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Orson Welles
Directing
Biography
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio. Noted for his innovative dramatic productions as well as his distinctive voice and personality, Welles is widely acknowledged as one of the most accomplished dramatic artists of the twentieth century, especially for his significant and influential early work—despite his notoriously contentious relationship with Hollywood. His distinctive directorial style featured layered, nonlinear narrative forms, innovative uses of lighting such as chiaroscuro, unique camera angles, sound techniques borrowed …
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George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio. Noted for his innovative dramatic productions as well as his distinctive voice and personality, Welles is widely acknowledged as one of the most accomplished dramatic artists of the twentieth century, especially for his significant and influential early work—despite his notoriously contentious relationship with Hollywood. His distinctive directorial style featured layered, nonlinear narrative forms, innovative uses of lighting such as chiaroscuro, unique camera angles, sound techniques borrowed from radio, deep focus shots, and long takes. Welles's long career in film is noted for his struggle for artistic control in the face of pressure from studios. Many of his films were heavily edited and others left unreleased. He has been praised as a major creative force and as "the ultimate auteur." After directing a number of high-profile theatrical productions in his early twenties, including an innovative adaptation of Macbeth and The Cradle Will Rock, Welles found national and international fame as the director and narrator of a 1938 radio adaptation of H. G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds performed for the radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was reported to have caused widespread panic when listeners thought that an invasion by extraterrestrial beings was occurring. Although these reports of panic were mostly false and overstated, they rocketed Welles to instant notoriety. Citizen Kane (1941), his first film with RKO, in which he starred in the role of Charles Foster Kane, is often considered the greatest film ever made. Several of his other films, including The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), The Lady from Shanghai (1947), Touch of Evil (1958), Chimes at Midnight (1965), and F for Fake (1974), are also widely considered to be masterpieces. In 2002, he was voted the greatest film director of all time in two separate British Film Institute polls among directors and critics, and a wide survey of critical consensus, best-of lists, and historical retrospectives calls him the most acclaimed director of all time. Andrew Sarris in his influential book of film criticism The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1968 included him in the "pantheon" of the 14 greatest film directors who had worked in the United States. Well known for his baritone voice, Welles was also an extremely well regarded actor and was voted number 16 in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars list of the greatest American film actors of all time. He was also a celebrated Shakespearean stage actor and an accomplished magician, starring in troop variety shows in the war years.
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BODY OF WORK
Orson Welles's Filmography
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Charmed Lives: A Family Romance
as Self (archive footage)
War of the Worlds
as narrator
The Making Of
as Self (archival)
Proust Palimpsesto: Pastiches e Misturas
as Self / The Director / Sir John Falstaff (archive footage) (uncredited)
WeirdWorld
as Troy2000 (Archive footage)
Human Nature in Eleven Parts
as Narrator "The Scorpion and the Frog" (archive footage)
The Scorpion and the Frog
as Narrator (archive footage)
Othelo The Great
as Self (archive footage)
The Battle of Grovers Mill
as Radio Host (voice) (archival footage)
Aliens Uncovered: Close Encounters
as Self
Jim Henson Idea Man
as Self (archive footage)
From Introduction to Orson Welles’s Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight
as Falstaff
It's Pretty, but is it Art?
