Orson Welles

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Lemmy Caution
Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 3:26 am
Location: East of Shanghai

Re: Orson Welles

#301 Post by Lemmy Caution » Thu Apr 26, 2018 2:11 am

Just came across the fact that there areorsonwelles spiders on the Hawaiian Islands, with the species names referring to his films: Orsonwelles ambersonorum; Orsonwelles arcanus. Not a particularly chubby spider, but does have a long reach.

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FrauBlucher
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
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Re: Orson Welles

#302 Post by FrauBlucher » Fri Aug 24, 2018 6:39 am


nolanoe
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2010 10:25 am

Re: Orson Welles

#303 Post by nolanoe » Mon Sep 24, 2018 4:26 pm

Can somebody just find Lady from Shanghai or Ambersons unedited, Jesus H Christ!!

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hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
Location: NYC

Re: Orson Welles

#304 Post by hearthesilence » Tue Sep 25, 2018 11:26 am


nolanoe
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2010 10:25 am

Re: Orson Welles

#305 Post by nolanoe » Fri Sep 28, 2018 9:00 am

hearthesilence wrote:
Tue Sep 25, 2018 11:26 am
It could be worse.
:lol:


I'm just a tad bit frustrated that so many things Orson turn up, but not these damn original intent versions. I've read so much about them - and their disappearance (or destruction) - over the years now that it simply frustrates me to think these are beyond saving.

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J Wilson
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Re: Orson Welles

#306 Post by J Wilson » Sat Sep 29, 2018 2:36 pm

Shanghai, even if the cut footage were found, would still need some kind of score produced to adhere to something like Welles' original idea for the film. He had temp-scored the film before it was pulled from him by Columbia. There is at least a lengthy document about the music and sound that could be used for such a restoration, should the miraculous, or a time machine, surface.

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Brian C
I hate to be That Pedantic Guy but...
Joined: Wed Sep 16, 2009 11:58 am
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Re: Orson Welles

#307 Post by Brian C » Mon Dec 31, 2018 5:40 pm

Just a heads-up for Chicago-area Orsonists ... the Gene Siskel Film Center is offering an Welles retrospective starting in late January with weekly lectures by Jonathan Rosenbaum.

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Minkin
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2009 11:13 pm

Re: Orson Welles

#308 Post by Minkin » Sun Feb 24, 2019 11:11 am

Compilation of Orson Welles' commercials

I'd never seen his board game commercial + also had no idea Paul Masson sold so many varieties.

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FrauBlucher
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
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Re: Orson Welles

#309 Post by FrauBlucher » Sun Feb 24, 2019 11:32 am

The board game Commercial I never saw before. I totally forgot about the Vivitar spot. He really pushed the wine didn’t he.

My first exposure to Welles besides the Paul Masson ads were his appearances on Dean Martins Variety Show and Celebrity Roasts.

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whaleallright
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 12:56 am

Re: Orson Welles

#310 Post by whaleallright » Thu Feb 28, 2019 2:02 am

Oh boy, I remember that Dark Tower ad. In fact, a number of these were part of the ambiance of 1980s network TV that I soaked in as a kid, before I knew anything about Welles.

Lots of celebrities prostitute themselves for ads, but something about Welles—a man of such protean talents and formidable intellect—doing so, and even invoking his own reputation in the process, seems especially tragic.

Was he trying to get any films off the ground at the time the later of these were made, or were they pretty purely to put food on the table?

mteller
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:23 pm

Re: Orson Welles

#311 Post by mteller » Thu Feb 28, 2019 11:56 am

Dark Tower was a cool game.

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HitchcockLang
Joined: Tue May 28, 2013 1:43 pm

Re: Orson Welles

#312 Post by HitchcockLang » Thu Feb 28, 2019 12:31 pm

Very interesting. Restoration Games is working on revising and updating a new reprint of Dark Tower for the modern tabletop gaming scene (they recently revitalized Fireball Island). Had no idea Welles did the commercial.

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Dr Amicus
Joined: Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:20 am
Location: Guernsey

Re: Orson Welles

#313 Post by Dr Amicus » Thu Feb 28, 2019 1:18 pm

There was a sketch I remember from the 80s, I'm sure it was from Spitting Image, which satirised his ads - something along the lines of "My name is Orson Welles, Over 40 years ago I directed Citizen Kane, the greatest film ever made. Now I'm doing crappy sherry commercials".

