did); however, because of that conversation, Oja doesn't want the McCormick stuff to be used. Patty's also in the movie theatre scene, so presumably that scene would be thrown out as well (Rosenbaum calls this one of the most heart-rending scenes Welles ever filmed). The movie theatre scene has been pirated a bit on the internet. Also, Oja also doesn't want Bonannini to edit DQ, even though he's the most knowledgable person alive. So: on this issue, Oja is just as crazy as Beatrice, and just as destructive: Oja's version of DQ is infinitely worse than Beatrice's version of Othello, one has to admit.

[majikbeens]

Point of clarification for a newbie (me), the Oja version of DQ and the Beatrice version of Othello are the ones that are commonly available and the ones I'd most likely run into? Sad, I was rather looking forward to seeing them.