Orson Welles

[ando]

Finished the Biskind book. Fun read but my, what sadness toward the end - especially in light of the success of some of Welles' contemporaries like Houseman. And he's spot on about Lloyd being funnier than Chaplin (who was not the master of gags) or Keaton (who was). Put me in the mood for watching and/or talking about Lloyd, particularly, Speedy... but where's the Lloyd thread?!!

[Drucker]

The Lady From Shanghai getting a 4k scan. Looks like it's coming from Grover Crisp's team, so this does bode well!

[hearthesilence]

Excellent news! I haven't seen this in a few years, and even then only on DVD, but I recall large chunks of it looking a little muddy. Given how much Welles liked to use the optical printer, I wasn't sure if it was inherent in the negative or not.

[FrauBlucher]

Being that this is not a huge commercial catalogue title I don't see SONY releasing it themselves. They will probably license it out for the home market.

[Moe Dickstein]

So Criterion, Twilight Time, Image or Mill Creek - we'll take your wagers right over here.

[FrauBlucher]

Odds on a 4K resto release has to go to CC or TT.

[Drucker]

Unfortunately, seems like exactly the kind of thing Twilight Time would release, and don't they get first dibs?

[albucat]

That's a depressing thought, but better them than no one.

[Moe Dickstein]

No, TT doesn't have any sort of "dibs".

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

Even if TT did release it here, I'm pretty confident Sony would release it themselves in Europe.

[Altair]

Would it not be possible that Sony themselves want to release this? Afterall, isn't this their only Welles film they have?

[Ibnezra]

Sorry to digress from the immediate subject at hand, but...

One has to wonder what kind of legal Hell "Chimes at Midnight" is in. I know this has been discussed before, on more forums than just this'n. What kills me isn't the details of the ownership dispute, it's the fact that the parties involved seem intractable. There's certainly some money to be made here, particularly in the case of a Criterion release. With the issue dragging on for so long, it just amazes me that the vested interests involved prefer to continue making absolutely NO MONEY from their disputed property, rather than reaching a compromise and making a significant sum of money (given out in shares to everyone with a dog in this fight) from reissuing the material. Meanwhile the bootleggers are laughing all the way to the bank and the world is denied legal access to one of the great treasures of film art.

[Jack Phillips]

Meanwhile the bootleggers are laughing all the way to the bank and the world is denied legal access to one of the great treasures of film art.

But there's a beautiful DVD of this out from Mr. Bongo in the UK...

[FrauBlucher]

Would it not be possible that Sony themselves want to release this? Afterall, isn't this their only Welles film they have?

SONY will do very little of their own DVD/Blu distribution in North America. They just extended a huge deal with Mill Creek for them to distribute SONY films and TV Shows for home entertainment. Plus, SONY has deals with CC, TT and Image. Besides, SONY doesn't care who the director is. They only care if it will be a huge financial return. Also, as Grover Crisp told me SONY has very little interest in releasing many old films. Mr. Crisp said he actually had to beg the higher ups at SONY to allow CC to release Anatomy of a Murder. So, his restorations are really independent from the corporate higher ups at SONY.

I do think Criterion will release The Lady of Shanghai. They care more that it's a Welles film.

[Erhen]

That's a depressing thought, but better them than no one.

An isolated score in this instance would be the height of irony, something that would no doubt be lost on TT.

[Moe Dickstein]

That's a depressing thought, but better them than no one.

An isolated score in this instance would be the height of irony, something that would no doubt be lost on TT.

Yes, because TT isn't run by film scholars or anything.

[Dylan]

That's a depressing thought, but better them than no one.

An isolated score in this instance would be the height of irony, something that would no doubt be lost on TT.

Yes, because TT isn't run by film scholars or anything.

The score for The Lady From Shanghai - the main theme of which is that lovely song that Hayworth sings (yes, I know that scene was shot against the director's wishes) - hasn't been released in any form in the 65+ years since the film came out, not even tracks on a compilation. It would be great if this music still existed to include as an isolated score. Welles didn't want a traditional score, yes, and the kind of score that was written was very theme-y & on-the-nose which angered him even more, but it's not bad music. It has tremendous historical value, in my opinion, if this score even exists. And personally speaking, I like the song "Please Don't Kiss Me," which is used throughout as the "love theme."

