ORSON WELLES 1915-1985

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• Director . . . Orson Welles
• Writer . . . Herman J. Mankiewicz
• Cinematographer . . . Gregg Toland
• Editor . . . Robert Wise

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ORSON WELLES 1915-1985

• Mad Genius of Theatre and Film
• Born in Wisconsin
• Little to no formal education
• Left America at 17 and acted on the Irish and
  English Stage
• Self educated and self-taught
• Stage Magician as well as actor
• Director, Actor, Writer, Designer

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Quotes from Orson about Art and Creating

• A film is never really good unless the camera is
  an eye in the head of a poet.
• Create your own visual style... let it be unique
  for yourself and yet identifiable for others.
• The enemy of art is the absence of
  limitations.

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THE WAR OF THE WORLDS

• First broadcast on Halloween in 1938.
• Caused widespread panic across the nation.
• People actually thought the broadcast was real
  and that Martians were attacking America.
• Welles treated the program like a news program-
  constantly interrupting regular scheduled
  programming to give live remote news reports.

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CITIZEN KANE -1941

• Directed and co-written by Orson Welles who also
  acted as Charles Foster Kane
• Welles controlled EVERY creative aspect of the
  film
• Film gave rise to the theory of Auteurism the
  theory that the DIRECTOR is the ultimate creative
  force or author behind a film.
• Revolutionized how films are made and how stories
  are told.

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A few key points to KANES narrative structure

• Film does follow linear time.
• Much of the film is told through flashbacks.
• Film also uses a Multi-Genre approach to telling
  the story Fake newsreels, interviews, newspaper
  headlines as well as staged scenes
• Film operates as a mystery a puzzle (literally
  and figuratively) as it is told from a variety
  of points of view (several people putting
  together a picture of one mans life.)

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A few visual elements to look for

• Shots and editing
• The stark and heavy contrast of black and white.
• The use of shadows (mysteries) and light
  (illumination?)
• Back lighting
• Deep focus (all levels in focus)
• Careful composition
• Symbolism (puzzles, pieces, roses, etc.)
• The multi-reflecting mirror (many points of view)
  a Welles hallmark- repeats it in other films

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Just a few narrative innovations

• Multiple Montages
• Temporal (narrative time) flexibility
• Multiple Flashbacks (frequent flashbacks within
  flashbacks.

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Cinematographer Greg Toland

• 1904-1948
• Brilliant visual composer
• Specialized in black and white photography
• Largely responsible for executing Welles vision
• Other Films
• WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)
• THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940)
• Many others

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