Orson Welles

Starring:Orson Welles
Studio: Delta
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Description
Includes:
The Stranger
On Film
The Trial

Amazon.com essential video

Arguably the greatest of American films, Orson Welles's 1941 masterpiece, made when he was only 26, still unfurls like a dream and carries the viewer along the mysterious currents of time and memory to reach a mature (if ambiguous) conclusion: people are the sum of their contradictions, and can't be known easily. Welles plays newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane, taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. The result is that every well-meaning or tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event. Written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz, and photographed by Gregg Toland, the film is the sum of Welles's awesome ambitions as an artist in Hollywood. He pushes the limits of then-available technology to create a true magic show, a visual and aural feast that almost seems to be rising up from a viewer's subconsciousness. As Kane, Welles even ushers in the influence of Bertolt Brecht on film acting. This is truly a one-of-a-kind work, and in many ways is still the most modern of modern films from the 20th century. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Citizen Kane.......2007-06-21

Perhaps the greatest debut in movie history, "Citizen Kane" remains one of the most influential American films of all time, thanks to the genius of Welles, who constructed this brilliant, elaborate puzzler at the tender age of 25. See it for Gregg Toland's lovely, pathbreaking deep-focus photography, Herman Mankiewicz's witty dialogue, and Welles's legendary performance as the enigmatic Kane. The film also marked the auspicious debut of several actors, including Cotten, Everett Sloane, Ruth Warrick, and Agnes Moorehead, superb as the mother who abandoned the future newspaper magnate as a boy. A peeved Hearst tried to block the film and nearly ruined Welles' career in the offing, but thankfully, art prevailed. "Citizen Kane" is a must-see.

no film snob here, but neither do I care for Star Wars.......2007-06-21

Am I the only one? I don't care about Kane, his life, or his sled. Get it? The character did not interest me. Period.

You want to call this "the greatest film ever made?" Go right ahead. Only it means zip to this viewer. I can think of a few other films that worked way better (for me.)

The best thing about this much hyped film..........2007-06-21

The best thing about this much hyped film is the "Kids in the Hall" skit it inspired...

You don't tneed hese reviews to tell you what to think.......2007-06-14

You don't need these reviews to tell you what to think.

Watch this movie and see for yourself -- not whether you think "it was the greatest movie of all time" whatever that means -- but rather whether you connected with Kane, a man with a life in search of meaning.

Born anonymous Kane's life was dramatically altered when his mother found herself in possession of great fortune. How would the existence of this fortune affect Kane? Would, could money buy him happiness?

Or was happiness something more elusive?

On the one hand this story is sort of the ultimate counter factual for all of us: that if given the money, our lives would not have any more meaning than they otherwise would have. On this hand Kane is like George Bailey from "It's a Wonderful Life" and we all come away realizing that money can't buy happiness and that all was, at the end of the day, for the best.

On the other hand, this story is the ultimate lie: Of course money can't buy happiness but it can secure possession of condos and cars and things and with it the kind of experiences that all too often accompany happiness. In this view, Kane's problem isn't the human condition but simply his lack of imagination.

What ever your views you certainly have a couple hours to sit and view this movie.

Yes, there are the officiandos who know the identity of the camera guy or how many hours it took Welles to prepare for filming or what they served each day for breakfast but those things don't make a film enjoyable.

Watch it for yourself and just see if you connect.

That's what matters.

A TRUE WORK OF FILM ART!.......2007-06-05

When wealthy media magnate Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) dies, he utters the enigmatic word "Rosebud". An obituary newsreel documents the events in his public life. The producer of the newsreel asks a reporter, Thompson (William Alland), to find out about Kane's private life and personality, in particular to discover the meaning behind his last word. The reporter interviews the great man's friends and associates, and Kane's story unfolds as a series of flashbacks.

First, Thompson approaches Kane's second wife, Susan Alexander (Dorothy Comingore), who refuses to tell him anything. Thompson then goes to the library of Mr. Thatcher (George Coulouris). It is there that Thompson learns about Kane's childhood. In the first flashback, Kane as a young child is abandoned by his mother (Agnes Moorehead) when he becomes suddenly wealthy, and sent to live with his banker, Mr Thatcher, despite the misgivings of Kane's father.

Other flashbacks show Kane's entry into the newspaper business and his profit-seeking with low-quality "yellow journalism". He takes control of the newspaper and hires all the best journalists (which he gets from the Inquirer's rival, The Chronicle). His attempted rise to power is documented, including his first marriage to a President's niece and his campaign for the office of governor. A "love nest" scandal ends both his marriage and his political aspirations. Kane remarries, but his domineering personality destroys his relationships and pushes away his loved ones.

Despite Thompson's numerous interviews with the people in Kane's life, he is unable to solve the mystery; he concludes that "Rosebud" will remain an enigma. However, the camera pans over workers burning some of Kane's many possessions. One throws an old sled, with the word "Rosebud" painted on it, into the fire, the same sled that Kane was riding as a child the day his mother sent him away. There is a shot of a chimney with black smoke coming out. After this twist ending, the film ends as it began, with the "No Trespassing" sign. The closing shot shows the "K" on top of the iron fence.

Susan with a symbolic jigsaw puzzleCitizen Kane has inspired myriad interpretations over the decades. In Orson Welles: Hello Americans, Simon Callow argued that Citizen Kane should not just be understood as a fictional work but also as a post-fictional piece: a piece where the audience is drawn in to view themselves in the process of watching the film. In a 1941 review, Jorge Luis Borges called Citizen Kane a "metaphysical detective story," in that "... [its] subject (both psychological and allegorical) is the investigation of a man's inner self, through the works he has wrought, the words he has spoken, the many lives he has ruined..." Borges noted that "Overwhelmingly, endlessly, Orson Welles shows fragments of the life of the man, Charles Foster Kane, and invites us to combine them and reconstruct him." As well, "Forms of multiplicity and incongruity abound in the film: the first scenes record the treasures amassed by Kane; in one of the last, a poor woman, luxuriant and suffering, plays with an enormous jigsaw puzzle on the floor of a palace that is also a museum." Borges points out that "... At the end we realize that the fragments are not governed by a secret unity: the detested Charles Foster Kane is a simulacrum, a chaos of appearances."

