Mr. Arkadin

Mr. Arkadin


Starring:Annabel, Robert Arden, Grégoire Aslan, Mischa Auer, Suzanne Flon, Gert Fröbe, Eduard Linkers, Terence Longdon, Patricia Medina, Anne-Marie Mersen, Paola Mori, Frédéric O'Brady, Katina Paxinou, Michael Redgrave, Manuel Requena, Tamara Shayne, Akim Tamiroff, Jack Watling, Peter van Eyck
Studio: Gotham Distribution
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com essential video
Something of a remake of Citizen Kane, Orson Welles's 1955 Mr. Arkadin is a knowing and self-reflective variation on one of Welles's pet themes: the search for a defining secret of a powerful man. Welles plays an important financier who tries to discover his own past by hiring a man (Robert Arden) to research it. Did the seemingly haunted Arkadin simply forget who he is or where he's been? Or is he seeking his own Rosebud--a crucial, lost thing from his life that can serve (if identified) as a mythic key to former happiness? The film, a European coproduction, was made under the typically difficult and extended conditions Welles had to navigate after leaving Hollywood, and the bumpiness shows. But the entire project is really an act of Wellesian deconstruction--it's Welles making a film about the kind of film Orson Welles previously made--and that approach is more electrifying than one might imagine. The editing in this film, for instance, is not quite like in any of Welles's other works, with bursts of linear action literally disappearing between frames, as if the fabric of reality itself was vanishing. As far as the titan Arkadin is concerned, it might as well be. --Tom Keogh
The Complete Mr. Arkadin (aka Confidential Report) - Criterion Collection
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Arkadin - Overlooked Welles Gem
  • The characters project the suspense of which entertainment is made...
  • Version City
  • Mr Satan in Person
  • An Enigma Unto Itself
The Complete Mr. Arkadin (aka Confidential Report) - Criterion Collection
Starring: Orson Welles , Gregoire Aslan , Mischa Auer , Suzanne Flon , and Gordon Heath
Director: Orson Welles
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

SuspenseSuspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
ThrillersThrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
MysteryMystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
Neo-NoirNeo-Noir | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
ClassicsClassics | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
Amateur SleuthsAmateur Sleuths | By Theme | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
Haunted by the PastHaunted by the Past | By Theme | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
SpainSpain | By Country | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | France | By Country | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | British Cinema | By Country | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video
Mystery & SuspenseMystery & Suspense | British Cinema | By Country | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video
Auer, MischaAuer, Mischa | ( A ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Eyck, Peter VanEyck, Peter Van | ( E ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Flon, SuzanneFlon, Suzanne | ( F ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Medina, PatriciaMedina, Patricia | ( M ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Paxinou, KatinaPaxinou, Katina | ( P ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Redgrave, MichaelRedgrave, Michael | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Tamiroff, AkimTamiroff, Akim | ( T ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Welles, OrsonWelles, Orson | ( W ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Welles, OrsonWelles, Orson | ( W ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
Mystery & SuspenseMystery & Suspense | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video
Used DVDsUsed DVDs | Stores | DVD | Video | Action & Adventure | African American Cinema | Animation | Anime & Manga | Art House & International | Classics | Comedy | Cult Movies | Documentary | Drama | Educational | Fitness & Yoga | Gay & Lesbian | Horror | Kids & Family | Military & War | Music Video & Concerts | Musicals & Performing Arts | Mystery & Suspense | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Special Interests | Sports | Television | Westerns
ThrillersThrillers | Criterion Collection | Stores | DVD | Video
ClassicsClassics | Criterion Collection | Stores | DVD | Video
InternationalInternational | Criterion Collection | Stores | DVD | Video
AllAll | Criterion Collection | Stores | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | British Cinema | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
Mystery & SuspenseMystery & Suspense | British Cinema | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
FranceFrance | European Cinema | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
SpainSpain | European Cinema | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
Mystery & SuspenseMystery & Suspense | By Genre | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
( C )( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:
  1. Elevator to the Gallows - Criterion Collection
  2. Viridiana - Criterion Collection
  3. Young Mr. Lincoln - Criterion Collection
  4. Ugetsu - Criterion Collection
  5. The Passenger

ASIN: B000E1OI80
Release Date: 2006-04-18

Amazon.com essential video

Will the "real" Mr. Arkadin please stand up? Probably not. However, thanks to the folks at the Criterion Collection, we may now have a version of Mr. Arkadin that is as close as it's going to get to Orson Welles's original vision. Part Citizen Kane, part The Third Man, Mr. Arkadin is another Wellesian Post-War Noir tale about the unraveling of the defining secret of a powerful and wealthy tycoon. Welles plays the ruthless financier Mr. Arkadin who hires small time smuggler Guy Van Stratten (Robert Arden) to investigate the amnesiac Arkadin's lost past and create a confidential report of his findings. Did the mysterious and elusive Mr. Arkadin simply want his criminal past uncovered? Or is his motive to erase a key missing piece of his past? As many fans know, the story of Mr. Arkadin's post-production and ascertaining which of the many versions is the most "Wellesian" is almost as mysterious as Guy Van Stratten's search for Gregory Arkadin's identity. Since the film is unfinished it does have an incomplete feel to it. For instance, it is very choppy with a few awkward jump cuts, there are lots of annoying overdubs that are not cleanly matched, the supporting cast is fairly weak and some scenes clearly needed to be reshot. However, the gems of the films are so precious, such as Welles's picturesque shots, unique camera angles, flashback story telling, and intricate plot, it's easy to overlook the shortcomings and classify Mr. Arkadin as essential Orson Welles.

