Wellesnet

Many of Wellesnet’s friends and contributors will be speaking at what promises to be an exceptionally exciting three-day event on Orson Welles career in Europe at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.

Entitled “The Transitional Orson Welles,” the symposium will focus on Welles filmmaking in Europe from 1948 onward. The event will be taking place at Yale’s Whitney Humanities Center, 53 Wall Street, in New Haven, CT.  Best of all, the entire series will be FREE and open to the public, so any Welles aficionados living in New York City and the greater New England area are advised to head to New Haven between November 30th and December 2nd, since there will be several rare 35mm screenings, including The Immortal Story and Welles’ masterpiece, Chimes at Midnight.

(One interesting thing Chimes assistant director Juan Cobos recently told me, was that Welles had originally recorded the narration himself, before bringing in Ralph Richardson to redo it.  Juan also related how besides filming the murder of Richard II that was originally going to open the film, Welles also shot a beautiful scene - echoing Othello - showing a procession of monks coming over a hill  after attending the funeral of their slain King). 

Flying in from Europe will be Stefan Drössler, director of the Munich Film Archive, who will be bringing along several pieces from his archive of Welles’ rare unseen work. Francois Thomas, of Positif fame will also be there, whose article “La nuit d’amour des grillons” discussed Welles The Immortal Story.  Stefan will be screening a 35mm print of the composite version of Mr. Arkadin that he so carefully assembled for us, and which Criterion under duress finally agreed to include on their special edition DVD. Other speakers will include a veritable who’s who of Welles’ scholars, with Jonathan Rosenbaum providing what promises to be a most fascinating talk, titled “When Will–and How Can—We Finish Orson Welles’s Don Quixote?’’
 
Additional speakers will include James Naremore, (The Magic World of Orson Welles), Michael Anderegg (Orson Welles, Shakespeare and Popular Culture), Catherine Benamou (It’s All True: Orson Welles Pan-American Odyssey) and New York University Prof. Bill Simon.

From the distinguished Yale faculty, the speakers will include Scott Newstok, Roberto González Echeverría, Michael Denning and Dudley Andrew. And while not on the official list of speakers, I imagine the director of the Yale Film Study Center and a Welles authority, Prof. Michael Kerbel will also be in attendance. It was Prof. Kerbel’s passion for Welles work during an Orson Welles seminar he taught way back in 1976 that led me to my own ongoing interest in Welles.
 
Anyone who does attend and would like to report on the symposium for Wellesnet, please send along your comments to me (at: lrfrench@yahoo.com) and I will post them on the main page.
 
Here is the complete schedule of speakers and the Welles films that will be shown. There may also be a few unannounced surprises…  

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30TH
 
7:00pm - Scott Newstok: “Adapting Othello; Adapting to Europe” 

comments by Marguerite Rippy

8:00pm - Filming Othello (video)

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1ST
 
10:00am  -  Orson Welles’ Sketch Book (two episodes, video)
 

10:30am  -  Francois Thomas: “Welles in Europe : Two Periods and a Postscript”

Comments by Aleksandra Jovicevic

1:00pm - Around the World with Orson Welles (episode, video)
 

1:30pm - James Naremore:  “Forms of Exile: Welles  & Kubrick”    

Comments by Michael Denning

3:00pm - Stefan Drössler: “The Unfinished European Films” -  an illustrated commentary
 

7:00pm -  F for Fake (1974) 35mm
9:00pm -  Mr. Arkadin (1955) 35mm
 
 
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2ND
 
9:30am -  Portrait of Gina (video)

10:00 - Panel: Orson Welles: True or False 

Santos Zunzunegui:  “F for Fake: A Portrait of the Artist as a Magician”

Catherine Benamou: “The Mendacity of It’s All True and F for Fake 

Comments by Michael Anderegg  

2:00pm  – Jonathan Rosenbaum: “When Will–and how can—we Finish Orson Welles’s Don Quixote?’’  

Comments by Roberto González Echeverría

3:15pm - The Immortal Story (1968) 35mm
 

4:30pm -  William Simon: ”Notes Around Orson Welles’  Speaking of the word  ‘…dead’ in Chimes at Midnight”
 

Comments by Dudley Andrew