Not so very long ago I had a co-worker who described himself as a movie geek, film fan, cinema addict, what have you. He talked about film as if he knew all about it. I asked him one day what he thought of Orson Welles. His reply?
“I don’t think about Orson Welles, he was old and fat, now he’s dead, what am I supposed to think about him?”
Needless to say I never really talked to this person again, who shall remain nameless. Of course the fact that he was an egocentric, arrogant, narcissistic weasel didn’t help matters. (He claimed to have a small part in Tombstone, I have seen that movie several times, never spotted him, by the way…)
I simply cannot fathom the arrogance of someone dismissing, so casually one of the greatest film makers who ever lived. I have been fascinated, obsessed even,...
“I don’t think about Orson Welles, he was old and fat, now he’s dead, what am I supposed to think about him?”
Needless to say I never really talked to this person again, who shall remain nameless. Of course the fact that he was an egocentric, arrogant, narcissistic weasel didn’t help matters. (He claimed to have a small part in Tombstone, I have seen that movie several times, never spotted him, by the way…)
I simply cannot fathom the arrogance of someone dismissing, so casually one of the greatest film makers who ever lived. I have been fascinated, obsessed even,...
- 1/7/2016
- by Sam Moffitt
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
★★★☆☆ At the age of 25, Orson Welles produced, wrote, directed and starred in Citizen Kane (1941), a film widely considered to be one of the greatest ever made. In many ways, this proved to be the peak of his career. To celebrate Welles' centenary, Chuck Workman's Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles (2015) gives us a cradle-to-grave biopic of the filmmaker and raconteur. It starts with his precocious childhood in Woodstock, Illinois. Welles adored his mother, whose view was that "a child had to do something extraordinary… or you were exiled to the nursery." She died when he was nine, but he kept her lessons and never failed to entertain.
- 7/3/2015
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
All American High Revisited | Still The Water | The First Film | Comet | Housebound | Magician: The Astonishing Life And Work Of Orson Welles
We all know how Amy Winehouse’s story goes, and this documentary puts you right in it, through a combination of key-witness oral history and rigorously sourced archive images – the same technique Kapadia deployed with Senna. Perhaps as a result of this reliance on existing material, the film dwells far longer on the fall than the rise. Viewers get a sense of Winehouse’s promise and personality during the early years, but are then uncomfortably aligned with the paparazzi in spectating her tragic, protracted demise.
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We all know how Amy Winehouse’s story goes, and this documentary puts you right in it, through a combination of key-witness oral history and rigorously sourced archive images – the same technique Kapadia deployed with Senna. Perhaps as a result of this reliance on existing material, the film dwells far longer on the fall than the rise. Viewers get a sense of Winehouse’s promise and personality during the early years, but are then uncomfortably aligned with the paparazzi in spectating her tragic, protracted demise.
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- 7/3/2015
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Read More: Watch: Steven Spielberg Admires a Master in Exclusive 'Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles' Clip Whether collaborating on projects in front of the camera ("Saving Private Ryan," "Catch Me If You Can") or behind it as producers ("Band of Brothers," "The Pacific"), Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks have one of the most successful and award-winning partnerships in Hollywood. Reuniting on the big screen for the first time since "The Terminal" in 2004, the pair tackle the mysterious intricacies of the Cold War in the new drama, "Bridge of Spies." Written by Matt Charman and the Coen Brothers, "Spies" is a dramatic wartime thriller that tells the story of James Donovan (Hanks), a Brooklyn lawyer who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on the near-impossible task to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot.
- 6/5/2015
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
[Editor's Note: This post is presented in partnership with Time Warner Cable Movies On Demand in support of Indie Film Month. Today's pick, "Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles," is available now On Demand. Need help finding a movie to watch? Let TWC find the best fit for your mood here.] "Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles" looks at the remarkable genius of Orson Welles on the eve of his centenary - the enigma of his career as a Hollywood star, a Hollywood director and a crucially important independent filmmaker. This exclusive clip from Chuck Workman's documentary includes just one of the many interviews in the film surrounding Orson Welles and his brilliance. In it, Steven Spielberg admires the ambitiousness of Welles' filmmaking, particularly in his masterpiece "Citizen Kane." Check out the clip to catch a glimpse of how one cinematic master inspired another. [Indiewire has partnered...