Mr. Arkadin may have been written, directed and starred Orson Welles, but it sure wasn't edited by him. So the story goes, since it took Welles too long to complete the editing process, producer Louis Dolivet banned him from the editing room and never allowed Orson to get the final cut. Welles, who was known to say "All of the eloquence of my film is created in the editing room" disowned the film claiming it was the most butchered of all his works. There were many cuts made of the Mr. Arkadin film stock over the years, none of which are considered "definitive", all of which contain pieces to the overall puzzle. Fueled by their passion for film, along comes the Criterion Collection. Their mission, to take all the pieces of Mr. Arkadin's troubled past (the best available versions of the films, documented timelines, a reprinted version of the novel, scholarly documentaries and feature length commentaries), compile it and present it to fans in one incredibly comprehensive set letting them decide which is the real Arkadin. The Complete Mr. Arkadin (A.K.A. Confidential Report) includes digitally restored transfers of the two well known versions of the film (the flashback "Corinth" (99 minutes) version and the notorious linear "Confidential Report" (98 minutes)). In addition, there is a newly edited "comprehensive" version (105 minutes) pieced together by top Welles scholars who have an intimate understanding of his style, his creative direction, and thought process in the editing room. This new "comprehensive" version is the crown jewel of the set and without a doubt the best version of Mr. Arkadin ever released. While no one will ever know what Welles intended, you can't help but feel this comprehensive version has got to be pretty darn close. Inevitably, purists may feel this is another instance of someone mucking with Welles's film stock, but in all honesty, the end result is stunning. So who is the real Mr. Arkadin? No one may ever know, but with the help of this set you have all you need to piece together the puzzle and draw your own conclusion. Enjoy. --Rob Bracco

Description

Orson Welles's Mr. Arkadin (a.k.a. Confidential Report) is one of cinema's great mysteries. How did a globetrotting narrative of espionage, amnesia, and backstabbing come to be itself marked by these qualities? In the film, small-time American smuggler Guy van Stratten is hired by elusive billionaire Gregory Arkadin to investigate the tycoon's past. What follows is a dizzying descent into the Cold War landscape of a Europe trying to erase its history. In making the film, Welles was ultimately banned from the editing room by producer Louis Dolivet. As a result, many versions exist, none of them definitive. The Criterion Collection is proud to collect the many faces of Mr. Arkadin into one box for the first time—from the story's beginnings in radio to the novel published under Welles's name to an all-new "comprehensive version" of the film.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Arkadin - Overlooked Welles Gem.......2007-03-12

I love this movie. It's not as flash as Kane or as poetic as The Magnificent Ambersons, but it more than makes up for any shortcomings with its high level of entertainment and fun. Hopefully this new collection released by Criterion will set the record straight. As usual Orson was right and the editors who took the film out of his hands butchered it. But the new comprehensive version included in this set is as close as we can get to Orson's wishes, and the film is superb. It's a fun and playful tale, with Welles almost winking at the camera as Arkadin. All the trademark Welles shots are here, including a quite effective shot on a rocking ship on the sea which really gives you a feeling of seasickness. The story might have some holes but you'll be having too much fun to stop and think about it. This is just further evidence of Welles' genius. His body of work is so amazing. Let's cross our fingers that Criterion will be able to supply us with more of Welles' mishandled movies like "Chime at Midnight" and "The Stranger".

3 out of 5 stars The characters project the suspense of which entertainment is made..........2007-01-09

"Mr. Arkadin" and "Citizen Kane" were both, in simplest terms, about the search to uncover the past of a tycoon...The film is regarded merely as a highly-colored, larger-than-life, more-exciting-than-life piece of entertaining suspense...

The story is basically about Arkadin hiring a young American to uncover forgotten events in his early life... Only later did the American realize that, as he tracked down the people who knew the secrets of Arkadin's hidden past, the financier was having them murdered one by one, and intended at the end to have his own investigator murdered too so that the trail he had uncovered would be destroyed for ever...

But all this was simply a thread on which to hang the ornate jewels of those characters... Mischa Auer, the tall, cadaverous, impoverished Russian owner of a Copenhagen flea circus, sitting alone in a tiny room with the repulsive insects which are the only creatures for which he cares, feeding them on his own thin arm, looking attentively with huge distorted eye through a large magnifying glass at the probing investigator...

Akim Tamiroff, starving in Munich as a neglected-looking beggar willing to trade his secrets for a meal...

Katina Paxinou, the ruthless woman who had run a criminal gang in Europe and now lived on her fortune in Mexico... And Michael Redgrave, an unsuccessful dealer, scrabbling about his shop filled with antique junk...

Such characters project the suspense of which entertainment is made...


4 out of 5 stars Version City.......2006-11-06

This movie goes by two names, Mr. Arkadin and Confidential Report, and no one can really say with any finality which is the definitive title.
This is exactly what you might expect from a film that has more versions than you can shake a stick at. So many, in fact, that again there is no one of them that is truely conclusive.
So if you were hoping for Criterion to batten down the hatches on the "best" or even "ultimate" Arkadin you're right out of luck. If anything, this set contributes fuel to the fire.
Arkadin was another film that Welles made over years as he chased funding literally around the globe. That it's a pretty good film is testament to his ability as a filmmaker.
As you probably know Arkadin is often described as a kind of pale imitation of Citizen Kane, and there are superficial similarities. However, there were enough differences for me to regard the film as a seperate and worthy effort. It is much more in the noir tradition of Lady From Shanghai and Touch Of Evil and it has a bizzare cinematography all its own. (Which, apparently, is the result of extensive re-editing by a producer to make the film easier to understand).
-An aside- Does re-editing to "improve" a film EVER work? Why do they bother?
I enjoyed the movie, it's not my favorite Welles, but it was more entertaining than, though just as editorially complex as, F For Fake.
I have to admit, I've not watched every version Criterion has presented me with. It's difficult to watch a film, then watch a slightly different version, then another slightly different version. My hat is off though, to Criterion, for delivering the goods. The booklet that goes along (the one that describes the films many many many many many versions) is as detailed as we have come to expect from this company and the transfers are good.
The enclosed novel of the film is credited to Welles, though the booklet says he claimed not to have written so much as a word. In fact, the authorship of this novel is as much a mystery as the umpteen jillion different renditions of the film.