The film combines revolutionary cinematography (by Gregg Toland, with whom Welles shared a title card, which was a gesture of Welles' appreciation for Toland's overall contribution to the film, much like John Ford previously shared credit with Toland for The Long Voyage Home) with an Oscar-winning screenplay (by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz -- though most film history circles consider Mankiewicz's contribution to the screenplay to be far greater than that of Welles), and a lineup of first time film actors, associates of Mr. Welles from his stint at the Mercury Theatre, such as Joseph Cotten and Agnes Moorehead.This a true work of film art and many have tried to unsuccessfully emulate the camera angles and the methodology of the angles and pathos.

Noel Serrano
Gala Foundation

Average customer rating:

A Classic
What Happened to Product Discription?
A Man for All Seasons
Amazing!
Still one of the greatest!

A Man for All Seasons (Special Edition)
Starring: Paul Scofield , Wendy Hiller , Leo McKern , Robert Shaw , and Orson Welles
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
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ASIN: B000LPR6GA
Release Date: 2007-02-20

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Robert Bolt's successful play was not considered a hot commercial property by Columbia Pictures--a period piece about a moral issue without a star, without even a love story. Perhaps that's why Columbia left director Fred Zinnemann alone to make A Man for All Seasons, as long as he stuck to a relatively small budget. The results took everyone by surprise, as the talky morality play became a box-office hit and collected the top Oscars for 1966. At the play's heart is the standoff between King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw, in young lion form) and Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield, in an Oscar-winning performance). Henry wants More's official approval of divorce, but More's strict ethical and religious code will not let him waffle. More's rectitude is a source of exasperation to Cardinal Wolsey (Orson Welles in a cameo), who chides, "If you could just see facts flat on without that horrible moral squint." Zinnemann's approach is all simplicity, and indeed the somewhat prosaic staging doesn't create a great deal of cinematic excitement. But the language is worth savoring, and the ethical politics are debated with all the calm and majesty of an absorbing chess game. --Robert Horton

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Stills from A Man for All Seasons (click for larger image)

Beyond A Man for All Seasons at Amazon.com

More Films By Fred Zinnemann
More Biographies on Film
Utopia by Thomas More

Product Description

In 16th-century England, the corrupt King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw) betrays the Roman Catholic Church to divorce his wife and marry his latest conquest Anne Boleyn (Vanessa Redgrave). Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield) is then forced to choose between his principles and duty to his heretical king, who has begun executing the treasonous with increasing frequency. The historically profound battle of ideals also involves Cardinal Wolsey (Orson Welles), Thomas Cromwell (Leo McKern), and More's valiant wife (Wendy Hiller).

Customer Reviews:

A Classic.......2007-07-03

With all the junk movies out on the store shelves, I am always relieved and happy to see a classic film re-released on DVD. This is a superb film by any standard! Do yourself a favor and buy it.

What Happened to Product Discription?.......2007-07-02

Could someone who has actually bought, or at least seen this DVD, please explain WHY this is a "SPECIAL EDITION"? I have the first release of "A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS" on DVD, and was wondering what extra's THIS edition has and if it is worth re-buying. Or is there a "PLATINUM" or "COLLECTORS" or "KING HENRY THE 8TH Edition" coming soon? Thanks.

A Man for All Seasons.......2007-06-27

An outstanding adaptation of Robert Bolt's play by "High Noon" director Fred Zinnemann, "Seasons" revisits the ill-fated conflict between Henry VIII and More, building upon the film's central ethical issue: Whether the principled More will sacrifice his life in defense of moral truth. Scofield, in his very first role, won an Oscar for his shaded portrayal of More, Shaw is magnificent playing a fiery young Henry, and cameos by Orson Welles, Susannah York, and Leo McKern round out a sterling cast. A box-office smash in 1966, "Seasons" will resonate with anyone who's ever had a crisis of conscience.

Amazing!.......2007-06-17

If you want to see great acting, SEE THIS!

Still one of the greatest!.......2007-06-11

When I first saw the movie in 1967, I was riveted by the clear, crystalline dialogue of Robert Bolt, uttered with passion and precision by Paul Scofield. The clarity of thought, the elevation of principals above self is awe-inspiring. I rushed out to buy a copy of the script of the play to read the wonderful dialogue, full of bon mots and great ideas. Some of the lines have found a place on the wall of my office.

Whether one characterizes Thomas Moore as a saint, a statesman of unbending principals, or both, his strength of character, intellect, humanity and general goodness shine through with the brightness of a laser.

Average customer rating:

La la la loved this movie
Gothic Romance at It's Best
Now that's a lady!
Romance for the Soul
Best Jane Eyre film version

Jane Eyre
Starring: Orson Welles , and Joan Fontaine
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
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Anna Karenina (1948)
Becket

ASIN: B000MGBLHS
Release Date: 2007-04-24

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Made two years after Citizen Kane, this 1943 version of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre sure looks like star Orson Welles muscled his way behind the camera much of the time. (In fact, costar Joan Fontaine--who plays the title character--has maintained that Welles methodically did just that every day on the set.) Not that the film's official director was a hack: Robert Stevenson, who later had a busy career at Disney making numerous live-action hits for the studio, such as Mary Poppins, gets the credit. But there's no mistaking Welles's masterful hand in the film's bold and creative look, and there's no getting away from his enigmatic charisma as Rochester, the widower who takes in Jane as a governess to his daughter. An engrossing, gorgeous film, there's even a small role for Elizabeth Taylor at the beginning as Jane's unlucky, doomed friend at a cruel boarding school. --Tom Keogh

Description

Jane Eyre secures a job as governess to the child (Margaret O'Brien) of the troubled Edward Rochester, sire of Thornfield, a mysterious English manor. When she hears strange cries and noises from a distant wing, her inquiries are rebuffed. As time goes on, Jane and her master fall in love and decide to marry. But their halted when a visitor suddenly reveals the shocking secret that Rochester has kept for years.

Customer Reviews:

La la la loved this movie.......2007-07-04

I am a big orson welles fan and i absolutely love this movie. i could watch it all day everyday and i pretty much have.

Gothic Romance at It's Best.......2007-06-13

I love this version of Jane Eyre. Orsen Wells with his deep, husky voice is great as Rochester. The mousy Jane. They are wonderful together. This is a must have classic to add to your collection.

Now that's a lady!.......2007-06-13

Where have the Joan Fontaine's of the world gone? That gentle and queit character; unassumming, demure, beautiful but nonetheless powerful. I honestly can't recall any other movie that made me feel myself the love that was growing between two other people.

Romance for the Soul.......2007-06-12

Jane Eyre is timeless and I now own every version made. The Orson Welles is so classical and how could anyone resist the chemistry between Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine!!