- 5/28/2015
- by Sarah Choi
- Indiewire
A two-month season at the BFI Southbank during July and August, aptly titled "Orson Welles: The Great Disruptor," will feature a wide-ranging selection of Welles’ output in both film and television. The season will be accompanied by a UK-wide theatrical re-release of "Touch of Evil," the theatrical release of Chuck Workman’s 2014 documentary "Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles," and a DVD and limited edition Blu-ray release of the TV series "Around the World With Orson Welles." Watch: Trailer for Orson Welles Doc 'Magician' Geoff Andrew, the BFI’s senior film programmer and a co-curator of the season, commented this morning that “Welles is one of those filmmakers who undoubtedly deserved that much over-used word, ‘genius’. He was a great innovator and a great artist, who repeatedly produced films that were rich, resonant and profound.” The BFI’s selection process was to some extent dictated by the.
- 5/6/2015
- by Demetrios Matheou
- Thompson on Hollywood
Sony Classics’ Mr. Turner had a near masterpiece of a theatrical debut in limited release, creating director Mike Leigh‘s highest per-theater average for any of his titles opening on multiple screens. But holdovers Inherent Vice from Warner Bros and TWC’s The Imitation Game took the highest and second-highest averages this weekend, while Whiplash, Citizenfour and Force Majeure all passed notable milestones in their on-screen runs.
Mr. Turner, starring Timothy Spall, grossed $108,638 for a $21,728 average in five theaters.
“This is the perfect alternative to the big Hollywood blockbuster,” said Spc co-president Michael Barker. “This movie is really going to cross over. The reason we wanted to become involved with this film years ago is that Turner is the first modern painter. He bridged the gap between the classical and the modern, and his fans range in all ages. Young people are also very interested in seeing this film.”
The...
Mr. Turner, starring Timothy Spall, grossed $108,638 for a $21,728 average in five theaters.
“This is the perfect alternative to the big Hollywood blockbuster,” said Spc co-president Michael Barker. “This movie is really going to cross over. The reason we wanted to become involved with this film years ago is that Turner is the first modern painter. He bridged the gap between the classical and the modern, and his fans range in all ages. Young people are also very interested in seeing this film.”
The...
- 12/21/2014
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline
Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice debuted amid much anticipation and easily grossed the weekend’s highest per-theater averages among all limited-release titles. But that didn’t mean it could match the stratospheric numbers of The Imitation Game, Birdman or The Grand Budapest Hotel, which had the year’s biggest opening weekends.
In fact, Vice didn’t even match the PTAs of P.T.A.’s previous three films, though word of mouth may give it a great high before its theatrical run is done. Among returning films, Wild covered a lot more ground in a sizable expansion that paid off with solid box office results, as did The Imitation Game, which continues to expand and thrive. And Birdman has soared past $20M in its 9th weekend, goosed by strong showings in several year-end critics polls.
Warner Bros. opened Vice in five New York and Los Angeles theaters Friday, grossing $330K.
In fact, Vice didn’t even match the PTAs of P.T.A.’s previous three films, though word of mouth may give it a great high before its theatrical run is done. Among returning films, Wild covered a lot more ground in a sizable expansion that paid off with solid box office results, as did The Imitation Game, which continues to expand and thrive. And Birdman has soared past $20M in its 9th weekend, goosed by strong showings in several year-end critics polls.
Warner Bros. opened Vice in five New York and Los Angeles theaters Friday, grossing $330K.
- 12/14/2014
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline
Paul Thomas Anderson’s legion of fans will get their chance to see the filmmaker’s latest Inherent Vice – at least those in New York and L.A. after a long build-up of anticipation. Studio Warner Bros. is handling the director’s latest, set in a drug-laced L.A. in the 1970s. Barring some unforeseen cataclysm, the feature is easily going to be this week’s b.o. superstar and likely one of the year’s biggest per screen debuts. How it will fare against other fall b.o. knock-outs like Searchlight’s Birdman or TWC’s The Imitation Game remains to be seen. A slew of Specialty openers will coincide with the Inherent Vice juggernaut. A24 will open Oscar-nominated filmmaker Atom Egoyan’s The Captive day and date after an early fall bow in the director’s native Canada. Sundance Selects will expose Free The Nipple in New York...
- 12/12/2014
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline
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