Customer Reviews

It's All True

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A treasure for all Welles' fans. A 32 minute documentary on the failure to complete "It's All True" leads into a full presentation of the beautiful 46 minute B&W SILENT drama documentary titled "Four Men On A Raft". An excellent modern ( Stereo ) score made up of renditions of the Brazilian music Welles was investigating is dubbed on together with appropriate sound effects ( wind & waves etc ). Despite being on Nitrate film stock stashed in a studio basement for over 40 years its presented in almost perfect condition. A thrill to see what's left and truly sad to think of what might have emerged. Included amongst the snippets of incomplete material is just 3 minutes B&W and 3 minutes colour Rio Carnival footage and a complete 3 minute segment from "My Friend Burrito".

Orson Welles is, was and will always be one of the greatest of all filmakers. You can't really argue with that.

The chance to see lost footage from any of his unfinished projects is always welcome, but this is something of a missed opportunity I'm afraid.

Richly illustrated with interviews and unique footage, the effort and research cannot be faulted, but frequently beautiful images flick by without any explanation whilst pointless facts are dealt in detail.

The cardinal sin here are the "recuts" of the virtually complete sections of It's All True. The "new" musical scores are obstrusive and syrupy - very "hollywood". They sit uncomfortably with the footage, and are NOT Welles style.

It's not the actual scores but the orchestration which seems so out of place. Instead of drawing you into the sequences it dilutes the impact.

It's a real shame, as you can see the influence such sequences had on later Welles pictures, "The Lady From Shanghai" - one of my favourite films - for example. After such a well researched build up it's real let down to see the work damaged in this way. Why the filmakers couldn't have used original recordings from the time film was made - and by the artists featured - is a mystery.

It's still well worth seeing - but, as I've already said, is a missed opportunity.

"It's All True" often receives minor attention in most histories of Orson Welles, probably because nobody had ever seen it. While Welles was in South America filming this documentary, RKO Pictures was busy destroying The Magnificant Ambersons, which had the signs of becoming greater than even Citizen Kane. This video (a documentary about the documentary) reminded me that "It's All True" had the possiblity of being greater still. Welles established a true contection with the people of South America, and to hear their love and admiration for this foriegn filmmaker only reinforces the tragedy of Welles' career. The film would probably have become a national treasure in Brazil, had Welles been allowed to finish it.

Aside from various clips of no particular order, there exists an entire sequence from the original, telling the story of an epic journey of 4 fisherman traveling half-way around the continent in a simple boat. The sequence lacks a soundtrack, and thus is missing the punch of other good Welles material. Orson always used audio with equal mastery as his visual style, and in this sequence you can see just how rough one was without the other. Still worth of a purchase.

A little known documentary that is both entertaining and informative. Touching first hand accounts and rare footage that give an extraordinary look at both Mr. Welles and the Brazilian culture. If there is one reason to own this tape it would be to see over and over again the last part of the film. A piece called "Four Men on a Raft" It is the most beautiful black and white short film I have ever seen. The love Mr. Welles had for these poor fishermen is so wonderfully apparent.

"It's All True" is a well put together film of Orson Welles' attempt in 1942 to make a three-part documentary in South America.

The film we see includes revealing interviews of Welles' assistants and the people of Brazil who helped him in making his documentary. It also includes two separate bits from Welles himself, one of them is clearly from the BBC documentary "With Orson Welles, A Life in Film". The other one was filmed apparently in the late 40's or early 50's and is very interesting as Welles is leaning forward into the camera and telling the story of a "witch doctor" who was dissapointed to say the least when he was told the film would not be completed.

"It's All True" would've been the name of Welles' documentary had he been able to finish it. Of the parts that he did manage to get to camera;

- "My Friend Bunito", the story of a young Mexican boy and his pet calf. One scene was filmed and edited together where the calf is taken to an annual blessing of the animals. The footage is quite striking and very well made.

- "The Carnival in Brazil", is a collection of black & white footage and technicolor (one of Welles' few color efforts) of the annual carnival. The technicolor footage was shot on a large stage, but none of this was edited together in any real fashion and I wonder if Welles himself knew exactly how all the pieces would fit together (he had no script).

- "Four Men on a Raft", is the only completed version, though there is no soundtrack. The footage (we are told) was edited together as close to Welles' vision as they could (apparently, Welles didn't leave behind any detailed script, but it probably is close to what he wanted). The music that is added does not seem to fit very well with the film, but then again, the "love story" that Welles shot is kind of odd and almost old fashioned for his style. Still, it's apparent that Welles had a great love for these people and managed to get some fine performances from them. And even though it was shot on an old-style camera for the time, the footage is particularly good and very well made.

We'll never know of course how well the final version of Welles' vision would be, but it certainly was a crime that it never was completed.

If you are a fan of Orson Welles' work, you owe it to yourself to buy this movie.

It's funny, reading these reviews no one has commented on the obvious. I live in Europe and was treated to a documentary on RKO pictures that featured commentary on Welles and gave true insite on the making of this film. Included was a letter sent to an RKO exec by one of Welles's film crew, that acted as a spy for the Studio. The letter basically described the making of the film as Welles "hanging out in Nigger neighborhoods, filming a bunch of Jigaboos jumping up and down". The Brazilian government objected to the film because it offered the outside world a glimpse of the real demographic "warts and all"(70% of the population was of African heritage), the racism and poverty that existed in spite of a desire to depict and exploit the "exotic beauty" of our South American neighbors.

Welles was ahead of his time and he no doubt paid the price for it in a world that even today "Just can't handle the truth".

One of Welles' lesser viewed projects, and one of his best. It's fascinating to see the direction he was heading into with this film. It's the biggest travesty in motion pictures that the greatest director was never able to fully realize his vision with the exception of Kane. A must see for fans....

"It's All True" often receives minor attention in most histories of Orson Welles, probably because nobody had ever seen it. While Welles was in South America filming this documentary, RKO Pictures was busy destroying The Magnificant Ambersons, which had the signs of becoming greater than even Citizen Kane. This video (a documentary about the documentary) reminded me that "It's All True" had the possiblity of being greater still. Welles established a true contection with the people of South America, and to hear their love and admiration for this foriegn filmmaker only reinforces the tragedy of Welles' career. The film would probably have become a national treasure in Brazil, had Welles been allowed to finish it.

Aside from various clips of no particular order, there exists an entire sequence from the original, telling the story of an epic journey of 4 fisherman traveling half-way around the continent in a simple boat. The sequence lacks a soundtrack, and thus is missing the punch of other good Welles material. Orson always used audio with equal mastery as his visual style, and in this sequence you can see just how rough one was without the other. Still worth of a purchase.

The centerpiece of this video is the long lost "Four Men On A Raft" footage. I have known the now nearly vanished log jangadas of Northeast Brazil for over forty years. They were a background for many a photo and my family and I have taken short trips out to reefs on them. Those originals have been replaced almost entirely by tourist versions built of plywood over foam. On a late 2000s trip not one of the log type was to be found along several hundred miles of coast. Thus I could appreciate the film without explanation. Those without that background may be a bit puzzled due to some issues I found with the lead in to the main event. While set in a staged retell, including a "romance" to illustrate the cause for the amazing sixty-one day trip, this short film is "all true" to the lives of jangadeiros and the protest voyage. I remember faces and lives very much as portrayed as late as the early 1970s. That said, the "foreword" to that film is muddled for those unfamiliar with the country, time and culture, particularly of the Northeast, by a very mixed bag preceding the restored film that is largely silent and has no narration at all. The leading half mixes Welles' career issues, some of the politics involved in the Brazil trip, a short film set in Mexico and interviews leading up to the jangada film that could have been more organized to introduce the viewer to the main feature. I would advise careful attention to some of that earlier part, particularly brief comments on the poverty and exploitation of those risking their lives fishing from those six log sailing rafts far out to sea. As a note, jangadas have been seen by ships far out of sight of land and along with the hard, often fatal life of the vaqueiro (Northeastern "cowboy"), the hard often fatal life of the jangadeiro is the other lifestyle celebrated in song an legend of the Northeast. As for the film's music the samba of the time I thought poorly selected and the music of the silent feature was a bit bizarre. It would have been far better to feature some of the actual music of the Northeast, almost unknown to most likely viewers, with some introduction to that music. A few of the not quite accurate "facts" early on are simply vintage U.S. misunderstandings of the country and culture, particularly of the poor population. The most notable is Welles' description of a "Voodoo" "witch doctor" right at the start. The Afro-Brazilian religions are not "voodoo" in the sense North Americans and Europeans will assume. Candomblé is the proper reference, particularly for the Northeast, with a related Umbanda being most likely for the Rio incident Welles describes. To conclude, this film was not only lost--the fishing culture it depicts is largely lost now and it is ironic that the hopes of the fishermen portrayed that the film might help their cause was also lost, perhaps even "suppressed" by the studio and political interests opposed to rights for those living in the poverty cycle of "sharecropper" whether on land of sea.

This movie is, as expected from a Welles' movie, very beautiful and touching. In my opinion, a bit too dark (but who am I to argue with Orson Welles "poetry"?)

In the first few minutes, the movie shows why it wasn't finished by Welles himself, with an interview of some of the people involved in its productions (in front and behind the camera) and some scenes from the "siblings" of "Four Men on a Raft" ("My Friend Bonito" and "The Story of Samba") and from the production.

Finally, "Four Men on a Raft" is shown. Calling it a "silent" movie is not entirely accurate, because the only sound missing is the voices. You can hear the waves, the wind and all other sounds. There seem to be too many people living in the fishermen village, but that is just my feeling; that particular one might have been larger than average.

To really appreciate the story, you have to be Brazilian and know your History. Even better if you have some ties to the region portrayed. If you do, you will feel deep in you the suffering and it will possibly bring tears to your eyes.

It is funny to see the Carnival in Rio in the 40s, when the "Escola de Samba" was not as rich and powerful as today and the population could dance on the streets (and for those non-Brazilians, the Carnival scenes are probably not acted, just real people having fun). The "floaters" are so simple and poorly constructed, compared to the ones today!

Finally, a real treat after the movie: during the credits, Orson Welles presents (or, more exactly, is presented to) an "anatomy of samba", introducing all the instruments and their sounds. It's a pity this is only the sound; on the other hand, it is hilarious (for a Brazilian) to hear him describing the instruments.

I just bought a copy that I am taking in my next trip to Brazil to show to my father (and the rest of the family, too, of course!). I can't wait to hear him tell me what he remembers of the actual trip.