Best Jane Eyre film version.......2007-06-08

Really enjoyed the movie, love the book. It's Orson Welles so what can you say?Great film.

Tyrone Power: The Swashbuckler Box Set (Blood and Sand / Son of Fury / The Black Rose / Prince of Foxes / The Captain from Castile)

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a forgotten star shines again!
Tyrone Power the movie star shines here. For Tyrone Power the actor, see Nightmare Alley
Tyrone Powerr: The Swashbuckler box Set
Best Buy Around
tyrone power

Tyrone Power: The Swashbuckler Box Set (Blood and Sand / Son of Fury / The Black Rose / Prince of Foxes / The Captain from Castile)
Starring: Tyrone Power , Rita Hayworth , Linda Darnell , Orson Welles , and Gene Tierney
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
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ASIN: B000ND91WW
Release Date: 2007-05-01

Description

Disc 1: Captain from Castile Disc 2: Black Rose Disc 3: Blood and Sand Disc 4: Prince of Foxes Disc 5: Son of Fury

Customer Reviews:

a forgotten star shines again!.......2007-06-26

Although Tyrone Power is probably a forgotten star to many, this collection of some of his most exciting adventure films reminds those who remember him, or those who are at least familiar with some of his work, what star power once meant during the "Golden Age of Hollywood". Each of the films are my personal favorites, and the DVDs in the collection contain some interesting extras such as interviews with Power's surviving family members and former co-stars, as well as audio commentaries film historians, film composers, and other film professionals. Each DVD also contains separate audio track of each film's original soundtrack. The "Blood and Sand" DVD transfer uses a recently restored print that brings to life the film's original "old fashioned" bold and vivid Technicolor. All in all, this collection is definitely worth owning whether you're a fan or just interested in a star whose name rarely heard anymore.

Tyrone Power the movie star shines here. For Tyrone Power the actor, see Nightmare Alley.......2007-06-13

Tyrone Power was too earnest and straight forward to be a great actor, but he had what it takes to be a great movie star. The earnestness of his acting made him likable, even in those rare occasions when he played a heel. He was startlingly handsome as a young man. Even as his looks matured after WWII, he maintained his status as a romantic leading man up to his death of a heart attack when he was 49. As a heel, a hero or as a period swashbuckler, Power had that undefinable quality that made people want to buy tickets to his movies. These five swashbucklers, as variable in quality and corniness as they are, give a fine picture of Tyrone Power, movie star. He had to fight to be taken seriously as an actor, so I hope everyone who buys this set will also take a look at Power in Nightmare Alley (1947). The characters he plays in this set -- Juan Gallardo, Benjamin Blake, Pedro de Vargas, Andrea Orsini, Walter of Gurnie -- you'll probably forget. You'll remember Power as Stanton Carlisle.

Blood and Sand (1941) -- Blood and Sand is not a swashbuckler, but an allegory of a man's pride, lust and ambition, played out in the bullring, about a man who is redeemed by the love of a good woman and a death ennobled by regret. In other words, the movie is a Hollywood weeper. Still, it shows what can be accomplished when professionals take hold of a teary melodrama and give it color, sleekness, sex and, at 27, an extraordinarily handsome leading man in Tyrone Power. Rita Hayworth, as the femme fatale, is almost as pretty.

Son of Fury (1942) -- If Son of Fury were the title of a paperback novel, we'd expect a bodice-ripping, heavy-breathing Regency romance. What we have is a highly professional Darryl F. Zanuck adventure of surprising innocence and charm. Everything about the movie, from the actors to the script to the cinematography, features such a high level of craftsmanship that the few corny moments pass quickly. The story, even with a stolen inheritance, a wicked uncle and a South Seas cutie, is told with such professional attention to naivety that we cheer for Ben, hiss his uncle, and even find the unlikely conclusion satisfying.

Captain from Castile (1947) - If Captain from Castile is remembered much today it probably is because of one of the most rousing marches a Hollywood composer ever wrote. The "Conquest" theme is heard only three times, and the first two are brief but effective scene setters. We have to wait until the movie is almost over and Hernan Cortez is setting out on his march to the Aztec capital of Tenochititlan for the full treatment. The music, by Alfred Newman, embraces the moment, with hundreds of soldiers, the priests, the natives, the hangers-on spreading out before us, the horizon lightening and a single volcano smoking in the distance. The theme is inspiring, martial, emotional, uplifting and memorable. It's enough to make most movie goers want to sign up and most historians queasy. After all, in less than a generation a civilization of between 2 million and 6 million people was obliterated.

Prince of Foxes (1949) -- If passionate love, convivial betrayals and loyalty one can change as quickly as one's shirt intrigues you, you'll most likely enjoy Prince of Foxes. If nothing else, you'll learn a great party trick that involves two eyeballs and two thumbs. Prince of Foxes, in my view, is one of the best of the Tyrone Power adventure films. It stands out in part because we find ourselves operating in the lusty, double-dealing world of Cesare Borgia. And while Orson Welles, who plays Borgia, can't resist slicing the ham with gusto, it must be admitted that he brings a lot of joie de vivre to villainy.

The Black Rose (1950) -- And what's a black rose? We're told it is the name given to the clove, the most precious of spices. In this case, the clove is Maryam, played by Cecile Aubry. She was a small French actress who looks no older than 14. She has a small mouth which is filled with tiny teeth and a plump tongue, and she occasionally jumps about to express enthusiasm. If Vera-Ellen and Charlie McCarthy had ever had a child, it would look a lot like Cecile Aubry. The movie, The Black Rose, is no stinker, but the one insuperable drawback is its disjointed nature. We move from Norman England 200 years after William the Conqueror, to the middle-east and then on to a Mongol army moving and battling its way toward China, then to the imperial court of China itself, and finally back to England. It seems to me to be one of Power's weakest romantic-adventure films.

Tyrone Powerr: The Swashbuckler box Set.......2007-06-08

These Swashbuckler films show Tyrone Power at his best.

Best Buy Around.......2007-06-08

As a classic movie fan, I cannot rate this collection highly enough. It's chock full of some of the finest actors of Hollywoods golden age. Cheap at twice the price.

tyrone power.......2007-05-29

The set was everything I expected it would be,,,the same tyrone Power from what I remember years ago.
The quality of the films are excellent.
Everybody should have this collection!!