4 out of 5 stars Mr Satan in Person.......2006-07-07

Mr Arkadin, aka Confidential Report - or, to give it its rather wonderful German title, Mr Satan in Person - is certainly one of the most problematic of Awesome's films, with a lot of money obviously spent on screen in all the location-hopping, but far too little in post-production (the lip-synching is truly atrocious throughout thanks to constant script changes). It also boasts every conceivable manner of (often wildly incompatible) performance from its interesting cast - Robert Arden gives possibly the loudest performance in a leading role until Al Pacino started making movies, Welles towers and glowers behind one of cinema's worst wig, beard and putty nose ensembles, Patricia Medina is almost endearing in her total lack of ability, Michael Redgrave hams it up outrageously while the likes of Katina Paxinou and Suzanne Flon tone it down and Akim Tamiroff steals every scene going. The first third is awkward in each of the three versions on Criterion's excellent DVD, but it gradually exerts a grip, filled throughout with Welles' trademarks, from the almost omnipresent ceilings in shots to the director conspicuously dubbing bit players (everyone from Gregoire Aslan's dying blackmailer to Mischa Auer's flea circus impresario).

Most of the changes in the `comprehensive version' make sense, even if after seeing the other two versions it is jarring to see the visit to Sophie come after Arkadin's appearance in Mexico (which does explain why Van Stratten didn't tell him that Sophie didn't care). However, the opening doesn't flow quite as well once Arden's introductory screen credit that flows right into his arrival at Zouk's garret is put at the end of the picture. The film never quite lives up to its premise, but as ever with Welles, it's an engaging mess.

With an excellent and intelligent selection of extras (including what may well be Harry Alan Towers only appearance on a Criterion DVD!), this comes highly recommended.

4 out of 5 stars An Enigma Unto Itself.......2006-06-30

If you are scrolling through the Customer Reviews on this page, please give short shrift to the mean-spirited and childishly vindictive "reviews" by two particular contributors with strangely similar low opinions about Orson Welles and this work. In quick response to their rants, Criterion have reissued a number of films that are far from being masterpieces (Michael Bay's 'Armageddon' anyone?) and while 'Mr. Arkadin' is not one of Welles' greatest films, it is undoubtedly fascinating and the story of its making and reconstruction is highly worthy of the effort expended and fully merits inclusion in the collection. Let's not forget that Welles was one of cinema's greatest innovators and his extraordinary contribution to furthering the art of cinema is unarguable.

Essentially, 'Mr. Arkadin' is Welles' attempt to elevate Pulp into Myth. Based on "a lot of bad radio scripts" (in Welles' words) written for the Harry Lime radio shows, one could also read it as a more personal attempt to free himself from the shackles of 'Citizen Kane' (with which it has numerous parallels) and be reborn as a European filmmaker. The fact that, again, Welles was restricted by budget and eventually dismissed from the editing room due to the commercial concerns of his producer Louis Dolivet does not diminish what is still a highly intriguing work. In fact, 'Mr. Arkadin' has become something of an enigma unto itself and the story of it's creation and subsequent undoing is as fascinating as the film itself.

In terms of this set, Criterion has done a wonderful job of collating all the available edits (including two Spanish versions which are known, hilariously, by the unexplained mis-crediting of the lead actor!?) and working them into a 'final' version hinted at by Welles' notes and conversations with the ubiquitous Peter Bogdanovich (who also features in the documentary, unsurprisingly). This 'final' version, while far from perfect, restores the original flashback structure as well as the original beginning and ending sequences. On the first disc, however, is the 'Corinth' version (originally discovered by Bogdanovich) that already incorporates some of the author's original intentions. This particular edit also features a highly illuminating commentary track by Welles scholars Jonathan Rosenbaum and James Naremore who consider this version to be the most satisfying. Also included are mp3 files of the three Harry Lime radio plays that had a direct influence on the story, featurettes by Welles biographer and actor Simon Callow, and a highly welcome reprint of the Mr. Arkadin novel/novelisation (you decide) with an excellent newly commissioned introduction by Robert Polito. All in all, this set is a must for the Welles aficionado and should be of interest to anyone with a true appreciation of cinema.
Mr. Arkadin
Average customer rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
  • Itz about DVD not movie
  • It's no Citizen Kane
  • Never A Dull Moment With Welles
  • A sinister gaze about power!
  • A greatly underrated film
Mr. Arkadin
Starring: Annabel , Robert Arden , Grégoire Aslan , Mischa Auer , and Suzanne Flon
Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Mystery & SuspenseMystery & Suspense | By Genre | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video
SpainSpain | By Country | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | France | By Country | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | British Cinema | By Country | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video
Mystery & SuspenseMystery & Suspense | British Cinema | By Country | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
ClassicsClassics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
SuspenseSuspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
ThrillersThrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
MysteryMystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
Neo-NoirNeo-Noir | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
ClassicsClassics | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
Amateur SleuthsAmateur Sleuths | By Theme | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
Haunted by the PastHaunted by the Past | By Theme | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
Arden, RobertArden, Robert | ( A ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Auer, MischaAuer, Mischa | ( A ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Eyck, Peter VanEyck, Peter Van | ( E ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Flon, SuzanneFlon, Suzanne | ( F ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Longdon, TerenceLongdon, Terence | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Medina, PatriciaMedina, Patricia | ( M ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Paxinou, KatinaPaxinou, Katina | ( P ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Redgrave, MichaelRedgrave, Michael | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Tamiroff, AkimTamiroff, Akim | ( T ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Used DVDsUsed DVDs | Stores | DVD | Video | Action & Adventure | African American Cinema | Animation | Anime & Manga | Art House & International | Classics | Comedy | Cult Movies | Documentary | Drama | Educational | Fitness & Yoga | Gay & Lesbian | Horror | Kids & Family | Military & War | Music Video & Concerts | Musicals & Performing Arts | Mystery & Suspense | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Special Interests | Sports | Television | Westerns
4-for-3 Art House & International4-for-3 Art House & International | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video
4-for-3 Drama4-for-3 Drama | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video
4-for-3 All DVDs4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | British Cinema | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
Mystery & SuspenseMystery & Suspense | British Cinema | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
FranceFrance | European Cinema | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
SpainSpain | European Cinema | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
Mystery & SuspenseMystery & Suspense | By Genre | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
Mystery & SuspenseMystery & Suspense | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
DVDs Under $7.49DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
All DealsAll Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | Drama | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
( M )( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:
  1. The Lady from Shanghai
  2. It's All True
  3. The Trial
  4. Touch of Evil (Restored to Orson Welles' Vision)
  5. Where the Sidewalk Ends (Fox Film Noir)

