Orson Welles Volume 1

A brilliant biography of the young Orson Welles, from his prodigious childhood and youth, his triumphs with the Mercury Theatre, to the making of Citizen Kane. Vivid, vastly entertaining, this is the definitive Welles biography.

In this first volume of his masterful, highly acclaimed biography, Simon Callow captures the genius of Orson Welles, revealing a life even more extraordinary than the myths that have surrounded it. "A splendidly entertaining, definitive work".--"Entertainment Weekly" . of photos.

In One-Man Band, the third volume in his epic survey of Orson Welles’ life and work, Simon Callow again probes in comprehensive and penetrating detail into one of the most complex artists of the twentieth century, looking closely at the triumphs and failures of an ambitious one-man assault on one medium after another – theatre, radio, film, television, even, at one point, ballet – in each of which his radical and original approach opened up new directions and hitherto unglimpsed possibilities. The book begins with Welles’ self-exile from America, and his realisation that he could only function happily as an independent film-maker, a one-man band; by 1964, he had filmed Othello, which took three years to complete, Mr Arkadin, the biggest conundrum in his output, and his masterpiece Chimes at Midnight, as well as Touch of Evil, his sole return to Hollywood and, like all too many of his films, wrested from his grasp and re-edited. Along the way he made inroads into the fledgling medium of television and a number of stage plays, including Moby-Dick, considered by theatre historians to be one of the seminal productions of the century. Meanwhile, his private life was as dramatic as his professional life. The book shows what it was like to be around Welles, and, with a precision rarely attempted before, what it was like to be him, in which lies the answer to the old riddle: whatever happened to Orson Welles?

Traces the life and career of the legendary director, discussing the making of "Citizen Kane," his contributions to such films as "The Magnificent Ambersons" and "The Lady from Shanghai," and his efforts in radio comedy, spectacular theater, and newspaper politics.

George Orson Welles (1915–1985) is considered to be among the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time. At just twenty-five years old, he cowrote, produced, directed, and starred in his Academy Award–winning debut film Citizen Kane (1941). His innovative and distinctive directorial style—nonlinear narratives, unusual camera angles, deep focus shots, and long takes—continues to be emulated by directors and cinematographers to this day. The brilliant yet provocative Welles won multiple Grammys, a Golden Globe, and the greatest honor the Directors Guild of America bestowed: the D. W. Griffith Award. His final film, The Other Side of the Wind, was released in 2018, 33 years after his death. In Citizen Welles: A Biography of Orson Welles, author Frank Brady presents a comprehensive and complete picture of the artist and auteur. Painstakingly researched, Brady delves into Welles's creative achievements, from his critically acclaimed film Citizen Kane and controversial radio broadcast "The War of the Worlds" (1938) to his starring turn on Broadway in Shaw's Heartbreak House (for which he made the cover of Time). Brady also explores other notable films, including The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), Touch of Evil (1958), and Chimes at Midnight (1965). This all-encompassing work also details the personal side of Welles's life, including his romances with Rita Hayworth and Dolores Del Rio and the confounding tragedy of his final years. Presented is a captivating and compelling encapsulation of the revered and respected artist.

This book about "Touch of Evil" includes the continuity script, a biography of Orson Welles, an interview with Welles by Andre Bazih, an interview with Charlton Heston, excerpts from several critical essays, major reviews, a filmography and a bibliography.

It is only in the editing studio that he possesses "absolute control." With scholarly erudition, Welles revels in the plays of Shakespeare and discusses their adaptation to stage and screen. He assesses rival directors and eminent actors, offers penetrating analyses of Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil, Chimes at Midnight, and The Third Man, and declares that he never made a film that lacked an ethical point-of-view. Book jacket.

Traces the life and career of the legendary director, discussing the making of "Citizen Kane," his contributions to such films as "The Magnificent Ambersons" and "The Lady from Shanghai," and his efforts in radio comedy, spectacular theater, and newspaper politics.