as Self (voiceover)
Looking Back Before You Leap
as General Zaroff (voice)
Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
as Self (archive footage)
American: An Odyssey to 1947
as Self (archive footage)
Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
as Self (archive footage)
The Welles Raft
as Himself (Archive Footage)
My Guest is Orson Welles
The Real Charlie Chaplin
as Self (archive footage)
Tall Tales: The Ireland of Orson Welles
as Self
Parkinson at 50
as Self (archive footage)
Morceaux de Cannes
as Self (archive footage)
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Blinding of Isaac Woodard
as Self (archive footage)
Hopper/Welles
as Self
Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind
as Self (archive footage)
Emergency: Donald Trump’s "Touch of Evil"
as (archive footage)
The Other Side of the Wind
as Journalist (uncredited)
They'll Love Me When I'm Dead
as Self (archive footage)
The Eyes of Orson Welles
as Self - Filmmaker / Various Roles (archive footage)
Jeanne Moreau: Free Spirit
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
No Poster
The Magic History of Cinema
Embers & Dust
as Professor Richard Pierson / Self (voice) (archive sound)
Decadence and Downfall: The Shah of Iran's Ultimate Party
as Self (archive footage) (voice)
This Is Orson Welles
as Self
Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
as Self - Filmmaker / Various Roles (archive footage)
Alfonso Sansone: Producer by Chance
as Self (archive footage)
Too Much Johnson
as Keystone Kop (uncredited)
Jodorowsky's Dune
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Magic Mirror Maze
The Shadow Knows
as Self (archive footage)
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
as (archive footage)
Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure
as Self
Jucy
as Elephant Lamp (archive sound)
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
as Genghis Khan / Bayan (archive footage)
Orson Welles: The Paris Interview
as Himself
Hollywood sul Tevere
Lucifer et moi
as (archive footage 1982)
Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story
as Self (archive)
The Deep
as Russ Brewer
Lost in "The Thinking"
as Self (archive footage)
Orson Welles Talks With Roger Hill
as (Self)
Filmmakers vs. Tycoons
as Self (archive footage)
The Other Side of Welles
as Self (archive footage)
The Well
Orson Welles Uncut
The Hitch Hiker
as Ronald Adams
No Poster
The UFO Conspiracy
as Self (archive sound)
The Dominici Affair by Orson Welles
as Self (archive footage)
Filming 'The Trial'
as Self
Heart of the Festival
as Self (archive footage)
Lost in La Mancha
as Self (archive footage)
The Movie Movie (An Excerpt)
as (archive footage)
A Huey P. Newton Story
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Paranormal Peter Sellers
as Self (Archive footage)
NASA: A Space Odyssey Vol. 3
as Narrator
Orson Welles in the Land of Don Quixote
as Self (Archive footage)
Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces
as Self (archive footage)
Moby Dick
as Captain Ahab / Starbuck / Ishmael (archive footage)
One Man Band
as Presenter / Various
Hi-Fi
According to Occam's Razor
The Best of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
as Self - Roaster (archive footage)
It's All Brazil
as Self (archive footage)
Who Is Henry Jaglom?
as Self (archive footage)
Celebração - 100 Anos do Cinema Nacional
as Self
The Battle Over Citizen Kane
as Self (archive footage)
Orson Welles: The One-Man Band
as Self (archive footage)
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
as Self (archive footage)
La Classe américaine
as Self (archive footage)
It's All True
as Self
Rosabella - La storia italiana di Orson Welles
Working with Orson Welles
as Himself (Archive Footage)
Don Quixote
as Self
The Complete 'Citizen Kane'
as Self (archive footage)
Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio
as Self - Professor in War of the Worlds Broadcast (archive sound)
No Poster
With Orson Welles: Stories from a Life in Film
as Self (archive footage)
Rita Hayworth: Dancing Into the Dream
as Self (archive footage)
Welles' Language
as Self (archive footage)
On the tracks of a filmmaker
as Orson Welles
Someone to Love
as Danny's Friend
Unseen Lollo
as Himself
It's Not All True
as Himself (archive footage)
The Transformers: The Movie
as Unicron (voice)
The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
as Self (archive footage)
The Dreamers
as Marcus Kleek
Orson Welles' Magic Show
as Self
No Poster
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Michael Landon
as Self
Almonds and Raisins
as Narrator
The Road to Bresson
as Self
The Last Sailors: The Final Days of Working Sail
as Narrator
No Poster
In Our Hands
as Himself
The Spirit of Charles Lindbergh
as himself
Where Is Parsifal?
as Klingsor
The Witching
as Mr. Cato
Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?
