Filming The Trial
Filming The Trial | |
---|---|
Directed by | Orson Welles |
Written by | Orson Welles |
Produced by | Orson Welles |
Starring | Orson Welles |
Cinematography | Gary Graver |
Running time | 82 mins |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Filming 'The Trial' is an unfinished making-of film by Orson Welles, made in 1981, which focuses on the production of his 1962 film The Trial.
Background
In 1978 Orson Welles directed Filming Othello. That film had mostly consisted of a monologue in which Welles discussed his 1952 adaptation of Othello. Encouraged by the result, he set out to make a similar documentary/essay film looking back at his own film of The Trial.
Filming
In 1981, Welles gave a 90-minute question-and-answer session at the University of Southern California after a screening of The Trial. He had his cinematographer Gary Graver film the session with a view to editing highlights of the footage into the projected film. Graver observed, "A lot of people were there in the audience that day who are successful filmmakers now",[1] as well as several noted film critics such as Joseph McBride and Todd McCarthy.[2]
However, Welles never got round to editing the raw footage. Its only use in Welles' lifetime was by BBC journalist Leslie Megahy for his 1982 Arena documentary on Welles; specifically, the documentary features a young man asking Welles whether he would agree he has been persecuted by The Establishment and the capitalist system, and Welles being somewhat bemused by the question.
Revival of the footage
After Orson Welles' death in 1985, all of his unfinished films were bequeathed to his long-term companion Oja Kodar, and she in turn donated many of them (including Filming 'The Trial') to the Munich Film Museum for preservation and restoration.
In the 2000s, the Munich Film Museum then edited together the complete footage into an 82-minute cut of the Q&A session. Since Graver had to change film cartridges approximately every 10 minutes, this created breaks in filming, which are noticeable in the final cut.
The restored footage has been screened at various film festivals, but has never been released on video or DVD. However, since the work is in the public domain, it is available on YouTube in its full length.[3]
References
- ^ "An interview with Orson Welles's cinematographer Gary Graver by Harvey Chartrand – Excerpts from PENNY BLOOD magazine #11 « Wellesnet: The Orson Welles Web Resource" (Interview). Wellesnet.com. 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
- ^ Filming The Trial at IMDb
- ^ "Filming 'The Trial' [1981] (Unedited) - Rare Orson Welles Documentary". YouTube.
External links
- Filming 'The Trial' at IMDb
- Interview with Gary Graver
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- Unrealized projects
- Citizen Kane (1941)
- The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
- The Stranger (1946)
- The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
- Macbeth (1948)
- Othello (1951)
- Mr. Arkadin (1955)
- Touch of Evil (1958)
- The Trial (1962)
- Chimes at Midnight (1965)
- The Immortal Story (1968)
- F for Fake (1973)
- Filming Othello (1978)
- The Other Side of the Wind (2018)
- Twelfth Night (1933)
- The Hearts of Age (1934)
- Citizen Kane trailer (1940)
- Around the World (1946)
- The Miracle of St. Anne (1950)
- Magic Trick (1953)
- The Dominici Affair (1955)
- Portrait of Gina (1958)
- An Evening with Orson Welles (1970)
- Orson's Bag
- Vienna (1968)
- The Merchant of Venice (1969)
- One Man Band (1968–1971)
- Moby Dick (1971)
- Orson Welles' Magic Show (1976–1985)
- The Spirit of Charles Lindbergh (1984)
- Too Much Johnson (1938)
- It's All True (1942)
- Don Quixote (1957–1969)
- The Heroine (1967)
- The Deep (1967–1970)
- Filming 'The Trial' (1981)
- The Dreamers (1980–1982)
- Journey into Fear (1943)
- Follow the Boys (1944)
- Black Magic (1949)
- Three Cases of Murder (1955)
- David and Goliath (1960)
- The Southern Star (1969)
- Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
- Treasure Island (1972)
- Cradle Will Rock (1999)
- The Big Brass Ring (1999)
- Orson Welles' Sketch Book (1955)
- Around the World with Orson Welles (1955)
- Orson Welles and People (1956)
- The Fountain of Youth (1958)
- In the Land of Don Quixote (1964)
- The Orson Welles Show (1979)
- Marching Song (1932)
- Bright Lucifer
- Voodoo Macbeth (1936)
- Horse Eats Hat (1936)
- The Cradle Will Rock (1937)
- Caesar (1937–1938)
- Too Much Johnson (1938)
- Native Son (1941)
- The Mercury Wonder Show (1943)
- Around the World (1946)
- Othello (1951)
- The Lady in the Ice (1953)
- Moby Dick—Rehearsed (1955)
- Rhinoceros (1960)
- Les Misérables (1937)
- The Shadow (1937–1938)
- The Mercury Theatre on the Air (1938)
- "Dracula" (1938)
- "The War of the Worlds" (1938)
- The Campbell Playhouse (1938–1940)
- The Orson Welles Show (1941–1942)
- Ceiling Unlimited (1942–1943)
- Hello Americans (1942–1943)
- The Orson Welles Almanac (1944)
- This Is My Best (1945)
- Orson Welles Commentaries (1945–1946)
- The Mercury Summer Theatre of the Air (1946)
- The Adventures of Harry Lime (1951–1952)
- The Black Museum (1951–52)
- The Happy Prince (1946)
- The Begatting of the President (1970)
- This is Orson Welles (1992)
- Les Bravades (1996)
- Mercury Theatre
- Rita Hayworth (second wife)
- Paola Mori (third wife)
- Beatrice Welles (daughter)
- Oja Kodar
- Frozen Peas
- Orson Welles Paul Masson advertisements
- It's All True: Based on an Unfinished Film by Orson Welles (1993)
- Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles (2014)
- They'll Love Me When I'm Dead (2018)
- Orson Welles (crater)