ASIN: B00004YKQE
Release Date: 2000-10-17

Amazon.com essential video

Something of a remake of Citizen Kane, Orson Welles's 1955 Mr. Arkadin is a knowing and self-reflective variation on one of Welles's pet themes: the search for a defining secret of a powerful man. Welles plays an important financier who tries to discover his own past by hiring a man (Robert Arden) to research it. Did the seemingly haunted Arkadin simply forget who he is or where he's been? Or is he seeking his own Rosebud--a crucial, lost thing from his life that can serve (if identified) as a mythic key to former happiness? The film, a European coproduction, was made under the typically difficult and extended conditions Welles had to navigate after leaving Hollywood, and the bumpiness shows. But the entire project is really an act of Wellesian deconstruction--it's Welles making a film about the kind of film Orson Welles previously made--and that approach is more electrifying than one might imagine. The editing in this film, for instance, is not quite like in any of Welles's other works, with bursts of linear action literally disappearing between frames, as if the fabric of reality itself was vanishing. As far as the titan Arkadin is concerned, it might as well be. --Tom Keogh

Description

Features a European financial jackal who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. It gets off to a fast start with a gun battle along the docks of Naples, where a dying man's last words pertain to Arkadin and his wife, Sophie.

Includes an introduction by Tony Curtis and the original theatrical trailer for Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane".

B&W
Running Time: 93 min.

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars Itz about DVD not movie.......2007-01-09

The quality of the DVD is so horrible... The picture is not even clear in many parts... I couldnt' watch it... Dont' waste your money on this DVD.. Buy another version of this movie...

2 out of 5 stars It's no Citizen Kane.......2006-06-28

I found this film accidentially on Amazon and was curious because I know Welles didn't complete a great deal of films. His directorial flourishes are definitely evident, but it is hard to really enjoy the film do to the quality of the transfer. The picture is dark and the audio is exceptionally bad. It looks like there were some budgetary issues in the making of the film so I couldn't tell whether this was a bad DVD presentation of a mediocre film, or an awful movie put on DVD badly. I did not shell out of the Criterion edition, which might give a better glimpse into the qualities of the film.

4 out of 5 stars Never A Dull Moment With Welles.......2005-11-09

Maybe it is time to re-evaluate this much-overlooked film on the occassion of the fiftieth anniversary of its release. Too often ignored as evidence of Welles' much-cited style of film-making -low-camera angles, hysterical editing and showy dialogue- "Mr.Arkadin" should be seen as an albeit often grotesque celebration of what made Welles so entertaining a film-maker.

Yes, all the Welles mannerisms are here, and admittedly without the technical expertise of the master craftsmen who put together his first two masterpieces: no Tollands or Cortezes here, nor and Robert Wises, nor Mankewiezces ...Indeed, one gets the feeling of Welles frantically battling against the tide of mediocrity in his European films as he struggles to impose some sense of style on proceedings, while those around him try to reign him in from his frequently disjointed and incoherent storylines and film technique. But the moments of brilliance are here, more so than his dull version of "The Trial" (1962), or his interesting but rather muddled Shakespeare pastiche "Chimes At Midnight" (1966): the masked ball, recalling Eisenstein's feast sequence in "Ivan the Terrible Part 2" (1946, released 1958), the dissolve from the sea to the lit portholes of a ship, with one window unlit, as the camera cuts to Arkadin pawing an unfortunate girl.

As with many of Welles' films, this is a film not so much to critique in some cool, calculated way: just slip back and enjoy.
"Mr.Arkadin"/"Confidential Report": Welles' third best film?

5 out of 5 stars A sinister gaze about power!.......2005-08-29

Orson Welles returns once more (after his previous and winner and acclaimed work in Cannes Othello) about the fascinating and passionate theme : the power and its extreme consequences. An industrial magnate hides a terrible familiar secret and beyond that unpleasant connections with the underworld.
A magnificent journey throughout the disturbing power's web, seen under Welles vision and totally immersed in the most genuine spirit of the Film Noir by then.
Fascinating script, arresting use of lights and shadows and a fabulous cast complete the circle of this powerful movie that revaluates itself through the years.

5 out of 5 stars A greatly underrated film.......2005-03-27

I haven't seen this version of the film, which, according to some of these reviews, is terrible, but the version I saw called "The Confidential Report" was, in my opinion, one of the greatest films Orson Welles made. It deals with a very rich man named Mr. Arkadin who is somewhat mysterious. He hires a man who has been searching for him since he had heard his name from a man who was dieing, to make a report about Mr. Arkadin. Apparently, he had amnesia and forgot what happened to him at a young age. The young man becomes attached to Arkadin's daughter and travels all over the world to find new facts about arkadin's life. The movie ends with a great realization and a final scene of anguish. Critics may say that the movie is nonsensical, but the greatness of the movie is that it shows, much like Citizen Kane, the life and death of a great man.
Orson Welles: The Stranger/Orson Welles: On Film/The Trial/Mr. Arkadin
Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
  • Hit or Miss for Orson Welles fans
Orson Welles: The Stranger/Orson Welles: On Film/The Trial/Mr. Arkadin
Starring: Orson Welles
Manufacturer: LaserLight DVD
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

GeneralGeneral | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
SuspenseSuspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
DVDs Under $9.99DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
( O )( O ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
DramaDrama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video
Used DVDsUsed DVDs | Stores | DVD | Video | Action & Adventure | African American Cinema | Animation | Anime & Manga | Art House & International | Classics | Comedy | Cult Movies | Documentary | Drama | Educational | Fitness & Yoga | Gay & Lesbian | Horror | Kids & Family | Military & War | Music Video & Concerts | Musicals & Performing Arts | Mystery & Suspense | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Special Interests | Sports | Television | Westerns
Similar Items:
  1. Touch of Evil (Restored to Orson Welles' Vision)
  2. The Lady from Shanghai
  3. The Third Man (50th Anniversary Edition) - Criterion Collection
  4. Falstaff Chimes At Midnight [Import]
  5. F for Fake - Criterion Collection

ASIN: B00004YKS1
Release Date: 2003-02-06

Description

Includes:
The Stranger • On Film
The Trial
Mr. Arkadin

B&W/Color
336 min.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Hit or Miss for Orson Welles fans.......2007-04-09

This boxed set contains 3 movies: The Stranger (1946), Mr. Arkadan (1955) and The Trial (1962).