as Magician (uncredited)
The Psychic Connection
as Narrator
No Poster
King Penguin: Stranded Beyond the Falklands
as Self - Narrator
Orson Welles at the Cinémathèque Française
as Himself
Hot Money
as Sheriff Paisley
Slapstick of Another Kind
as Aliens' Father (voice) (uncredited)
Wagner e Venezia
as Richard Wagner (voice)
Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady
as Self
The Orson Welles Story
as Self
Baryshnikov in Hollywood
as Self - Narrator
Genocide
as Narrator (voice)
Night of 100 Stars
as Self
Doug Henning's World of Magic
as Self - Special Guest
Butterfly
as Judge Rauch
Let Poland Be Poland
as Self
Magic with the Stars
as Self - Host
The Quest for Fire Adventure
as Narrator
A Gift of Harvest
as Narrator
Brasil
as Self (archive footage)
Search for the Titanic
as Self - Host
History of the World: Part I
as Narrator (voice)
The Man Who Saw Tomorrow
as Presenter / Narrator (voice)
No Poster
Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park
as Narrator
The Secret of Nikola Tesla
as J.P. Morgan
No Poster
A Step Away
as English Narrator
The Greenstone
as Narrator (voice)
The New Media Bible: Book of Genesis
as Narrator
Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years
as Self
No Poster
To Try Again... and Succeed
as Narrator (voice)
Filming Othello
as Host
The Muppet Movie
as Lew Lord
The Double McGuffin
as Narrator (voice)
The Orson Welles Show
as Self
The Greatest Adventure--The Story of Man's Voyage to the Moon
as Narrator
Orson Welles at The Magic Castle
as Self
The Biggest Battle
as Narratore
The Late Great Planet Earth
as Self
Mysterious Castles of Clay
as Narrator
Caesar's Guide to Gaming with Orson Welles
as Himself
It Happened One Christmas
as Henry F. Potter
No Poster
The Lions of Capitalism: Some Call It Greed
as Narrator
The Force Beyond
as Himself (archive footage)
Tut: The Boy King
as Himself - Host
Hot Tomorrows
as Parklawn Mortuary (voice)
The Shirley MacLaine Special: Where Do We Go from Here?
as Self
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
as Narrator
From Fiber to Fabric: Wool's a Natural
as Narrator
Voyage of the Damned
as José Estedes
NBC: The First Fifty Years
as Self / Narrator
The New Deal for Artists
as Narrator (voice)
Bugs Bunny Superstar
as Narrator (voice)
No Poster
A Mother's Tale
as Narrator
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage)
No Poster
Orson Welles - Das vermarktete Genie
as Self
No Poster
Magnificent Monsters of the Deep
as Narrator
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
as Narrator / Nag / Chuchundra (voice)
Who's Out There?
as Host
The Challenge... A Tribute to Modern Art
as Narrator
No Poster
A Legend a Lifetime: Citizen Welles
And Then There Were None
as Voice on Tape
Letter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
No Poster
Power and Corruption
as Himself
The Monkey's Paw
as Host
No Poster
Kelly Country
as Narrator
F for Fake
as Self
The Battle of Sutjeska
as Winston Churchill
The Cave
as Narrator
The Man Who Came to Dinner
as Sheridan Whiteside
Treasure Island
as Long John Silver
Necromancy
as Mr. Cato
Get to Know Your Rabbit
as Mr. Delasandro
Malpertuis
as Cassavius
Jeanne Moreau : Vive le cinéma !
as Self
No Poster
Future Shock
as Narrator
Ten Days' Wonder
as Théo Van Horn
A Safe Place
as The Magician
Directed by John Ford
as Narrator (voice)
Sentinels of Silence
Flame of Persia
as Narrator
Freedom River
as Narrator
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Happy Prince
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
An Evening with Orson Welles: My Little Boy
An Evening with Orson Welles: American Heritage, Vol. I – Selections from George Ade, Thomas Wolfe, Mark Twain
An Evening with Orson Welles: American Heritage, Vol. II – Clarence Darrow
An Evening with Orson Welles: Two Wise Old Men – Socrates and Noah
Is It Always Right to Be Right?
as Narrator
Waterloo
as Louis XVIII
No Poster
The Enemy Before Us
as Narrator
Catch-22
as Brigadier General Dreedle
Start the Revolution Without Me
as The Narrator
The Kremlin Letter
as Bresnavitch
Upon This Rock
as Michelangelo (voice)
A Horse Called Nijinsky
as Narrator
The Merchant of Venice (Rushes)
as Shylock
Soft Self-Portrait of Salvador Dali
as Narrator (voice)
The Merchant of Venice
as Shylock
The Battle of Neretva
as Četnik
Twelve Plus One
as Markan
The Southern Star
as Plankett
The Fight for Rome II - The Betrayal
as Justinian
Tepepa
as Colonel Cascorro
To Build a Fire
as Narrator (voice)
The Fight for Rome
as Justinian
The Immortal Story
as Charles Clay
House of Cards
as Leschenhaut
Around the World of Mike Todd
as Self - Narrator
Oedipus the King
as Tiresias
Portrait: Orson Welles
as Self
Vienna
as Himself
I'll Never Forget What's'isname
as Jonathan Lute
Beggars Would Ride
as Narrator
No Poster
Disorder Is 20 Years Old
as Self
Casino Royale
as Le Chiffre
The Sailor from Gibraltar
as Louis de Mozambique
Ten Days That Shook the World
as Narrator
A Man for All Seasons
as Cardinal Wolsey
Is Paris Burning?