[Roger Ryan]

...And personally speaking, I like the song "Please Don't Kiss Me," which is used throughout as the "love theme."

I have no problem with the song (and Welles was able to retain an uncomfortable menace throughout the sequence), but your use of the term "throughout" hits on the thing Welles was most frustrated with - it's pretty much the same cue used over and over again regardless of the context. I would have to imagine that an isolated score would only emphasize the redundant nature of the theme.

[Dylan]

it's pretty much the same cue used over and over again regardless of the context.

Yes, it's more or less a monothematic score & adds a bit of syrup where Welles didn't want it. And where he didn't want syrup the score adds menace or stingers. From my perspective, it just makes the film more "Hollywood" which in my opinion suits the film as it currently stands just fine. By the time this edit of the film was assembled it seems the film had already drifted very, very far away from the first cut anyway so the score more or less seals the fact that this is studio product (as do the gorgeous - albeit uncharacteristic of Welles - close-up shots). The footage is all Welles but the assembly really isn't - seen in a certain light this is probably the greatest "Alan Smithee" film of all-time.

I would have to imagine that an isolated score would only emphasize the redundant nature of the theme.

I'm curious when the composer started working on this film - if the music exists there might be a few cues on the tape that didn't make it into the film. The thing that would still kind of shock me is if this music still exists at all. If it does then it would be wonderful to see it show up either as an isolated score or an music & effects track.

By the way, all of this discussion makes me think of the theory that Roy Webb actually did a complete re-score of The Magnificent Ambersons based on a phantom Main Title track on a compilation that is neither Herrmann nor in the film itself. Regardless of the quality of Webb's re-score if this is true and still exists it would be fascinating to hear.

[Roger Ryan]

By the way, all of this discussion makes me think of the theory that Roy Webb actually did a complete re-score of The Magnificent Ambersons based on a phantom Main Title track on a compilation that is neither Herrmann nor in the film itself. Regardless of the quality of Webb's re-score if this is true and still exists it would be fascinating to hear.

Thanks for this link - I had never heard about the Rhino soundtrack compilation release featuring this mystery track! Given that most of the re-edited scenes in AMBERSONS eliminated the Herrmann cues outright or utilized new cues written by Webb, I suspect that it was thought the truncated/scrambled opening sequence would have to be re-scored as well. After hearing the results, perhaps the attempt was made to reconfigure the original Herrmann cue to fit the re-edited footage and it worked well enough to use (if, in fact, the theory of this mystery track is accurate).

EDIT: I found a sample of the mystery "Main Title" cue from AMBERSONS; it sounds like Webb trying to imitate Herrmann's opening cue from the film, but it could also be some generic music from dozens of films from this period.

[Cagliostro]

Looks like no Criterion release for Shanghai . . . .

[FrauBlucher]

Looks like no Criterion release for Shanghai . . . .

Old news. Beaver even reviewed already.

[Drucker]

Part 1and Part 2 of a Wellesnet interview with Beatrice Welles.

She certainly doesn't come off well. She says Julian Schlossberg is handling the US blu-ray/DVD release of the Othello restoration. She also says there's at the moment no chance of Chimes At Midnight coming out or getting properly restored. Sigh.

[Minkin]

She certainly doesn't come off well. She says Julian Schlossberg is handling the US blu-ray/DVD release of the Othello restoration.

Hmm. From Wikipedia:

In 2006 Schlossberg sold Castle Hill Productions and started two new production and film distribution companies, Jumer Productions Inc. and Westchester Films Inc. Their libraries are managed in part by Janus Films.

Westchester has other contracts (Image, Severin, etc), but I'm guessing there's a strong chance of Criterion (if they feel like tumbling down that rabbit hole.. but they did do the laserdisc)

[Roger Ryan]

Image handled the first DVD release of OTHELLO in the U.S. If Criterion handled this re-release, I feel we would have a fighting chance at getting the original European edit included as well.

One heartening thing I found in this new interview is that Ms. Welles (now) thinks that the TOUCH OF EVIL reconstruction was amazingly well-done. This is a surprising reveal since it has long been thought that she was responsible for derailing a Cannes premiere and delaying the initial DVD release.