Like so many no-name companies releasing Orson Welles materials, this release is hit or miss.

The Stranger stars Orson Welles as a Nazi who takes refuge in the United States as a college professor and integrates into American life. His past catches up with him and he is driven to murder. The movie has some classic cinematography, some classic Orson Welles humanism and some haunting visuals.

Movie: 4 stars
Video reproduction: 3 Stars
Audio Reproduction: 4 Stars

Overall, a good reproduction. Not excellent, but watchable and enjoyable. 4 stars, overall.


The Trial stars Anthony Perkins and co-stars Orson Welles. Filmed in Europe, the settings and visuals define a stifling air of alienation and oppression. The police state, as a theoretical construct, has never been brought to the screen better. Anthony Perkins wakes up to find police inspectors going through his room. He finds himself "arrested" in a legal system ground to a stop ruled by beaureaucrats who make up the law as they feel like. My favorite movie by Orson Welles easily. (OK, F for Fake is close).

Movie: 5 Stars
Video Reproduction:4 Stars
Audio Reproduction:4 Stars
This is the best DVD presentation of The Trial I've ever seen, overall 4.5 stars.

Mr. Arkadin...if I hadn't seen this movie before, I would never be able to give a synopsis of it, since this reproduction of the movie is absolutely ghastly...unwatchable. The audio is so poor as to make most of the movie incoherent...like watching a movie underwater.

Movie: 3 Stars (Theatrical version, 3 stars, Orson Welles restoration 4.5 stars)
Video Reproduction: 1 Star
Audio Reproduction: 1 Star

Overall, a poor copy of the highly compromised theatrical version. Awful. 1 Star.

Overall box set...3 stars
Mr. Arkadin
Average customer rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
  • Itz about DVD not movie
  • It's no Citizen Kane
  • Never A Dull Moment With Welles
  • A sinister gaze about power!
  • A greatly underrated film
Mr. Arkadin
Starring: Annabel , Robert Arden , Grégoire Aslan , Mischa Auer , and Suzanne Flon
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

GeneralGeneral | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
ClassicsClassics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
Arden, RobertArden, Robert | ( A ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Auer, MischaAuer, Mischa | ( A ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Eyck, Peter VanEyck, Peter Van | ( E ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Flon, SuzanneFlon, Suzanne | ( F ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Longdon, TerenceLongdon, Terence | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Medina, PatriciaMedina, Patricia | ( M ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Paxinou, KatinaPaxinou, Katina | ( P ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Redgrave, MichaelRedgrave, Michael | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Tamiroff, AkimTamiroff, Akim | ( T ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Used DVDsUsed DVDs | Stores | DVD | Video | Action & Adventure | African American Cinema | Animation | Anime & Manga | Art House & International | Classics | Comedy | Cult Movies | Documentary | Drama | Educational | Fitness & Yoga | Gay & Lesbian | Horror | Kids & Family | Military & War | Music Video & Concerts | Musicals & Performing Arts | Mystery & Suspense | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Special Interests | Sports | Television | Westerns
4-for-3 All DVDs4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video
DVDs Under $7.49DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
All DealsAll Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | Drama | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
( M )( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:
  1. The Lady from Shanghai
  2. It's All True
  3. The Trial
  4. Touch of Evil (Restored to Orson Welles' Vision)
  5. Where the Sidewalk Ends (Fox Film Noir)

ASIN: B00006AUGO
Release Date: 2002-06-18

Amazon.com essential video

Something of a remake of Citizen Kane, Orson Welles's 1955 Mr. Arkadin is a knowing and self-reflective variation on one of Welles's pet themes: the search for a defining secret of a powerful man. Welles plays an important financier who tries to discover his own past by hiring a man (Robert Arden) to research it. Did the seemingly haunted Arkadin simply forget who he is or where he's been? Or is he seeking his own Rosebud--a crucial, lost thing from his life that can serve (if identified) as a mythic key to former happiness? The film, a European coproduction, was made under the typically difficult and extended conditions Welles had to navigate after leaving Hollywood, and the bumpiness shows. But the entire project is really an act of Wellesian deconstruction--it's Welles making a film about the kind of film Orson Welles previously made--and that approach is more electrifying than one might imagine. The editing in this film, for instance, is not quite like in any of Welles's other works, with bursts of linear action literally disappearing between frames, as if the fabric of reality itself was vanishing. As far as the titan Arkadin is concerned, it might as well be. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars Itz about DVD not movie.......2007-01-09

The quality of the DVD is so horrible... The picture is not even clear in many parts... I couldnt' watch it... Dont' waste your money on this DVD.. Buy another version of this movie...

2 out of 5 stars It's no Citizen Kane.......2006-06-28

I found this film accidentially on Amazon and was curious because I know Welles didn't complete a great deal of films. His directorial flourishes are definitely evident, but it is hard to really enjoy the film do to the quality of the transfer. The picture is dark and the audio is exceptionally bad. It looks like there were some budgetary issues in the making of the film so I couldn't tell whether this was a bad DVD presentation of a mediocre film, or an awful movie put on DVD badly. I did not shell out of the Criterion edition, which might give a better glimpse into the qualities of the film.

4 out of 5 stars Never A Dull Moment With Welles.......2005-11-09

Maybe it is time to re-evaluate this much-overlooked film on the occassion of the fiftieth anniversary of its release. Too often ignored as evidence of Welles' much-cited style of film-making -low-camera angles, hysterical editing and showy dialogue- "Mr.Arkadin" should be seen as an albeit often grotesque celebration of what made Welles so entertaining a film-maker.

Yes, all the Welles mannerisms are here, and admittedly without the technical expertise of the master craftsmen who put together his first two masterpieces: no Tollands or Cortezes here, nor and Robert Wises, nor Mankewiezces ...Indeed, one gets the feeling of Welles frantically battling against the tide of mediocrity in his European films as he struggles to impose some sense of style on proceedings, while those around him try to reign him in from his frequently disjointed and incoherent storylines and film technique. But the moments of brilliance are here, more so than his dull version of "The Trial" (1962), or his interesting but rather muddled Shakespeare pastiche "Chimes At Midnight" (1966): the masked ball, recalling Eisenstein's feast sequence in "Ivan the Terrible Part 2" (1946, released 1958), the dissolve from the sea to the lit portholes of a ship, with one window unlit, as the camera cuts to Arkadin pawing an unfortunate girl.