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Roger Ryan
Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2010 12:04 pm
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Re: Orson Welles

#314 Post by Roger Ryan » Tue Mar 05, 2019 10:23 am

whaleallright wrote:
Thu Feb 28, 2019 2:02 am
...Was he trying to get any films off the ground at the time the later of these were made, or were they pretty purely to put food on the table?
Both. This was Welles' main source of income during these years since his "actor" status had diminished (which was something he never really pursued with vigor since he was more interested in directing films). What money didn't go to daily expenses was put into shooting his own films which were often elaborate "demos" to entice financial backing (The Dreamers, for instance).

The supposed tragedy of Welles being "reduced" to a pitchman is a canard; once he became known as a radio personality, he pitched soap, soup, and, yes, even wine, throughout the late 30s and 40s. This aspect of his career was a constant.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Orson Welles

#315 Post by hearthesilence » Tue Mar 05, 2019 1:28 pm

Yeah, it's the same stupid bullshit schadenfreude that chased Welles in his final decades in life (and really to this day), and generally people like to pile on celebrities who do pitches in general.

I think Welles was an easier target because he was open to doing more of them because he needed the money to fund his own endeavors just as any independent filmmaker would (Cassavetes, etc.) On the other hand, someone like Bob Dylan barely gets tarnished, possibly because he doesn't appear in many commercials. It's even news when he merely licenses one of his songs for a commercial, which he does once in a blue moon. I think it helps that he's a bit more selective partly for financial reasons. Dylan honestly doesn't give a shit, but he has no pressing need for the extra income so he can afford to be selective, which translates to a bigger payday each time out.

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whaleallright
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 12:56 am

Re: Orson Welles

#316 Post by whaleallright » Tue Mar 05, 2019 4:14 pm

hearthesilence wrote:
Tue Mar 05, 2019 1:28 pm

The supposed tragedy of Welles being "reduced" to a pitchman is a canard; once he became known as a radio personality, he pitched soap, soup, and, yes, even wine, throughout the late 30s and 40s. This aspect of his career was a constant.

That's good info to have. Have some of those older (I presume radio and print?) ads surfaced online?

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Lowry_Sam
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Re: Orson Welles

#317 Post by Lowry_Sam » Wed Mar 06, 2019 6:04 am

Someone animated his frozen peas radio ad here.

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knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: Orson Welles

#318 Post by knives » Wed Mar 06, 2019 9:32 am

The Pinky and the Brain version is still the best.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Orson Welles

#319 Post by hearthesilence » Thu Apr 11, 2019 7:38 pm

On Thursday 4/18, MoMA is premiering Paramount's restored DCP of It’s All True, the part documentary and part reconstruction directed by by Richard Wilson, Bill Krohn and Myron Meisel on Welles's ill-fated project. Myron Meisel will be there to introduce the film.

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FrauBlucher
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Re: Orson Welles

#320 Post by FrauBlucher » Sat May 11, 2019 8:47 pm


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Michael Kerpan
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Re: Orson Welles

#321 Post by Michael Kerpan » Sat May 11, 2019 10:27 pm

Went to the Orson Welles several times during my 4 years at Harvard (but no recollection as to what I saw there). ;-)

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DeprongMori
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Re: Orson Welles

#322 Post by DeprongMori » Sun May 12, 2019 3:35 am

I went to the Orson Welles Theater on occasion back when I lived in the Boston area. The one film I recall specifically that I saw there was Werner Herzog’s Woyzeck.

I went far more frequently to the Nickelodeon near BU, the Coolidge Corner, and the Brattle.

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FrauBlucher
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Re: Orson Welles

#323 Post by FrauBlucher » Tue Jun 11, 2019 5:53 am


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FrauBlucher
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Re: Orson Welles

#324 Post by FrauBlucher » Tue Jul 16, 2019 5:53 pm


Stefan Andersson
Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:02 am

Re: Orson Welles

#325 Post by Stefan Andersson » Sun Jul 19, 2020 10:50 am

Robert L Carringer says, in his preface to the revised edition of "Making of Citizen Kane", that he has rewritten Chapter Six, to reflect his further research on Ambersons. Chapter Six runs from p. 121 to p. 134 in the original edition, and from p. 122 to p. 136 in the revised edition. Is there substantial new information in Chapter Six, in the revised edition, to warrant a re-purchase of the book?

Thanks in advance for any information!

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