Orson Welles narrates

[Le Chiffre]

Here's a rough draft for a pdf document on Welles' narrated and hosted movies. Welles' voicework was always his bread and butter and many people, pointing to films like THE LATE GREAT PLANET EARTH and THE MAN WHO SAW TOMORROW, tend to dismiss this portion of Welles' career as embarrassing hackery. However, looking at the list of films and subjects collected in this document, I think it's fair to say that, on the contrary, Welles' career as a narrator represents a pretty interesting and respectable body of work, amazing in it's range. If I've missed any key programs or films, please let me know.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/132611125/OW-Narrates

[Roger Ryan]

Thanks for compiling this, Mike. I now realize that "Bugs Bunny Superstar" (1975) may have been my first encounter with Welles; that film or a friend playing the WAR OF THE WORLDS broadcast sometime that year or the year before!

Do you think AMBERSONS should be added to the list? Even though it's Welles' film, I supposed some might see it as one of the films he did narration for.

[Le Chiffre]

I've got that Bugs Bunny doc on an old VHS, I think they made some real good selections for it. I don't believe that was ever released on DVD, though. It should be.

Good point about AMBERSONS; didn't think of that. I could probably include the short MACBETH and the American cut of OTHELLO too.

[Roger Ryan]

Welles narrates THE TRIAL as well...and FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH...and AROUND THE WORLD WITH OW...and first person narration in THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI...

I guess I was thinking in terms of Welles doing narration for films that he did not appear in as an actor, but even that gets confusing.

[Le Chiffre]

Yep, any attempt to catalogue Welles' career is gonna run into confusion for sure.

Found this on a foreign language website. A few I've never heard of; if they're real, that is:

The Magnificient Ambersons [A csodálatos Ambersonok] 1942
Duel in the Sun 1946
Out of Darkness 1955 (dokumentumfilm)
Les seigneurs de la fôret / Lords of the Forest / Masters of the Congo Jungle 1956
The Vikings 1958
Come to the Fair 1958 (dokumentumfilm)
High Journey 1959 (dokumentumfilm)
South Seas Adventure 1959 (dokumentumfilm)
King of Kings [Királyok királya] 1961
River of the Ocean 1962 (dokumentumfilm)
The Finest Hours 1963 (dokumentumfilm)
A King's Story 1965 (dokumentumfilm)
Around the World of Mike Todd 1968
Barbed Wire 1969 (dokumentumfilm)
To Build a Fire 1970
A Horse Called Nijinsky (dokumentumfilm)
Sentinels of Silence 1971(dokumentumfilm)
Directed by John Ford 1971 (dokumentumfilm)
The Crucifixion 1971
Future Shock 1973
The Challenge of Greatness 1975 (dokumentumfilm)
Bugs Bunny Superstar 1975
And Then There Were None / Death in Persepolis / Ten Little Indians 1976
The Late Great Planet Earth 1977
The Greatest Battle 1977
History of the World, Part One 1981
The Man Who Saw Tomorrow 1981

Can't imagine what BARBED WIRE is, there's no information on the web at all. Unless they're talking about Jess Franco's BARBED WIRE DOLLS:

http://www.eattheblinds.com/2011/01/jes ... dolls.html

*

[Le Chiffre]

updated draft:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/132611125/OW-Narrates

[lhl12]

Hello Everybody,

As you know, Orson made opening and closing remarks to a broadcast of a Buster Keaton movie called The General. That was in August 1971 as part of a PBS series called “The Silent Years.” This little piece of film has been issued on home video and posted on YouTube. I suppose you have all seen it by now.

What I did not know is that Orson said some of the same things in a documentary. He spoke them over some clips from The General. You can see that segment here:
http://7artcinema.online.fr/en_7artcine ... neral.html
Does anybody know what documentary this is from? Does anybody know who was on the piano? Any details? Any details at all? Help?

Many thanks!

[Wellesnet]

That's not Welles speaking.

[Roger Ryan]

That's a hideous piano score as well, seemingly more out-of-tune as the clip progresses. Makes one grateful for the very fine Carl Davis orchestral score many of the home video releases of The General use.