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Mr. Arkadin
Licensor Information
Euro-London Films
Directed by: Orson Welles
Featuring: Orson Welles, Robert Arden, Paola Mori, Patricia Medina, Peter Van Eyck, Michael Redgrave, Gert Frobe
Orson Welles’s Mr. Arkadin (a.k.a. Confidential Report) tells the story of an elusive billionaire who hires an American smuggler to investigate his past, leading to a dizzying descent into a cold-war European landscape. The film’s history is also marked by this vertigo. There are at least eight Mr. Arkadins: three radio plays, a novel, several long-lost cuts, and the controversial European release known as Confidential Report. Criterion gathered all of these elements to create this landmark box set—which also includes outtakes, behind-the-scenes footage, and a new comprehensive version of the film—at last unraveling one of cinema’s great mysteries.
Details by Film
Mr. Arkadin
The Corinth VersionYear: 1955
Time: 99
Aspect Ratios
1.33:1
Audio
English Dolby Digital Mono 1.0
Mr. Arkadin
<I>Confidential Report</I>Year: 1955
Time: 98
Aspect Ratios
1.33:1
Audio
English Dolby Digital Mono 1.0
Mr. Arkadin
Comprehensive VersionYear: 2006
Time: 105
Aspect Ratios
1.33:1
Audio
English Dolby Digital Mono 1.0
Streaming Options
18391.
+10274
Stream
Free
Release Information:
Technical Specifications
Format:
DVD
Discs:
DVD-9 (3 Discs)
Total: 3 Discs
Regions:
1 (DVD)
Aspect Ratio:
1.33:1
Audio Options:
English Dolby Digital Mono 1.0
Resolution:
480p/29.97
Subtitles:
English
Supplements
Types of Supplements Included: Alternate Edit, Interview, Radio Program, Documentary, Outtakes, Gallery, Novel, Booklet
- Three versions of the film: the Corinth Verion, Confidential Report, and a new comprehensive version
- An interview with Welles biographer Simon Callow, featuring his audio interview with star Robert Arden
- Three half-hour episodes of the radio program The Lives of Harry Lime, upon which the film is based, and an interview with producer Harry Alan Towers
- On the Comprehensive Version, a new documentary featuring interviews with film historian Stefan Drössler and Claude Bertemes and Welles confidant Peter Bogdanovich
- Outtakes, rushes, and alternate scenes from the film
- Extensive stills gallery
- Mr. Arkadin, the novel, with a new preface by Robert Polito
- A booklet featuring J. Hoberman, Jonathan Rosenbaum, film historian François Thomas, and Stefan Drössler on the three versions; and a time line of Arkadin-related events
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Film
Picture
Audio
Supplements
Artwork
Release Credits
Producer: Issa Clubb
Artwork: Lucien S. Y. Yang
Release Notes on Restoration
Mr. Arkadin
These new high-definition digital transfers of Mr. Arkadin and Confidential Report are presented in their original aspect ratios of 1.33:1. On widescreen tele» visions, black bars will appear on the left and the right of the image to maintain the proper screen format.
The Corinth version of Mr. Arkadin was mastered from a 35mm composite fine-grain print discovered in France, a 35mm duplicate negative provided by Video Mercury, and a 16mm duplicate negative. The comprehensive version was made from all of the above elements as well as a 35mm print from the Cinematheque municipale de Luxembourg. All of the elements were mastered on a Spirit Datacine, except for the 35mm dupe negative, which was created on a C-Reality with Oliver Electronic Wetgate processing. Finally, a da Vinci 2k Color Corrector was utilized for the tape-to-tape color correction process to insure color consistency between all of the various film elements. The soundtracks for these versions were created from optical soundtracks found on many of the above film elements.
Confidential Report was mastered on a Spirit Datacine from a 35mm composite fine-grain print. The soundtrack was created from an optical track from this same fine-grain.
Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, and scratches were removed using Mathematical Technologies’ Digital Restoration System and Digital Vision’s ASC3 Advance Scratch and Dirt Concealer. Apple’s Shake was used for stability correction-specifically needed within the 16mm footage. To maintain optimal image quality through the compression process, the picture on these dual-layer DVD-9s was encoded at the highest-possible bit rate for the quantity of material included.
The soundtracks were mastered and restored at 24-bit using Cube-Tec's AudioCube and Sonic Solutions’ NoNoise systems. In addition, Elemental Audio‘s Firium EQ was applied to match the timbres of the many different soundtrack elements used in the comprehensive version. The Dolby Digital 1.0 signals will be directed to the center channel on 5.1-channel sound systems, but some viewers may prefer to switch to two-channel playback for a wider dispersal of the mono sound.
The Corinth version of Mr. Arkadin was mastered from a 35mm composite fine-grain print discovered in France, a 35mm duplicate negative provided by Video Mercury, and a 16mm duplicate negative. The comprehensive version was made from all of the above elements as well as a 35mm print from the Cinematheque municipale de Luxembourg. All of the elements were mastered on a Spirit Datacine, except for the 35mm dupe negative, which was created on a C-Reality with Oliver Electronic Wetgate processing. Finally, a da Vinci 2k Color Corrector was utilized for the tape-to-tape color correction process to insure color consistency between all of the various film elements. The soundtracks for these versions were created from optical soundtracks found on many of the above film elements.
Confidential Report was mastered on a Spirit Datacine from a 35mm composite fine-grain print. The soundtrack was created from an optical track from this same fine-grain.
Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, and scratches were removed using Mathematical Technologies’ Digital Restoration System and Digital Vision’s ASC3 Advance Scratch and Dirt Concealer. Apple’s Shake was used for stability correction-specifically needed within the 16mm footage. To maintain optimal image quality through the compression process, the picture on these dual-layer DVD-9s was encoded at the highest-possible bit rate for the quantity of material included.
The soundtracks were mastered and restored at 24-bit using Cube-Tec's AudioCube and Sonic Solutions’ NoNoise systems. In addition, Elemental Audio‘s Firium EQ was applied to match the timbres of the many different soundtrack elements used in the comprehensive version. The Dolby Digital 1.0 signals will be directed to the center channel on 5.1-channel sound systems, but some viewers may prefer to switch to two-channel playback for a wider dispersal of the mono sound.