5 ms·

General note: he made ONE great film (Kane), a few good ones (Ambersons, F For Fake, Chimes) and the rest were howlers or just dull. I can't watch Lady From Sha

General note: he made ONE great film (Kane), a few good ones (Ambersons, F For Fake, Chimes) and the rest were howlers or just dull. I can't watch Lady From Shanghai because of of his awful accent, plus it's s bit dull. Touch of Evil was almost good but 45 minutes too long. Genius? Nah.

Aloha 11y ago
I'd argue ambersons was a great film before being recut. Radio was his strong suit too. He was a genius, but was unable to compromise to make commercial reality, and like many workaholics, his star burnt oh so brightly, but went out predictably fast.
myth_buster 11y ago
I disagree. I believe his narration of "War of the worlds" was incredible and the opening sequence of "Touch of Evil" is one of the best ever. He never got the same creative freedom as he got while creating Citizen Kane. Citizen Kane wasn't a blockbuster of it's time as many theaters refused to play when they came under pressure from Hearst. Following which he spent his time in England. His battle with Hearst has been documented in quite a few places[0]. [0] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/kane2/ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/kane2/
- iiiggglll 11y ago
  It is true that the common wisdom says Hearst destroyed Welles' career as revenge for Citizen Kane, but I'm not sure it's that cut and dried. For example, Robert Wise (who worked with him in his early career and eventually went on to surpass him in terms of success and output) disagreed with the idea that Welles was held back: "Not true there was a cabal preventing Orson from making more films. He simply never fulfilled himself after that magnificent start; his own fault - lack of self-discipline."[1] See also this comment[2] right here in this HN story which goes into some more detail about Welles' chronic string of failed projects. While Hearst may have done some damage, I think ultimately it was possible to Welles to recover, but he unfortunately spiraled down the drain instead. [1] http://imdb.com/name/nm0936404/bio [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9503266
  - myth_buster 11y ago
    This is an interesting perspective, thanks for sharing. I'm not sure I would take Wise's word on it but anyways this gives me an intriguing angle to dig deeper.
UmDieWelt 11y ago
How many of the greatest films of all time was he supposed to make to be considered a genius? Also, he was pretty accomplished in radio and theatre in addition to film.
sroerick 11y ago
The Trial is perhaps a better film than Kane.
sroerick 11y ago
The Trial is perhaps a better film than Kane.
marincounty 11y ago
The Stranger was pretty good. For what he had to work with--he was brilliant.
tujv 11y ago
Othello is a masterpiece.
Ollinson 11y ago
he was also a great actor in the third man

Aloha 11y ago

I'd argue ambersons was a great film before being recut. Radio was his strong suit too. He was a genius, but was unable to compromise to make commercial reality, and like many workaholics, his star burnt oh so brightly, but went out predictably fast.

myth_buster 11y ago

I disagree. I believe his narration of "War of the worlds" was incredible and the opening sequence of "Touch of Evil" is one of the best ever. He never got the same creative freedom as he got while creating Citizen Kane. Citizen Kane wasn't a blockbuster of it's time as many theaters refused to play when they came under pressure from Hearst. Following which he spent his time in England. His battle with Hearst has been documented in quite a few places[0]. [0] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/kane2/ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/kane2/

iiiggglll 11y ago
It is true that the common wisdom says Hearst destroyed Welles' career as revenge for Citizen Kane, but I'm not sure it's that cut and dried. For example, Robert Wise (who worked with him in his early career and eventually went on to surpass him in terms of success and output) disagreed with the idea that Welles was held back: "Not true there was a cabal preventing Orson from making more films. He simply never fulfilled himself after that magnificent start; his own fault - lack of self-discipline."[1] See also this comment[2] right here in this HN story which goes into some more detail about Welles' chronic string of failed projects. While Hearst may have done some damage, I think ultimately it was possible to Welles to recover, but he unfortunately spiraled down the drain instead. [1] http://imdb.com/name/nm0936404/bio [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9503266
- myth_buster 11y ago
  This is an interesting perspective, thanks for sharing. I'm not sure I would take Wise's word on it but anyways this gives me an intriguing angle to dig deeper.

UmDieWelt 11y ago

How many of the greatest films of all time was he supposed to make to be considered a genius? Also, he was pretty accomplished in radio and theatre in addition to film.

sroerick 11y ago

The Trial is perhaps a better film than Kane.

sroerick 11y ago

The Trial is perhaps a better film than Kane.

marincounty 11y ago

The Stranger was pretty good. For what he had to work with--he was brilliant.

tujv 11y ago

Othello is a masterpiece.

Ollinson 11y ago

he was also a great actor in the third man