As with many of Welles' films, this is a film not so much to critique in some cool, calculated way: just slip back and enjoy.
"Mr.Arkadin"/"Confidential Report": Welles' third best film?

5 out of 5 stars A sinister gaze about power!.......2005-08-29

Orson Welles returns once more (after his previous and winner and acclaimed work in Cannes Othello) about the fascinating and passionate theme : the power and its extreme consequences. An industrial magnate hides a terrible familiar secret and beyond that unpleasant connections with the underworld.
A magnificent journey throughout the disturbing power's web, seen under Welles vision and totally immersed in the most genuine spirit of the Film Noir by then.
Fascinating script, arresting use of lights and shadows and a fabulous cast complete the circle of this powerful movie that revaluates itself through the years.

5 out of 5 stars A greatly underrated film.......2005-03-27

I haven't seen this version of the film, which, according to some of these reviews, is terrible, but the version I saw called "The Confidential Report" was, in my opinion, one of the greatest films Orson Welles made. It deals with a very rich man named Mr. Arkadin who is somewhat mysterious. He hires a man who has been searching for him since he had heard his name from a man who was dieing, to make a report about Mr. Arkadin. Apparently, he had amnesia and forgot what happened to him at a young age. The young man becomes attached to Arkadin's daughter and travels all over the world to find new facts about arkadin's life. The movie ends with a great realization and a final scene of anguish. Critics may say that the movie is nonsensical, but the greatness of the movie is that it shows, much like Citizen Kane, the life and death of a great man.
Mr. Arkadin
Average customer rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
  • Itz about DVD not movie
  • It's no Citizen Kane
  • Never A Dull Moment With Welles
  • A sinister gaze about power!
  • A greatly underrated film
Mr. Arkadin

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

ThrillersThrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
( M )( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Used DVDsUsed DVDs | Stores | DVD | Video | Action & Adventure | African American Cinema | Animation | Anime & Manga | Art House & International | Classics | Comedy | Cult Movies | Documentary | Drama | Educational | Fitness & Yoga | Gay & Lesbian | Horror | Kids & Family | Military & War | Music Video & Concerts | Musicals & Performing Arts | Mystery & Suspense | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Special Interests | Sports | Television | Westerns
Similar Items:
  1. The Lady from Shanghai
  2. It's All True
  3. The Trial
  4. Touch of Evil (Restored to Orson Welles' Vision)
  5. Where the Sidewalk Ends (Fox Film Noir)

ASIN: B000189KB6

Amazon.com essential video

Something of a remake of Citizen Kane, Orson Welles's 1955 Mr. Arkadin is a knowing and self-reflective variation on one of Welles's pet themes: the search for a defining secret of a powerful man. Welles plays an important financier who tries to discover his own past by hiring a man (Robert Arden) to research it. Did the seemingly haunted Arkadin simply forget who he is or where he's been? Or is he seeking his own Rosebud--a crucial, lost thing from his life that can serve (if identified) as a mythic key to former happiness? The film, a European coproduction, was made under the typically difficult and extended conditions Welles had to navigate after leaving Hollywood, and the bumpiness shows. But the entire project is really an act of Wellesian deconstruction--it's Welles making a film about the kind of film Orson Welles previously made--and that approach is more electrifying than one might imagine. The editing in this film, for instance, is not quite like in any of Welles's other works, with bursts of linear action literally disappearing between frames, as if the fabric of reality itself was vanishing. As far as the titan Arkadin is concerned, it might as well be. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars Itz about DVD not movie.......2007-01-09

The quality of the DVD is so horrible... The picture is not even clear in many parts... I couldnt' watch it... Dont' waste your money on this DVD.. Buy another version of this movie...

2 out of 5 stars It's no Citizen Kane.......2006-06-28

I found this film accidentially on Amazon and was curious because I know Welles didn't complete a great deal of films. His directorial flourishes are definitely evident, but it is hard to really enjoy the film do to the quality of the transfer. The picture is dark and the audio is exceptionally bad. It looks like there were some budgetary issues in the making of the film so I couldn't tell whether this was a bad DVD presentation of a mediocre film, or an awful movie put on DVD badly. I did not shell out of the Criterion edition, which might give a better glimpse into the qualities of the film.

4 out of 5 stars Never A Dull Moment With Welles.......2005-11-09

Maybe it is time to re-evaluate this much-overlooked film on the occassion of the fiftieth anniversary of its release. Too often ignored as evidence of Welles' much-cited style of film-making -low-camera angles, hysterical editing and showy dialogue- "Mr.Arkadin" should be seen as an albeit often grotesque celebration of what made Welles so entertaining a film-maker.

Yes, all the Welles mannerisms are here, and admittedly without the technical expertise of the master craftsmen who put together his first two masterpieces: no Tollands or Cortezes here, nor and Robert Wises, nor Mankewiezces ...Indeed, one gets the feeling of Welles frantically battling against the tide of mediocrity in his European films as he struggles to impose some sense of style on proceedings, while those around him try to reign him in from his frequently disjointed and incoherent storylines and film technique. But the moments of brilliance are here, more so than his dull version of "The Trial" (1962), or his interesting but rather muddled Shakespeare pastiche "Chimes At Midnight" (1966): the masked ball, recalling Eisenstein's feast sequence in "Ivan the Terrible Part 2" (1946, released 1958), the dissolve from the sea to the lit portholes of a ship, with one window unlit, as the camera cuts to Arkadin pawing an unfortunate girl.

As with many of Welles' films, this is a film not so much to critique in some cool, calculated way: just slip back and enjoy.
"Mr.Arkadin"/"Confidential Report": Welles' third best film?

5 out of 5 stars A sinister gaze about power!.......2005-08-29

Orson Welles returns once more (after his previous and winner and acclaimed work in Cannes Othello) about the fascinating and passionate theme : the power and its extreme consequences. An industrial magnate hides a terrible familiar secret and beyond that unpleasant connections with the underworld.
A magnificent journey throughout the disturbing power's web, seen under Welles vision and totally immersed in the most genuine spirit of the Film Noir by then.
Fascinating script, arresting use of lights and shadows and a fabulous cast complete the circle of this powerful movie that revaluates itself through the years.