Touch of Evil (Restored to Orson Welles' Vision)

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Touch of Evil
Orson Wells
Touch of a master.
Touch of Evil
WIDESCREEN DEBATE

Touch of Evil (Restored to Orson Welles' Vision)
Starring: Joe Basulto , Joseph Calleia , Ray Collins , Marlene Dietrich , and Zsa Zsa Gabor
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
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ASIN: 6305999872
Release Date: 2000-10-31

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Considered by many to be the greatest B movie ever made, the original-release version of Orson Welles's film noir masterpiece Touch of Evil was, ironically, never intended as a B movie at all--it merely suffered that fate after it was taken away from writer-director Welles, then reedited and released in 1958 as the second half of a double feature. Time and critical acclaim would eventually elevate the film to classic status (and Welles's original vision was meticulously followed for the film's 1998 restoration), but for four decades this original version stood as a testament to Welles's directorial genius. From its astonishing, miraculously choreographed opening shot (lasting over three minutes) to Marlene Dietrich's classic final line of dialogue, this sordid tale of murder and police corruption is like a valentine for the cinematic medium, with Welles as its love-struck suitor. As the corpulent cop who may be involved in a border-town murder, Welles faces opposition from a narcotics officer (Charlton Heston) whose wife (Janet Leigh) is abducted and held as the pawn in a struggle between Heston's quest for truth and Welles's control of carefully hidden secrets. The twisting plot is wildly entertaining (even though it's harder to follow in this original version), but even greater pleasure is found in the pulpy dialogue and the sheer exuberance of the dazzling directorial style. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Touch of Evil.......2007-06-27

The director's original version is restored for this DVD, to powerful effect. Welles creates a desolate night-time world in the dirty town of Los Robles, a forgotten speck on the map where everyone seems to carry a nasty secret. Lurid, almost surreal atmosphere is complemented by uniformly first-rate performances, with Heston and Leigh never better, Welles himself a bloated symbol of moral decay, and Akim Tamiroff memorably slimy as a local crime boss. Don't miss Marlene Dietrich playing a gypsy- as you might guess, she gets the final word. A cult movie with a capital "C".

Orson Wells.......2007-03-19

well worth seeing. A Wells classic, that just has not aged

Touch of a master........2007-02-28

Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)

The American Experience documentary The Battle Over Citizen Kane concludes with the observation that after the scandal that erupted over Kane, Orson Welles "never worked on another major Hollywood production." Which is pretty amazing, when you consider how many of Welles' post-Kane movies are acknowledged as classics nowadays. After Kane, Welles plunged himself deep into the world of noir (one wonders what Jung would have to say about that) and continued cranking out fantastic movies. Seventeen years later, Welles made his second-best movie-- Touch of Evil, the very epitome of the things that make noir great.

Mike Vargas (Charlton Heston) is a Mexican (yeah, yeah, but suspend your disbelief) narcotics officer who's just gotten married to Susan (Janet Leigh), a Philadelphia socialite. On the eve of their honeymoon, someone plants a bomb in the car of a rich American on the Mexican side of the border, and the bomb explodes on the American side. This brings Vargas into contact with Hank Quinlan (Welles), a corrupt, racist American detective who tries to railroad Manelo Sanchez (Victor Millan, last seen in Scarface), the victim's daughter's boyfriend, by planting evidence at the crime scene. Vargas, meanwhile, is also being pursued by Joe Grandi (Justine's Akim Tamiroff), a crime boss whose brother Vargas arrested. All the threads eventually come together in the most entertaining of ways; the movie's climactic scene has been copied (and parodied) so many times that by now it's a cliché. But remember that it wasn't in 1958; this is as good as it gets.

Orson Welles' directorial prowess was as legendary as his excesses. Rent a Welles movie at random, and you're pretty much guaranteed a good time. Some of his movies, though, deliver more universally than others; Citizen Kane seems to be the favorite of most folks. Mine has always been The Stranger. But Touch of Evil stands with both. This is great stuff, an absolute must for film fans. **** ½

Touch of Evil.......2007-02-27

"Touch of Evil" is the movie that ended Orson Welles' reign in Hollywood, a huge failure at the time of its release. Now, it's considered his 2nd best film (hopefully I don't need to tell you what #1 is). "Touch of Evil" is a slice of film-noir, written and directed by Welles', set in Los Robles, a Mexican-American border town. As the movie opens (in one of the best shots I've ever seen) with an unbroken shot lasting three minutes and twenty seconds, a bomb is placed in a car. The camera follows the car, but stops as we're introduced to a newlywed couple: Mike Vargas (Charlton Heston), a Mexican narcotics official and his wife Susan (Janet Leigh). As they're going through a border checkpoint, the car drives past them and then we hear an off-screen explosion. As the police descend upon the scene like vultures, the tension slowly builds as we wait for Captain Hank Quinlan (Welles). The Welles' we finally see is quite different from the Welles' that once played Charles Foster Kane. The new Welles' is a fat, sweaty man who seems to be standing above the camera in almost every shot he's in. Quinlan comes in and states that the explosion was caused by dynamite, he cites "intuition" as his proof. As Vargas gets involved with the investigation, much to the dismay of Quinlan, Susan is set up at a secluded motel. Meanwhile, a local crime boss named "Uncle Joe" Grandi (Akim Tamiroff) is trying to harm Susan because Vargas is testifying against his brother and harming Vargas directly will get his brother convicted. Meanwhile, we watch as Quinlan investigates the explosion and realize that he has his own agenda. He's a dirty cop, distraught over the unsolved murder of his wife, who has no problem planting evidence to get someone arrested. One of the best scenes in the movie (which seems to reflect a passage from Welles' own life) is when Quinlan, drunk, goes to see a fortune-telling madam (Marlene Dietrich). The scene reads as follows:
Welles-Come on, read my future for me.
Dietrich-You haven't got any.
Welles-Uhh...What do you mean?
Dietrich-Your future is all used up.
"Touch of Evil" is a film that embodies what film-noir is supposed to be. Dark cinematography and low camera angles and there's a lot of that. This DVD is a terrific edition. The story behind the making of "Touch of Evil" is almost as well known as the film itself. After the studio drastically re-edited the film, Welles' wrote a pleading 58-page memo to the studio. Now, all these years later, we see the version that Welles' wanted. The cinematography of this film is an absolute gem. There are a lot of legendary and very well done shots that should rank up there with the best Gregg Toland shots in "Citizen Kane." Touch of Evil is a terrific, underrated film by "The Boy Genius."
GRADE: A-

WIDESCREEN DEBATE.......2007-01-25

I have read reviews on this site suggesting that this dvd release cropped the top and bottom of the original aspect ratio. I have seen the late '90s release of Touch Of Evil in the theater. I remember the top and bottom of the Universal globe was (slightly) chopped off of this theatrical release and looks just like the aspet ratio of this dvd release. I believe this dvd portrays the aspect ratio accurately. Besides, I have never heard of movies in the late 1950's released in the theaters having a "square" or "television" type of aspect ratio like most movies released in the 30's and 40's.

Average customer rating:

"Summertime, and the livin' is easy" Or The Long, Hot Summer with Young Hot Paul Newman
The Long Hot Summer
You can't miss with this one .
Newman and Woodward - what else can you ask for?
Funny and Sexy

The Long, Hot Summer
Starring: Paul Newman , Joanne Woodward , Anthony Franciosa , Orson Welles , and Lee Remick
Director: Martin Ritt
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
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ASIN: B00008MTW2
Release Date: 2003-05-20

Amazon.com

Paul Newman has his glorious youthful swagger in this southern-fried melodrama, which marked his first picture with Joanne Woodward (they married after shooting ended). The script is a melange of William Faulkner stories, although it appears more under the influence of Tennessee Williams and Picnic than the Nobel Prize winner. Drifter Newman catches the eye of schoolmarm Woodward and her father, a rural Mississippi bigshot (Orson Welles). This is not one of Welles's better moments; he appears to be conducting make-up experiments. There is some enjoyable flapdoodle along the way, in the Freud-meets-Gone with the Wind manner of '50s southern cooking, but the ending is embarrassingly compromised. The same production team would leave out the box-office concessions a few years later on Hud. A studly Newman justifies this description of his character: "I wish I was Ben Quick. He's got the whole state of Mississippi to graze on." --Robert Horton

Description

Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Orson Welles, Anthony Franciosa, Lee Remick and Angela Lansbury co-star in this riveting tale of life in the Deep South. Provocative and compelling, it simmers with sexual tension, bawdy humor and a powerful clash of personalities. When Ben Quick (Newman), a suspected barnburner drifts into town, he catches the eye of Will Varner, a tyrannical, intimidating patriarch (Welles) who decides Quick is the ideal husband for his spinsterish daughter (Woodward). But once the loner moves in, the two men lock horns, drawing Varner's family into a complex web of emotions and actions that leaves all of them changed forever.

Customer Reviews:

"Summertime, and the livin' is easy" Or The Long, Hot Summer with Young Hot Paul Newman.......2007-05-25

It was the time when they called him a young new star and it was his breakthrough to stardom, fame, and success. The moment Paul Newman's Ben Quick, rebellious and irresistible drifter enters a rural Mississippi town of Frenchman's Bend to stir up its women, puzzle its men and to catch the interest of Big Daddy Varner (Orson Welles, the ferocious force of nature seemed to have fun playing Will Varner and experimenting with make-up) the town richest and most powerful redneck who perhaps sees in Ben a lot of himself, the screen legend was born.

"The Long, Hot Summer" (1958) is based on five short stories and a novel by one of the America's greatest novelists and storytellers, the expert of Southern life, William Faulkner, and the film is a steamy, moving, often funny (perhaps, unintentionally) tale of lust, greed, jealousy, and larger than life personalities and their clashes. I guess I need to read more Faulkner's stories because I was surprised to see the film that is based on the works of the writer known for his heavy use of such sophisticated literary techniques as symbolism, allegory, and especially stream of consciousness, the film which linear narrative is easy to follow from the third person point-of-view.

Besides Paul Newman who was as talented as he was hot, his off- screen wife-to-be Joanna Woodward shines as Clara Varner, Will's intelligent, thinking daughter, the teacher in a local school whom her father wants to see married (and not just wants but takes certain steps that Clara does not like and feels offended by). The film was the first of many Newman's and Woodward's collaboration and it is not easy to recall the greater chemistry between two leads. Orson Welles dominates the screen in his every scene as expected. 21-years-old Lee Remick (Eula, Varner's daughter-in-law, sexy and innocent woman-child), Anthony Franciosa (Jody, Varner's overlooked and jealous son), and Angela Lansbury (Minnie, the woman who has her own plans about future that include a widower Varner in them) all add to the sizzling fun that "The Long Hot Summer" is.

The Long Hot Summer.......2007-05-14

The original version with Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Orson Wells is one exceptional movie. Made in 1955-57 it is still just as rewarding to watch as it was then. A great love story and a dysfunction family that actually does have alot of love for each other. I can watch it over and over. Glad to see it in DVD format.

You can't miss with this one ........2007-03-19

This is an excellent movie . Brought me back to a time when I was young and reckless . You certainly did a marvelous job putting it on a DVD .

Thanks to the people who made it happen and Amazon for their professionalism .

Newman and Woodward - what else can you ask for?.......2007-03-09

TERRIFIC movie - Newman and Woodward sizzled. My husband and I watch this and we both think it's one of the best romantic yet gritty movies ever made. Each character/actor is a gem and the story is timeless. The only one I might like more is Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor. Same genre - great performances, great scripts, family realities.

Funny and Sexy.......2007-01-20

Great movie with witty dialogue and wonderful performances. Having read quite a bit of Faulkner in my college days, the script seems to have combined the first in the Snopes Trilogy - "The Hamlet" - with some Faulkner short stories. The script is good, but I don't recall Faulkner being much for happy endings.

Average customer rating:

Moby Dick my review
Haven't bought it yet...but was excited to see in on DVD
A classic movie - all kids should see
Moby Dick
Huston + Melville

Moby Dick
Starring: Gregory Peck , Richard Basehart , Leo Genn , James Robertson Justice , and Harry Andrews
Director: John Huston
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Old Man and the Sea

ASIN: B00005AUKA
Release Date: 2001-06-19

Amazon.com essential video

There are so many things right about this 1956 production of Moby Dick, it's a shame it is remembered for the one (debatable) thing wrong with it. As Captain Ahab, the bearded, one-legged, insanely obsessed whaler, Gregory Peck has often been called miscast. The mild, level-headed Peck had many talents, but the volcanic eruptions of Ahab seemed beyond him--even Peck himself felt he was a bad fit for the part after he finished playing it. (Pauline Kael opined that Peck looked like "a stock-company Lincoln.") Yet Peck's quiet brooding works an intriguing variation on the fiery character. John Huston, a director with a taste for location shooting, had his hands full with the difficult open-water filming in Ireland and the Canary Islands ("The catalogue of misadventures was unbelievable," he later wrote). Since Ahab is chasing the rare white whale, three false whales had to be constructed, two of which were lost at sea. For all the miscues, the film is amazingly controlled, and especially beautiful to look at: Huston and cinematographer Oswald Morris developed an unusual color process meant to suggest old whaling engravings. The director wrote the script with the science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, an inspired choice to adapt Herman Melville's epic novel. Richard Basehart plays the narrator, Ishmael, and Orson Welles provides a wonderful single-scene role as Father Mapple, declaiming the mysteries of the sailor's life in a thundering sermon. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

Moby Dick my review.......2007-06-18

Moby Dick is a great book, The movie version is good. Gregory Peck may not have been right for Captain Ahab,but was good enough to show the revenge maddend whaler as the villan of the film. The cast does a good job, Ishmael and Quequeg were well played. The special effecects were good its easy topull for Moby Dick over Ahab. Moby Dick is great look at not only whaling but obsession, hate, and the grim stuggle whalers faced at sea.

