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F for Fake (The Criterion Collection)

Criterion Collection, Special Edition

Orson Welles (Actor, Director, Writer), Oja Kodar (Actor, Writer) Rated:

Format: DVD

138 ratings

IMDb7.8/10.0

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April 26, 2005

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Trickery. Deceit. Magic. In Orson Welles' free-form documentary, the legendary filmmaker (and self-described charlatan) gleefully engages the central preoccupation of his career-the tenuous line between truth and illusion, art and lies. Beginning with portraits of world-renowned art forger Elmyr de Hory and his equally devious biographer, Clifford Irving, Welles goes on a dizzying cinematic journey that simultaneously exposes and revels in fakery and fakers of all stripes-not the least of which is Welles himself. Charming and poignant, F for Fake is an inspired prank and a searching examination of the essential duplicity of cinema. Criterion's two-disc DVD edition also features an introduction by Peter Bogdanovich, audio commentary by director of photography Gary Graver, an hour long documentary on Welles' unfinished projects, a documentary on the life and works of de Hory, and the theatrical trailer.

Amazon.com

To call Orson Welles's F For Fake a documentary would be somewhat deceitful, but deceit itself is very much the subject of this curious film essay. Welles ruminates on the nature of artistic fakery through two examples, that of infamous art forger Elmyr de Hory and the writer Clifford Irving, whose bogus autobiography of Howard Hughes set off a minor media flurry in the 1970s. Postmodernist that he is, Wells then proceeds to narrate and edit the film in such a perversely frenetic way as to blur the lines between what is real and what is deception, making for an often confusing but engaging work of art in itself. We even see the footage we've been watching as it's being spliced together in Welles's editing room. The specter of Welles's often maligned later career hangs over the proceedings like a challenge--is he going to actually complete this strange movie about chicanery, or will it become one of the many unfinished experiments of his twilight years? Happily, Welles concludes the proceedings with a delightful sequence about Picasso, lust, and what constitutes real art. F For Fake is a fine example of a master filmmaker who had at least a couple tricks left up his sleeve. --Ryan Boudinot

Product details

Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.66:1
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ s_medPG PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 5.25 x 0.75 inches; 4.8 Ounces
Item model number ‏ : ‎ unknown
Director ‏ : ‎ Orson Welles
Media Format ‏ : ‎ Multiple Formats, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Special Edition, Widescreen
Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 29 minutes
Release date ‏ : ‎ April 26, 2005
Actors ‏ : ‎ Orson Welles, Oja Kodar, François Reichenbach, Elmyr de Hory, Clifford Irving
Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
Producers ‏ : ‎ Dominique Antoine, François Reichenbach, Richard Drewitt
Language ‏ : ‎ English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Unqualified
Studio ‏ : ‎ Criterion Collection
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0007M2234
Writers ‏ : ‎ Oja Kodar, Orson Welles
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2

Best Sellers Rank: #106,455 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
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Customer Reviews:
138 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		67%
4 star		12%
3 star		7%
2 star		5%
1 star		9%

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Top reviews from the United States

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frequent user

Worst home movie ever.

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2020

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Orson Welles' reputation and ego has been blown up like a balloon. This movie is an animal that has no head or tail or legs to stand on. The Elmer de Hory story is a great piece of non fiction about a very successful art forger and a couple of con men partners who pulled off multi million dollar frauds with fake Modigliani, Matisse and Picasso paintings. All of the story gets lost in the Welles ego trip..... Read the book "Fake" by Clifford Irving, also a con man author, and draw your own conclusions but save your breath and money cause this movie is so bad they should pay you to watch it. You can buy Fake here used on Amazon for around $15.00....not worth more but better than the "F".

One person found this helpful

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BJames

The onlything fake is the tale, the film is perfect!

Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2017

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If you are looking for a film that will teach you everything you need to know about editing, just use this film as your example. Orson Welles made this film a masterpiece of cinema, not necessarily for the tale it tells, but for the way it tells it. Always the pioneer, Orson Welles used the cutting room as the place to generate the magic in this film.
Everything about this film is the timing, and it's done perfectly.

7 people found this helpful

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Stephen C.

F For Fake, For Fraud, F For Flimflammery!

Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2015

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This film/documentary/cinema slight-of-hand is an interesting piece from Orson Welles during his period of "European Exile". Hollywood be damned! Auteur, Magician, Director, Interviewer and Narrator, FAKE has an certain Cinema Ve'rite' quality running throughout!. The subject matter regarding the Irving's and Elmyr is intriguing, but in other places the subject matter falls short, is silly, and possibly should have been edited out. But who am I to tell Orson what to do! This film is an interesting Welles "Experiment". I enjoyed the film for the chances it takes with the viewer, the fondness I have for Welles, and for its subject matter. I also have a personal connection to this film: my old friend and college roommate was Clifford Irvings' son, who told me many stories about the legendary Elmyr de Hory, the Hughes hoax, and his Father!. I also had the rare opportunity to meet Clifford when he visited his Son. Fond memories!