5 out of 5 stars A greatly underrated film.......2005-03-27

I haven't seen this version of the film, which, according to some of these reviews, is terrible, but the version I saw called "The Confidential Report" was, in my opinion, one of the greatest films Orson Welles made. It deals with a very rich man named Mr. Arkadin who is somewhat mysterious. He hires a man who has been searching for him since he had heard his name from a man who was dieing, to make a report about Mr. Arkadin. Apparently, he had amnesia and forgot what happened to him at a young age. The young man becomes attached to Arkadin's daughter and travels all over the world to find new facts about arkadin's life. The movie ends with a great realization and a final scene of anguish. Critics may say that the movie is nonsensical, but the greatness of the movie is that it shows, much like Citizen Kane, the life and death of a great man.
Mr. Arkadin [Region 2]
Average customer rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
  • Itz about DVD not movie
  • It's no Citizen Kane
  • Never A Dull Moment With Welles
  • A sinister gaze about power!
  • A greatly underrated film
Mr. Arkadin [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

ThrillersThrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
DVDs Under $14.99DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
( M )( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Used DVDsUsed DVDs | Stores | DVD | Video | Action & Adventure | African American Cinema | Animation | Anime & Manga | Art House & International | Classics | Comedy | Cult Movies | Documentary | Drama | Educational | Fitness & Yoga | Gay & Lesbian | Horror | Kids & Family | Military & War | Music Video & Concerts | Musicals & Performing Arts | Mystery & Suspense | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Special Interests | Sports | Television | Westerns
Similar Items:
  1. The Lady from Shanghai
  2. It's All True
  3. The Trial
  4. Touch of Evil (Restored to Orson Welles' Vision)
  5. Where the Sidewalk Ends (Fox Film Noir)

ASIN: B0000AM77Y

Amazon.com essential video

Something of a remake of Citizen Kane, Orson Welles's 1955 Mr. Arkadin is a knowing and self-reflective variation on one of Welles's pet themes: the search for a defining secret of a powerful man. Welles plays an important financier who tries to discover his own past by hiring a man (Robert Arden) to research it. Did the seemingly haunted Arkadin simply forget who he is or where he's been? Or is he seeking his own Rosebud--a crucial, lost thing from his life that can serve (if identified) as a mythic key to former happiness? The film, a European coproduction, was made under the typically difficult and extended conditions Welles had to navigate after leaving Hollywood, and the bumpiness shows. But the entire project is really an act of Wellesian deconstruction--it's Welles making a film about the kind of film Orson Welles previously made--and that approach is more electrifying than one might imagine. The editing in this film, for instance, is not quite like in any of Welles's other works, with bursts of linear action literally disappearing between frames, as if the fabric of reality itself was vanishing. As far as the titan Arkadin is concerned, it might as well be. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars Itz about DVD not movie.......2007-01-09

The quality of the DVD is so horrible... The picture is not even clear in many parts... I couldnt' watch it... Dont' waste your money on this DVD.. Buy another version of this movie...

2 out of 5 stars It's no Citizen Kane.......2006-06-28

I found this film accidentially on Amazon and was curious because I know Welles didn't complete a great deal of films. His directorial flourishes are definitely evident, but it is hard to really enjoy the film do to the quality of the transfer. The picture is dark and the audio is exceptionally bad. It looks like there were some budgetary issues in the making of the film so I couldn't tell whether this was a bad DVD presentation of a mediocre film, or an awful movie put on DVD badly. I did not shell out of the Criterion edition, which might give a better glimpse into the qualities of the film.

4 out of 5 stars Never A Dull Moment With Welles.......2005-11-09

Maybe it is time to re-evaluate this much-overlooked film on the occassion of the fiftieth anniversary of its release. Too often ignored as evidence of Welles' much-cited style of film-making -low-camera angles, hysterical editing and showy dialogue- "Mr.Arkadin" should be seen as an albeit often grotesque celebration of what made Welles so entertaining a film-maker.

Yes, all the Welles mannerisms are here, and admittedly without the technical expertise of the master craftsmen who put together his first two masterpieces: no Tollands or Cortezes here, nor and Robert Wises, nor Mankewiezces ...Indeed, one gets the feeling of Welles frantically battling against the tide of mediocrity in his European films as he struggles to impose some sense of style on proceedings, while those around him try to reign him in from his frequently disjointed and incoherent storylines and film technique. But the moments of brilliance are here, more so than his dull version of "The Trial" (1962), or his interesting but rather muddled Shakespeare pastiche "Chimes At Midnight" (1966): the masked ball, recalling Eisenstein's feast sequence in "Ivan the Terrible Part 2" (1946, released 1958), the dissolve from the sea to the lit portholes of a ship, with one window unlit, as the camera cuts to Arkadin pawing an unfortunate girl.

As with many of Welles' films, this is a film not so much to critique in some cool, calculated way: just slip back and enjoy.
"Mr.Arkadin"/"Confidential Report": Welles' third best film?

5 out of 5 stars A sinister gaze about power!.......2005-08-29

Orson Welles returns once more (after his previous and winner and acclaimed work in Cannes Othello) about the fascinating and passionate theme : the power and its extreme consequences. An industrial magnate hides a terrible familiar secret and beyond that unpleasant connections with the underworld.
A magnificent journey throughout the disturbing power's web, seen under Welles vision and totally immersed in the most genuine spirit of the Film Noir by then.
Fascinating script, arresting use of lights and shadows and a fabulous cast complete the circle of this powerful movie that revaluates itself through the years.