Haven't bought it yet...but was excited to see in on DVD.......2007-03-22

I saw the original in the theater. I must have the DVD. It was great in the theater. When Capt is snagged in the harpoon lines on the side of the whale, the entire theater gasped. It was cinematic history!

The popcorn was better back then too.

A classic movie - all kids should see.......2007-01-09

I've read the book many times, have owned a VHS copy for years and finally decided to breakdown and but a DVD copy.
Got 2 teenage boys and managed to convince them this was worth watching. We watched it together and although compared to the production quality of today's flicks, they were glued to the plasma display.
And talked about for several days after.

Moby Dick.......2006-11-10

One of Gregory Pecks finest roles other then in To kill a Mockingbird.
He was captain Ahab. Great story line, very true to Melvilles novel.
I read Moby Dick in high school and as a college project, now I see even more clearly what melville was talking about.
"I'll get thee whale", you had better believe it!

Huston + Melville.......2006-09-27

The best recreation nowadays of Melville's immortal novel was put in images by John Huston who wrote too the script in inspirated collaboration with the great science-fiction story-teller Ray Bradbury. Although we're talking of a condensed adaptation ( the book is full of historical reviews, philosophical arguments and includes a list of book quotations concerning whales and numerous appendixes about cethology ) Huston touchs the essence and all the high moments of this tremendous story plenty of biblic's resonances about an obsessive man who has sold his soul in his anxiety of hunting the whale Moby Dick, a white Leviathan, probably a symbol of his irrational and obstinate hope of revenge or maybe a number of our indifferent and cruel universe. Orson Welles, who had told several times his wish of shooting this unforgettable story, appears brevely as the father Marple at the beginning of the film. The experimental colour treatment of its images collaborates to the haunted tone that cross over all the film.

This DVD edition respects the original aspect ratio ( 1.33: 1 )

Average customer rating:

"Help him, help him" "Help who?"
You either Love it or Hate it...
Not as good as the book
An Indictment for the Ages
Decent antiwar movie

Catch-22
Starring: Alan Arkin , Martin Balsam , Richard Benjamin , Art Garfunkel , and Jack Gilford
Director: Mike Nichols
Manufacturer: Paramount
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Catch-22

ASIN: B00005ASGC
Release Date: 2001-05-22

Amazon.com

Joseph Heller's novel was one of the seminal literary events of the 1960s, but Mike Nichols's film ultimately proved too literal in its attempt to bring Heller's fragmented fiction to the screen. Still, Nichols, who made this on the heels of The Graduate, seemed the ideal candidate to tackle this Buck Henry adaptation. The story deals with bomber pilot Yossarian (Alan Arkin), who has flown enough missions to get out of World War II but can't because the number of missions needed for discharge keeps getting raised. The satire and absurdity of Heller's book get lost in Nichols's effort to give screen time to the members of his all-star cast, which includes Orson Welles, Jon Voight, Bob Newhart, Anthony Perkins, Richard Benjamin, and Martin Sheen, among others. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews:

"Help him, help him" "Help who?".......2007-06-23

The story is mostly flashback on flashback. The basic story is of Capt. John Yossarian (Alan Arkin), World War II bombardier, who wants to get out of the war. However it gets real complicated with many characters that are players by a bevy of character actors. There is plenty of subtle comedy mixed with some scenes that can make you sick.

A lot of what looks like disjointed and irrelevant scenes with becomes one cohesive story by the end. Even the frontal nudity scene fits. If you like this sort of film you should watch "Jacob's Latter."

With all the effort and great filming this film still has no exceptional or socially meaningful message. Luckily the film is complete and we can understand what is being cut out of TV versions.

My favorite part was the part where when Yossarian first sees Luciana (Olimpia Carlisi) in white walking by and they play "Also sprach Zarathustra" Written by Richard Strauss

You either Love it or Hate it..........2007-05-28

Sitting down to watch Catch-22 after finishing the novel, I was curious how the movie was going to work. The anti-war comedy novel is filled with many more characters, and storylines, than what would feasibly fit into a feature length movie. Understanding this, I was thoroughly impressed with the liberties that were taken with the story to make it into a movie. Furthermore, I had such a comical picture of Yossarian in my head after finishing the book, I thought that the theatrical representation of the main character would be severely lacking and ruin the movie. I couldn't have been more wrong. Watching Alan Arkin bring Yossarian to life was a treat and a pleasure to watch.

As far as the cinematography of the film, there are some instances where the sound quality is not the best when character dialog is set over the roar of airplane engines. But there sure are some great film moments. That opening sequence is amazing and the long single take opening on Yossarian is just something that you typically don't see in today's movies.

Some love it and some hate it. I subscribe to the former group, and I believe this is one of the best book to movie adaptations that I've ever seen. A must have for your DVD collection.

Not as good as the book.......2007-02-19

But then again, how could it be? The title of the book itself has become synonomous with the "no win" situation you often get involved in when dealing with the government or the military. The background Heller wrote into the book makes the story that much more interesting and sharpens the idea behind it.

The movie makes an effort to follow the book, but it is hard to do and I think it is not so much the fault of the director or the cast as it is the fact that some books just don't translate well into film. This is one of them.

An Indictment for the Ages.......2007-02-10

The dystopia that is Catch-22 comes to life in this film. The cinematography is great and the story arch is very nicely envisioned through flashback narratives that prove affective in use. My reason for writing this review, however, is to quell the notion that the film isn't true to the text.

