Best/Favourite Orson Welles Film

[Tetro Kornbluth]

I've just seen Chimes at Midnight. Impressive work but not as mindblowing as some of Orson Welles' better films even though, more so than any of the other roles I've seen him in except of course for Harry Lime, Falstaff was a role seemingly invented for Welles.

In the list I've listed the films Welles directed only and not those he just acted in - otherwise the aforementioned The Third Man would be an obvious candidate.

I've seen eight of those now (not yet The Stranger, Macbeth and Mr. Arkadin - two of those three though are famous disasters even by Welles' standards) and my personal favourite is The Trial, it captures a certain spirit that very few films ever do especially those trying to be 'Kafkaesque'. It's beautiful and twisted in all the right dimensions. Close behind would be Othello and The Lady from Shanghai. The visual imagination and beauty in both - as well as the twisted ironic cynicism in Lady despite the best efforts of the studios to destroy it - is something that almost no film I've ever seen from anyone else can match. I feel pretty safe declaring that the opening scene of Othello is the greatest in the history of cinema.

Usually when this topic comes up it is Citizen Kane and, to a lesser extent, The Magnificent Ambersons and Touch of Evil that get mentioned. All three are fine films but don't hit me to the same extent. Kane suffers from being alluded to death in other media while Touch of Evil does not strike me as anything more than a good film noir. Good though. As for Ambersons I thought it suffered too much from being obviously butchered at the end though the imagination and vividness can't be denied

What says you Atlas forum? (The, like, two of you interested in this question)



Orson Welles' smiles on knowing that in every possible angle of life and across all dimensions he is simply better than you. He recognizes that it is not his fault and he tries so, so hard to be humble about it but he simply is that great. Effortless.

[NeverAgain]

Tie between Citizen Kane and Othello.

[DemPGH]

Of the films I have seen by him, I have to say Citizen Kane. That's just terrific.

I saw his Macbeth and was underwhelmed. I know he went through a Shakespeare phase where he did all sorts of things, but Polanski nailed Macbeth. Nailed it. Jon Finch and Francesca Annis were also brilliant, as everybody was. Love that version. It's dirty, bloody, and gritty, which is what the time period in which it takes place demands.

[dead0man]

Citizen Kane is the most important film listed (possibly the most important film of all time), but I preferred Touch of Evil.  I haven't seen a lot of these though.

[Mr. Smith]

Touch of Evil

Citizen Kane has been done to death, and the whole idea of giving the entire plot away in the first two minutes doesn't do it for me. Truly the greatest state of mediocrity this one.

Those are the lone two I've seen, both from a film studies class I took one summer.