The "Mockumentary" as it were, is an interesting mix of the real life drama and criminal endeavors Clifford and his wife experienced, resulting from the Howard Hughes biography hoax, which they planned and executed to defraud their publisher. There is also the relationship between Elmyr "The Worlds Greatest Art Forger", and Irving his biographer, friend, neighbor, frequent party guest, and possible collaborator??? I can't really say. You will find it interesting how the lines between illusion and reality are blurred here, which is what Welles intended by virtue of the style, editing, and subject matter. F For Fake is an interesting piece taken on the whole and fascinating in some of it's detail!

7 people found this helpful

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Matthew Farrell

A must-have for any "artist" or Welles fan

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2007

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Most movies that I like are in the "not for everyone" category, and since this is one of my favorite films, that caveat is especially appropriate.

F for Fake is an intellectually challenging film that really requires its viewer to pay attention and follow multiple interweaved plots. Actually, "plot" isn't the right word here: the film explores the theme of "what is real?" (as well as "what is art?") using several real-life examples: notorious art forger Elmyr, and author Cliff Irving (whose Howard Hughes "autobiography" hoax is legendary in literary circles.) And let's not forget Welles himself pulled off one of the most notorious hoaxes of the 20th Century: the War of the Worlds broadcast. If you enjoy seeing "con artists" at the top of their game, this is essential viewing.

Much of the movie was filmed "on the fly" as several simultaneous scandals shook the art and publishing world. This can make it difficult to follow for viewers with short attention spans who are used to linear, well-defined plots. Multiple viewings may be required to fully absorb all that is in this.

Although Welles is on-camera much of the time, the real star here was Welles off-camera in the editing room, where his genius really shines through when viewing the final product. Students of cinematography will undoubtedly be awed by his masterful handling of the material.

The Criterion Collection lives up to its reputation of delivering a goldmine of extras. The best of those offered here is almost certainly "One Man Band," a compilation of various unfinished products Welles was working on in his final years.

8 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Steven Allen

A new type of film

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 7, 2014

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This is a new type of film making and some people are not going to get on with it very well. It requires concentration and if you like films that have a simple linear narrative and so on then this is a bit challenging in that respect. It is worth the investment and the special features are excellent. I won't spoil it by a plot reveal and anyway trickery is the film and is film.

It's about fakery, art fakery, biographical fakery, Welles own fakery etc. It is somewhat episodic but there is a thread that runs through it. Today it is still very contemporary and the issues that it raises are just as a la page. Some things date of course but try and resist the temptation to see this as a Welles folly; there is much to learn here.

6 people found this helpful

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 1, 2015

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Wonderful to see Welles in this classic film restored beautifully

One person found this helpful

A. Huseyin

cannot wait, already had it, but blu ray ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 10, 2014

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cannot wait, already had it,but blu ray +extras well worth it , this is the most unusual film of Welles career made from scraps of film you almost believe he was there.

2 people found this helpful

M.J.J.Helmerhorst

great!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 7, 2016

Verified Purchase

AAA+++!!!

One person found this helpful

Señor Spook

A spectacularly sprightly swan song

Reviewed in Canada on October 17, 2012

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Orson Welles opens "F for Fake" on an ominous note, with a seeming return to the same sort of spooky old Parisian train station he previously showed us in 1962's The Trial . It quickly becomes apparent that, this time, we're here for fun; the station is merely the setting for Welles' impromptu magic act amidst the joyous faces of enraptured children and delighted adults. As the scenery shifts to a coruscating studio backdrop, Welles begins our journey into the movie proper with a promise: everything we see during the next hour will be completely, and utterly, true.

As the final film completed by his own hand, "F for Fake" shows that Welles's cinematic eye remained young and vital well into his autumn years -- a being quite apart from the rotund Paul Masson-plugging caricature he became in popular imagination (a fake front, perhaps?). So even if the still incomplete "The Other Side of the Wind" never rears its head, we'll always have this lively, spritely, vivacious, and playful little cinematic epitaph composed almost entirely of quick cuts and bits of cast-off BBC documentary footage. "F for Fake" exhibits a burning drive to hammer all its disparate pieces into a narrative whole that tells a story of charlatanry and art, shot through with a sense of personal retrospective and biography. Basically, the film looks like the work of a young director with something to prove -- the separate montage bits forming a complete work of art that's also a blast to watch.

The Criterion DVD makes the best out of sometimes sub-par 16mm film material, but it's all sharp and clear -- the best we'll likely see this side of a proper Blu-Ray release. Extras include interviews, Oja Kodar and Gary Graver's feature commentary, Jonathan Rosenbaum's essay, Peter Bogdanovich's intro and an indispensable documentary encompassing Welles' unfinished works. In short, this package contains everything needed to make "F for Fake" a substantial, and fitting, bookend to the cinematic life of a truly great American filmmaker -- buy unreservedly.