A first reader of Catch-22 will likely find humor in the fantastical aspects of the novel. Actually, everyone who has read the book will attest to the fact that the humor is in the tone and presentation of it; yet, to be able to do so, one has to always recognize that the humor is a product of a far-fetched reality. Clearly, this humor, which is often found at the sentence level, is lost when put to screen.

Once the surface of the novel is scratched, a new text emerges, and this is what comes to life in this film adaptation. The core of the novel is layed bare in this film, and to not recongize this requires a deeper read.

I don't want to take away from the humor of the novel. In viewing this film, a lover of Catch-22 will further recognize how dynamic a book Joseph Heller actually gave us. To laugh at the situations, characters, and overall logic while recognizing the social commentary that pervades each character-based chapter is the real testament to the novel's worth.

The novel is laced with humor, but to move beyond our own personal first encounters with Catch-22 will be the factor proves the story one for the ages. It isn't the humor that gets us every time; it's the glaring reality of faulty logic that continues to replicate itself from war to war. Catch-22 plays to that eternal theme and should be viewed with this in mind.

In our unflinching acceptance of Heller's wit, Mike Nichols gets us to flinch. I, for one, think he should be accredited for doing so.

Decent antiwar movie.......2007-01-31

"Catch-22" is a comedy, but not a "Happy Gilmore" sort of comedy. Dry rather than hilarious, with more than a few downer moments, it succeeds as satire rather than as laugh-out-loud escapism. A definite artifact of its time, in terms of its style and content, it still holds up today.

"Catch-22" is a scathing indictment of war, as well as the State. Yossarian's confrontation with Cathcart near the end of the movie highlights this, when Cathcart attempts to bully Yossarian into following Cathcart's orders by asking whether he loves his country. Yossarian counters, correctly, that Cathcart and his lackey are not his country. M&M Enterprises, referred to by its organizer from square one as the "Syndicate," is just a mafia by a different name, and its co-option of Cathcart and its effects on the fliers make the point that the State is just another organized crime outfit.

The cinematography of this film is spectacular, with some astounding complex shots that last a very long time.

Everyone in this movie went on to be famous, just about, if they weren't already - or at least became a "hey, it's that guy" type of actor. It's amazing how young some of the actors are. Good luck spotting an 18ish Bob Balaban without his expected beard and glasses! The same goes for Richard Libertini. Fans of the "Bob Newhart Show" will see half the cast in this movie, from Newhart himself as Major Major, on down.

On the downside, the commentary track is disappointingly sparse. Mike Nichols just doesn't say much. Steven Soderbergh asks good and probing questions in an attempt to get Nichols to talk, but Nichols' answers are short and unenlightening.

"Catch-22" is worth at least a rent.

Average customer rating:

Great Suspense Thriller..!!
Film is good, commentary terribly disappointing
Period piece
Great Cast Wasted on One-Dimensional Characters in a Dull Plot.
Brilliant post WW2 psychological thriller

The Stranger (MGM Film Noir)
Starring: Orson Welles
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Woman in the Window (MGM Film Noir)
Kansas City Confidential (MGM Film Noir)
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Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 4 (Act of Violence / Mystery Street / Crime Wave / Decoy / Illegal / The Big Steal / They Live By Night / Side Street / Where Danger Lives / Tension)
Ace in the Hole - Criterion Collection

ASIN: B000PMFRVU
Release Date: 2007-07-10

Amazon.com essential video

The legendary story that hovers over Orson Welles's The Stranger is that he wanted Agnes Moorehead to star as the dogged Nazi hunter who trails a war criminal to a sleepy New England town. The part went to E.G. Robinson, who is marvelous, but it points out how many compromises Welles made on the film in an attempt to show Hollywood he could make a film on time, on budget, and on their own terms. He accomplished all three, turning out a stylish if unambitious film noir thriller, his only Hollywood film to turn a profit on its original release. Welles stars as unreformed fascist Franz Kindler, hiding as a schoolteacher in a New England prep school for boys and newly married to the headmaster's lovely if naive daughter (Loretta Young). Welles the director is in fine form for the opening sequences, casting a moody tension as agents shadow a twitchy low-level Nazi official skulking through South American ports and building up to dramatic crescendo as Kindler murders this little man, the lovely woods becoming a maelstrom of swirling leaves that expose the body he furiously tries to bury. The rest of film is a well-designed but conventional cat-and-mouse game featuring an eye-rolling performance by Welles and a thrilling conclusion played out in the dark clock tower that looms over the little village. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Great Suspense Thriller..!!.......2007-04-29

Title of this movie is "The Stranger" and stars Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young, and Orson Welles. Robinson plays a Nazi hunter from the war crimes commission who has tracked Welles to a small New England town where he is teaching at the towns college. A game of cat and mouse ensues with the towns people slowly coming to realize that a Nazi has been hiding in their town. A very good movie with the three main actors giving great performances. Well worth seeing..!!

Film is good, commentary terribly disappointing.......2006-12-27

I, as many others do, consider this one of the classics in Orson Welles repertoire of films. Not only is his acting superb, he's young and handsome in it to boot! Loretta Young may get on some people's nerves with her innocent and slow hysterical breakdown, but she's still a great actress in this film and it shows. And of course, Edward G. is fantastic.
Unfortunately, to be blunt, the Jeffrey Lyons commentary blows. He starts out kind of talking about the film and says a handful of facts about the actors, but then he seems to get bored with it and just starts
making wise-cracking jokes throughout the rest of the film that are completely annoying. Why did he bother?

Period piece.......2006-01-19

This movie could only have been made immediately after World War Two. It was already "dated" a couple of years after the war ended. It had to come along as soon as the war ended, at a time when the American people finally knew about the Holocaust but had not yet transfered their animosity from Germany to Russia. Thus the date of the movie - 1946, possibly the only year it could have come out.

This makes it a very specialized movie, one that would only make sense during an extremely short window of time. The villain, Orson Welles, is a Nazi who has every intention of renewing the struggle begun by Hitler. The word "Nazi" inspires horror in Orson's new wife, Loretta Young. Orson is incognito, a secret Nazi with a terrific American accent, a former leader of the Holocaust, masquerading as an innocent schoolteacher.

The movie held my interest. It seemed quaint in its focus on the danger of the Nazi party in post-war America. It seemed like a dusty antique.

Other reviewers on this site point to the connection between director Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock. I can't put my finger on exactly why or how, but this film does feel like a Hitchcock film to some degree. And yes, I did notice the ever present cigar in the mouth of Edward G. Robinson, Nazi hunter.

How did Robinson know that Welles was a secret Nazi? He learned it over dinner, I think. He was asking Welles for his opinion of the German question, just what to do about them, and Welles replied that all Germans should be exterminated because they are simply too dangerous and incorrigible. But then Welles gave himself away, by denying that Karl Marx was a German, referring to him only as a non-German, a Jew. The wily Robinson decided there was something suspicious in that, something Nazi-ish.

The funny part to me is that Karl Marx was being lauded as a freedom lover, a sort of American in his love of freedom. It's hysterical. A few years later, Marxism would be vilified in America.

As I said, this film could only have been done in 1946, a very short window of opportunity, before the McCarthy era, before the arms race with Russia, before America's love affair with Stalin ended.

Isn't it a pity that America and Russia, who both fought so hard and sacrificed so much to win the single most important war in the history of mankind, couldn't come out of it as friends. But keep in mind that Russia originally wanted to be on Germany's side of it, until they were attacked by their ally.

After all, shortly before the war broke out, Russia was sending troops across Poland to split the country with their German allies.

Other than the history lesson, all I can say is that it was a pretty interesting period piece, not a masterpiece, but worth a look.

Loretta Young plays an idiot. It seems like an odd role for her.

Great Cast Wasted on One-Dimensional Characters in a Dull Plot........2005-10-12

"The Stranger" was Orson Welles' effort to show RKO studios that he could deliver a movie on time and within budget. It worked so far as that goes. It was his first commercial success as a director. Mr. Wilson (Edward G. Robinson), an agent of the Allied War Crimes Commission, has decided to let Konrad Meineke (Konstantin Shayne) go free in hopes that the man will lead authorities to his former boss: Franz Kindler, a fictional mastermind of the Nazi genocide. Meineke tracks Kindler to the quiet town of Harper, Connecticut, with Wilson close on his tail. But before he can see who Meineke meets, Wilson is knocked unconscious. Working from a list of men who arrived in town within the past year, Wilson narrows the suspects down to Mr. Charles Rankin (Orson Welles), a professor at the local boys prep school who has recently married Mary Longstreet (Loretta Young), daughter of a famously liberal Supreme Court Justice.

The trouble with "The Stranger" is that we have a bunch of one-dimensional characters in a story that is just plain dull. The great Edward G. Robinson does nothing more than recite lines as Wilson the Nazi hunter. Charles Rankin/ Franz Kindler does an amusing -but implausible- job of deriding Germany while betraying his Nazi ideals all the same. Kindler is so obviously unstable and out of his mind that he's really a cop-out: The Nutty Nazi. An excuse not to write a real character with credible motives. Mary is a nice woman who inexplicably goes along with her husband's bullying and ill treatment of her dog. But Loretta Young is responsible for the only credible emotion in this film: Her hysterical denial when she is told that her husband is a Nazi war criminal. "The Stranger" might work as an unsophisticated thriller, but it is devoid of character writing and interesting plot points. This terrific trio of thespians -Robinson, Welles, and Young- is wasted.

The DVD (Delta Entertainment 2001): This print of "The Stranger" is unrestored but without major flaws. The "delta" logo appears in the lower righthand corner of the screen 3 times during the film, however. The logo appears for less than a minute and then disappears at these points in the film: 51 minutes, 1:11, and at 1:31. There is a "Bonus Trailer" for Welles' 1958 film "Touch of Evil" (2 minutes) and a "Tony Curtis Intro" (3 ½ minutes) in which Curtis says a little about "The Stranger" and about Orson Welles' career. The second feature on the DVD, "Orson Welles on Film" (30 minutes), is a documentary about Welles' films, meaning those he directed. It says a little about Welles' youth and radio days before tracing his career from his 6-picture contract with RKO, though his Hollywood and European periods, until the recognition he received from Hollywood in the 1970s and 1980s. The emphasis is on the films he directed, with only brief discussion of each film.

Brilliant post WW2 psychological thriller.......2005-06-20

"The Stranger" is a gripping and tense 1946 thriller directed by the creative mind of Orson Welles who also starred in it. Welles creates a deep feeling of paranoia in his characters throughout this story surrounding the hunting a fugitive Nazi war criminal.

Edward G. Robinson is outstanding as Mr. Wilson, an investigator for the Allied war crimes commission. Robinson has purposely released a Konrad Meinike, a former Nazi concentration camp commandant, in the hopes that he will seek out his superior, the notorious Franz Kindler. Kindler was a prime architect of the Holocaust and had escaped apprehension.

Robinson trailed Meinike, played by thickly accented Konstantin Shayne to Harper, Connecticut, where he makes contact with a professor Charles Rankin. Rankin, played by Welles, we soon find out is really Kindler, He is posing as a professor in a boys prep school above suspicion. Coincidently, he is to be married that very day to Mary Longstreet, daughter of Supreme Court justice Judge Adam Longstreet, and played by Loretta Young. Fearing exposure Welles kills Meinike hiding his body in a shallow grave in the surrounding woods.

Robinson sets himself up in town posing as an antique dealer and eventually befriending the Longstreet family. Robinson reveals his suspicions about Welles to Noah Longstreet, Mary's brother played by a youthful Richard Long. It seems that both Kindler and Rankin both have an obsession for fixing and working on clocks. Rankin has been trying to restore an antique bell tower clock in the town.

Robinson, aided by the Longstreet family reveal to Young their beliefs about Welles' true identity. Young, deeply in love with Welles and in a terrific performance, struggles with incredulity and indecisiveness as to what to do. Welles plots to kill her in a clock tower scene reminiscent of Hitchcock's superb "Vertigo". Welles, the epitome of evil meets an appropriate fate as he is undone by the instruments of his passion, Young and the belltower clock.

Welles and Hitchcock are so obviously influenced by each other as evidenced by their directorial styles, both able to create unease and tension in their plots. They both use camera angles and techniques which are repeated throughout the movie to create dramatic effects. A perfect example involves the pipe smoked by Robinson in the film. In the beginning of the movie he accidently breaks it in a passionate speech to his colleagues. At different points of the film, we see only the pipe, it's stem taped together, to indicate the presence of the relentless Robinson.

A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies

Average customer rating:

The Finest Movie Documentary of All Time.
A walk down Hollywood Blvd
Magnificient View
Every cinema buff and film student should own a copy
A Master Directors Vision

A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies
Starring: Kathryn Bigelow , John Cassavetes , Philippe Collin , Francis Ford Coppola , and Brian De Palma
Director: Scorsese, Martin
Manufacturer: Miramax
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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