as Konsul Nordling
Orson Welles in Spain
as Himself
Chimes at Midnight
as Falstaff
Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Americans on Everest
as Narrator- Self
Marco the Magnificent
as Akerman, Marco's Teacher
Profile No. 6: Orson Welles
A King's Story
as Narrator
The Finest Hours
as Narrator (voice)
The V.I.P.s
as Max Buda
La ricotta
Ro.Go.Pa.G.
as The 'Director' (segment "La ricotta")
No Poster
River of the Ocean
as Narrator (English)
The Trial
as Albert Hastler
Lafayette
as Benjamin Franklin
King of Kings
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
The Tartars
as Burundai
Austerlitz
as Robert Fulton
An Arabian Night
as Storyteller
Crack in the Mirror
as Hagolin / Lamerciere
Five Columns on the Front Page: Hong Kong as seen by Orson Welles
as Self (narrator)
David and Goliath
as King Saul
High Journey
as Narrator
Ferry to Hong Kong
as Captain Hart
Compulsion
as Jonathan Wilk
No Poster
Lords of the Forest
as Narrator (voice)
The Roots of Heaven
as Cy Sedgewick
The Fountain of Youth
as the narrator
Orson Welles at Large: Portrait of Gina
as Self - Host
South Seas Adventure
as Narrator
The Vikings
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
The Long, Hot Summer
as Will Varner
Touch of Evil
as Police Captain Hank Quinlan
Man in the Shadow
as Virgil Renchler
No Poster
Out of Darkness
as Self - Narrator
Moby Dick
as Father Mapple
No Poster
Orson Welles and People: Camille, the Naked Lady and the Musketeers
as Self - Narrator (voice)
The Land of the Basques
as Himself
Mr. Arkadin
as Gregory Arkadin
Moby Dick—Rehearsed
as An Actor Manager /Father Mapple /Ahab
Napoleon
as Sir Hudson Lowe
Three Cases of Murder
as Lord Mountdrago ("Lord Mountdrago" segment)
Trouble in the Glen
as Sanin Cejador y Mengues
Royal Affairs in Versailles
as Benjamin Franklin
King Lear
as King Lear
Man, Beast and Virtue
as Captain Perella, the Beast
Return to Glennascaul
as Narrator
Trent's Last Case
as Sigsbee Manderson
Othello
as Othello
Disorder
as Self
The Black Rose
as Bayan
The Miracle of St. Anne
as The Director
Prince of Foxes
as Cesare Borgia
The Third Man
as Harry Lime
Black Magic
as Joseph Balsamo aka Count Cagliostro
Macbeth
as Macbeth
The Lady from Shanghai
as Michael O'Hara
Duel in the Sun
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
No Poster
Battle for Survival
as Narrator
The Stranger
as Prof. Charles Rankin
Tomorrow Is Forever
as John Andrew MacDonald
No Poster
Mexico City, Old and New
as Narrator
Follow the Boys
as Orson Welles (uncredited)
Know Your Ally: Britain
as Narrator/Bob (helpful taxi passenger)
Jane Eyre
as Edward Rochester
Show-Business at War
as Self
Journey into Fear
as Colonel Haki
The Magnificent Ambersons
as Narrator (voice)
Citizen Kane
as Charles Foster Kane
Swiss Family Robinson
as Opening Narrator (uncredited)
No Poster
The Green Goddess
as Rajah/Narrator
The Spanish Earth
as Narrator (voice)
The Hearts of Age
as Death
Twelfth Night
as Narrator
No Poster
Something Else
No Poster
Voyage of the Brigantine Yankee
as Narrator