5 out of 5 stars A greatly underrated film.......2005-03-27

I haven't seen this version of the film, which, according to some of these reviews, is terrible, but the version I saw called "The Confidential Report" was, in my opinion, one of the greatest films Orson Welles made. It deals with a very rich man named Mr. Arkadin who is somewhat mysterious. He hires a man who has been searching for him since he had heard his name from a man who was dieing, to make a report about Mr. Arkadin. Apparently, he had amnesia and forgot what happened to him at a young age. The young man becomes attached to Arkadin's daughter and travels all over the world to find new facts about arkadin's life. The movie ends with a great realization and a final scene of anguish. Critics may say that the movie is nonsensical, but the greatness of the movie is that it shows, much like Citizen Kane, the life and death of a great man.
Mr. Arkadin
Average customer rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
  • Itz about DVD not movie
  • It's no Citizen Kane
  • Never A Dull Moment With Welles
  • A sinister gaze about power!
  • A greatly underrated film
Mr. Arkadin

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

ThrillersThrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
( M )( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Used DVDsUsed DVDs | Stores | DVD | Video | Action & Adventure | African American Cinema | Animation | Anime & Manga | Art House & International | Classics | Comedy | Cult Movies | Documentary | Drama | Educational | Fitness & Yoga | Gay & Lesbian | Horror | Kids & Family | Military & War | Music Video & Concerts | Musicals & Performing Arts | Mystery & Suspense | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Special Interests | Sports | Television | Westerns
Similar Items:
  1. The Lady from Shanghai
  2. It's All True
  3. The Trial
  4. Touch of Evil (Restored to Orson Welles' Vision)
  5. Where the Sidewalk Ends (Fox Film Noir)

ASIN: B00005UJAT

Amazon.com essential video

Something of a remake of Citizen Kane, Orson Welles's 1955 Mr. Arkadin is a knowing and self-reflective variation on one of Welles's pet themes: the search for a defining secret of a powerful man. Welles plays an important financier who tries to discover his own past by hiring a man (Robert Arden) to research it. Did the seemingly haunted Arkadin simply forget who he is or where he's been? Or is he seeking his own Rosebud--a crucial, lost thing from his life that can serve (if identified) as a mythic key to former happiness? The film, a European coproduction, was made under the typically difficult and extended conditions Welles had to navigate after leaving Hollywood, and the bumpiness shows. But the entire project is really an act of Wellesian deconstruction--it's Welles making a film about the kind of film Orson Welles previously made--and that approach is more electrifying than one might imagine. The editing in this film, for instance, is not quite like in any of Welles's other works, with bursts of linear action literally disappearing between frames, as if the fabric of reality itself was vanishing. As far as the titan Arkadin is concerned, it might as well be. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars Itz about DVD not movie.......2007-01-09

The quality of the DVD is so horrible... The picture is not even clear in many parts... I couldnt' watch it... Dont' waste your money on this DVD.. Buy another version of this movie...

2 out of 5 stars It's no Citizen Kane.......2006-06-28

I found this film accidentially on Amazon and was curious because I know Welles didn't complete a great deal of films. His directorial flourishes are definitely evident, but it is hard to really enjoy the film do to the quality of the transfer. The picture is dark and the audio is exceptionally bad. It looks like there were some budgetary issues in the making of the film so I couldn't tell whether this was a bad DVD presentation of a mediocre film, or an awful movie put on DVD badly. I did not shell out of the Criterion edition, which might give a better glimpse into the qualities of the film.

4 out of 5 stars Never A Dull Moment With Welles.......2005-11-09

Maybe it is time to re-evaluate this much-overlooked film on the occassion of the fiftieth anniversary of its release. Too often ignored as evidence of Welles' much-cited style of film-making -low-camera angles, hysterical editing and showy dialogue- "Mr.Arkadin" should be seen as an albeit often grotesque celebration of what made Welles so entertaining a film-maker.

Yes, all the Welles mannerisms are here, and admittedly without the technical expertise of the master craftsmen who put together his first two masterpieces: no Tollands or Cortezes here, nor and Robert Wises, nor Mankewiezces ...Indeed, one gets the feeling of Welles frantically battling against the tide of mediocrity in his European films as he struggles to impose some sense of style on proceedings, while those around him try to reign him in from his frequently disjointed and incoherent storylines and film technique. But the moments of brilliance are here, more so than his dull version of "The Trial" (1962), or his interesting but rather muddled Shakespeare pastiche "Chimes At Midnight" (1966): the masked ball, recalling Eisenstein's feast sequence in "Ivan the Terrible Part 2" (1946, released 1958), the dissolve from the sea to the lit portholes of a ship, with one window unlit, as the camera cuts to Arkadin pawing an unfortunate girl.

As with many of Welles' films, this is a film not so much to critique in some cool, calculated way: just slip back and enjoy.
"Mr.Arkadin"/"Confidential Report": Welles' third best film?

5 out of 5 stars A sinister gaze about power!.......2005-08-29

Orson Welles returns once more (after his previous and winner and acclaimed work in Cannes Othello) about the fascinating and passionate theme : the power and its extreme consequences. An industrial magnate hides a terrible familiar secret and beyond that unpleasant connections with the underworld.
A magnificent journey throughout the disturbing power's web, seen under Welles vision and totally immersed in the most genuine spirit of the Film Noir by then.
Fascinating script, arresting use of lights and shadows and a fabulous cast complete the circle of this powerful movie that revaluates itself through the years.

5 out of 5 stars A greatly underrated film.......2005-03-27

I haven't seen this version of the film, which, according to some of these reviews, is terrible, but the version I saw called "The Confidential Report" was, in my opinion, one of the greatest films Orson Welles made. It deals with a very rich man named Mr. Arkadin who is somewhat mysterious. He hires a man who has been searching for him since he had heard his name from a man who was dieing, to make a report about Mr. Arkadin. Apparently, he had amnesia and forgot what happened to him at a young age. The young man becomes attached to Arkadin's daughter and travels all over the world to find new facts about arkadin's life. The movie ends with a great realization and a final scene of anguish. Critics may say that the movie is nonsensical, but the greatness of the movie is that it shows, much like Citizen Kane, the life and death of a great man.

DVD:

  1. Duel Of The Champions
  2. Ed McBain's 87th Precinct: Heatwave
  3. Female Perversions
  4. The Operator
  5. Mee Pok Man
  6. Temptation of a Monk
  7. American Gigolo
  8. Emmanuelle 2 (Edited)
  9. Mother's Boys
  10. George C. Scott: The Last Days of Patton

DVD

DVD

DVD

Street Wars

A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy

King of the Cage: Road Warriors (REGION 1) (NTSC)

DVD: Sabrina: The Animated Series - Witch in Training

The Office - Series 1 And 2