Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:35 am
EDIT: I'm sorry about the redundacy; Jeff submitted his answers before I hit the "post" button! Obviously, the "church" answer has now been clarified.
Welcome Jerzy!
Here's the best I can do with your inquiries:
1) Unfortunately, I've not read the "Black Irish" version of the "Lady From Shanghai" script, but it appears that Welles intended audio from various scenes in the film to come together to form a disorientating collage of sound after Michael takes the pills. If there was a church scene in this original script, then it's likey that Welles is referring to the sound of "people praying/singing in church"; otherwise, "congregation" could refer to any group of people. Perhaps someone else can help with this one.
2) This appears to be an obscure reference to "giving Hollywood the 'finger'". "Digits" can refer to fingers; a "raised" one probably means the rude gesture of holding up the middle finger. I think Heylin is trying to say that Welles' four European films were designed, in part, to send this message: "Screw you, Hollywood, I can do it myself".
3) This one is easier. Heylin is referring to Hayworth being photographed in front of "rear projection screens" where stock footage of a background is projected onto a screen and the actor is then photographed in front of that screen. Heylin's use of the term "close-up" is confusing, but I assume he means that the projected image itself is more of a close-up shot than a medium or wide shot. The point being that Welles disliked using rear projection and would often shoot everything on location to avoid it. With "Shanghai", he was required to do reshoots (namely close-ups) in the studio, so rear projection was used to set the scene.
4) Yes, this is intended to be an amusing exaggeration. The reviewer's intent is to describe Welles' performance of Franz Kindler as so melodramatic that the entire staff of the Bellevue Mental Hospital would not hesitate a moment to take the character off the streets and lock him in the hospital. The reviewer's criticism is that while the Kindler character wishes to remain unobtrusive, Welles portrays him as illogically weird and obtrusive, giving the opposite effect.
5) What Welles means is that the "Rosebud" riddle was the only way to conclude "Citizen Kane", the only way to give this non-linear story a satisfying ending for the audience as well as keep them interested in the reporter's quest to understand Kane. The term "get off" derives from the idea of being able to get off a theatre stage (an actor or playwright needs a strong enough idea or line of dialogue to let the audience know that a scene is over).
I hope this helps. I enjoyed Mr. Heylin's book quite a bit, although there was some speculation on the author's part that I thought was misinformed. Specifically, I felt Mr. Heylin misunderstood Welles' intentions regarding the use of the subjective camera in "Ambersons". He is simply wrong when he states that Welles had to use a stand-in for the scene of George praying at his mother's bed (it's clearly actor Tim Holt) because he needed to shoot something quick to make up for the supposedly failed subjective camera footage. Note how Welles' camera moves away from George's head at the beginning of the shot; this is to suggest that the viewer is now moving out of George's subjective viewpoint and will see the remainder of the scene objectively. This makes perfect artistic sense following the subjective shots of the deteriorating city (even without the subjective footage showing George going through the mansion that Welles himself cut out).
Welcome Jerzy!
Here's the best I can do with your inquiries:
1) Unfortunately, I've not read the "Black Irish" version of the "Lady From Shanghai" script, but it appears that Welles intended audio from various scenes in the film to come together to form a disorientating collage of sound after Michael takes the pills. If there was a church scene in this original script, then it's likey that Welles is referring to the sound of "people praying/singing in church"; otherwise, "congregation" could refer to any group of people. Perhaps someone else can help with this one.
2) This appears to be an obscure reference to "giving Hollywood the 'finger'". "Digits" can refer to fingers; a "raised" one probably means the rude gesture of holding up the middle finger. I think Heylin is trying to say that Welles' four European films were designed, in part, to send this message: "Screw you, Hollywood, I can do it myself".
3) This one is easier. Heylin is referring to Hayworth being photographed in front of "rear projection screens" where stock footage of a background is projected onto a screen and the actor is then photographed in front of that screen. Heylin's use of the term "close-up" is confusing, but I assume he means that the projected image itself is more of a close-up shot than a medium or wide shot. The point being that Welles disliked using rear projection and would often shoot everything on location to avoid it. With "Shanghai", he was required to do reshoots (namely close-ups) in the studio, so rear projection was used to set the scene.
4) Yes, this is intended to be an amusing exaggeration. The reviewer's intent is to describe Welles' performance of Franz Kindler as so melodramatic that the entire staff of the Bellevue Mental Hospital would not hesitate a moment to take the character off the streets and lock him in the hospital. The reviewer's criticism is that while the Kindler character wishes to remain unobtrusive, Welles portrays him as illogically weird and obtrusive, giving the opposite effect.
5) What Welles means is that the "Rosebud" riddle was the only way to conclude "Citizen Kane", the only way to give this non-linear story a satisfying ending for the audience as well as keep them interested in the reporter's quest to understand Kane. The term "get off" derives from the idea of being able to get off a theatre stage (an actor or playwright needs a strong enough idea or line of dialogue to let the audience know that a scene is over).
I hope this helps. I enjoyed Mr. Heylin's book quite a bit, although there was some speculation on the author's part that I thought was misinformed. Specifically, I felt Mr. Heylin misunderstood Welles' intentions regarding the use of the subjective camera in "Ambersons". He is simply wrong when he states that Welles had to use a stand-in for the scene of George praying at his mother's bed (it's clearly actor Tim Holt) because he needed to shoot something quick to make up for the supposedly failed subjective camera footage. Note how Welles' camera moves away from George's head at the beginning of the shot; this is to suggest that the viewer is now moving out of George's subjective viewpoint and will see the remainder of the scene objectively. This makes perfect artistic sense following the subjective shots of the deteriorating city (even without the subjective footage showing George going through the mansion that Welles himself cut out).
