This Is Orson Welles - Hardcover

9780002552400: This Is Orson Welles
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
Spanning over ten years ofrevealing conversations between Orson Welles and his friend and fellow directorPeter Bogdanovich, these discussions offer an intimate, autobiographicalportrait of the life and opinions of one of our century's greatest storytellers,Orson Welles. This is a rare look into the mind of an enigmatic genius whoseaccomplishments continue to dazzle audiences.

Contents ·Tape One: Citizen Kane and other projects ·Tape Two: The Magnificent Ambersons, Chimes at Midnight,and The Other Side of the Wind ·Tape Three: Othello, Touch of Evil, The Lady FromShanghai, and The Trial ·Tape Four: Radio, Televison, Comics and more

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:
In 1992, the first publication of This Is Orson Welles brought a priceless document to light. In the late '60s and early '70s, filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich had conducted extensive interviews with Welles, but a number of circumstances--including the director's decision to compose an autobiography that he never got around to writing--kept the interviews out of the public eye. Edited and annotated by Jonathan Rosenbaum, these conversations give wonderful insights into Welles's craft and personality. He discusses his forays into acting, producing, and writing as well as directing, his confidences and insecurities, and his plans for film projects that were either never made or only partially completed. He also offers insights into the triumph of Citizen Kane and later masterpieces like The Lady from Shanghai, Touch of Evil, Othello, and Chimes at Midnight. His defense of his controversial adaptation of Kafka's The Trial is so fascinating that readers might want to rush out and rent the film.

While the book is worth owning just for this 322-page interview, it is also full of other material that is equally revealing. Rosenbaum presents a meticulous chronology of Welles's life, closely following his day-to-day activities from his birth in 1915 to his death in 1985. Anyone who thinks that Welles was an essentially lazy and profligate artist will be astonished at how hard he worked and how much he accomplished, even after the completion of Citizen Kane. Another treat found in the book is a detailed description--complete with rare photographic stills--of the original Magnificent Ambersons, Welles's impressive follow-up to Kane, which can now be seen only in a tragically truncated version.

This 1998 reissue of the volume contains a fond new introduction by Bogdanovich and another crucial piece of Welles minutia, excerpts from his 58-page memo to Universal Pictures about the editing of Touch of Evil. Forty years after its composition, the material in this memo has been used to create a restored "director's cut" of the film. With such grand material between two covers, This Is Orson Welles is the most informative and entertaining book available on one of the 20th century's greatest artists. --Raphael Shargel

From the Back Cover:
Orson Welles (1915-1985) was the last true Renaissance man of the twentieth century. From such great radio works as "War of the Worlds" to his cinematic masterpieces Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, Othello, Macbeth, Touch of Evil, and Chimes at Midnight, Welles was a master storyteller. This is Orson Welles, a collection of penetrating and witty conversations between Welles and Peter Bogdanovich, includes insights into: Welles' radio, theater, film, and television work; Hollywood producers, directors, and stars; and almost everything else, from acting to magic, literature to comic strips, bullfighters to gangsters.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Buy Used

Dispatched, from the UK, within... Learn more about this copy

Shipping: US$ 9.36
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.

Destination, rates & speeds

Add to Basket

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780306808340: This Is Orson Welles

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  030680834X ISBN 13:  9780306808340
Publisher: Da Capo Press, 1998
Softcover

  • 9780060166168: This Is Orson Welles

    Harper..., 1992
    Hardcover

  • 9780006382324: This is Orson Welles (AUTHOR SIGNED)

    Harper..., 1993
    Softcover

  • 9780060924393: This Is Orson Welles

    Perennial, 1993
    Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Peter Bogdanovich and Orson Welles
Published by HarperCollins (1993)
ISBN 10: 000255240X ISBN 13: 9780002552400
Used Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Reuseabook
(Gloucester, GLOS, United Kingdom)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Used; Acceptable. Over 40 B/w Photographs (illustrator). Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. The book is perfectly readable and fit for use, although it shows signs of previous ownership. The spine is likely creased and the cover scuffed or slightly torn. Textbooks will typically have an amount of underlining and/or highlighting, as well as notes. If this book is over 5 years old, then please expect the pages to be yellowing or to have age spots. Aged book. Tanned pages and age spots, however, this will not interfere with reading. Grubby book may have mild dirt or some staining, mostly on the edges of pages. Seller Inventory # CHL9140919

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 61.17
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 9.36
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds