Customer Reviews

The Magic World of Orson Welles

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Certainly a must for any studious Orson Welles fan, Naremore's sympathies in this book lie pretty close to my own - he sees Welles as an independent "auteur", unconventional but not an avant-garde, and someone whose work, far from declining after his first young success with "Citizen Kane" continued to grow, change, and in some respects improve. If your feelings are at all similar - or you want to be convinced - of course I can highly recommend it. He focuses almost entirely on Welles' work, not his life, and within that still-wide area concentrates specifically on five films ("Citizen Kane", "The Magnificent Ambersons", "Touch of Evil", "The Trial", and "Chimes at Midnight") which are arguably the master's most important contributions to cinema. I disagree to a large extent with his views on "The Trial" but he's probably seen the film many more times than I have, and under better conditions -- certainly he makes me eager to get back and watch those Welles films that I've not seen so many times again and again. My favorite sections are probably those on 'Ambersons', a film I probably overrate but that Naremore offers some convincing arguments both for and against, and 'Chimes at Midnight'.

There are briefer discussions on Welles' other films as director, though curiously nothing at all on "Filming Othello" which may have at the time of this 2nd edition of the book (1985) not been listed as having been directed by Welles. Very little here on Welles' work as an actor (except in the film he also directed); some discussion on his radio work and incomplete films.

In any case, one of the very top books on Welles' work to date, most strongly recommended.

I have always been a fan of Orson Welles on radio and television. Having collected a ton of radio broadcasts on CD and audio cassette and having watched most of his movies, I appreciate the genius of his work. I picked up a copy of this book recently and am amazed at the amount of research put into it. An aspect of Welles rarely discussed is his magic career. At the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention this September in Aberdeen, Maryland, I plan to attend the presentation about Orson Welles and his magic career so I can watch rare footage and films with Welles, and get an even deeper insight to his trickery. Book comes recommended.