AROUND THE WORLD WITH ORSON WELLES Blu-Ray

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Richard M Roberts
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AROUND THE WORLD WITH ORSON WELLES Blu-Ray

Postby Richard M Roberts » Mon Aug 31, 2015 10:39 am

So the new Blu-Ray/DVD set of the Rediffusion/ITV series AROUND THE WORLD WITH ORSON WELLES is out:

http://www.amazon.com/Around-World-Orso ... son+welles

It is noteworthy for being the complete series, the VHS release from several years ago did not have the then-missing episode REVISITING VIENNA, causing Welles fans to moan and whine about the most anticipated show, Welles returning to the place where they made THE THIRD MAN, walking the streets and talking about the film as Anton Karas’s never-ending zither strains play in the background……

Well, it’s here, and we do get Karas plucking the strings, but apart from a shot of the Hotel Sacher and the Café Mozart, REVISITING VIENNA could be called, REVISITING VIENNA’S DESSERTS, as most of the half-hour is spent in the kitchens of Vienna’s top pastry makers, or in the coffee shops, not that this isn’t entertaining, it seems to be a subject Welles is deeply interested in, listen to him describe with true intensity the flavor of a Sacher Chocolate torte, see how his eyes light up at the manufacture of a genuine apple strudel, could this be some of Welles acting method at work? From now on when I see Welles get that mysterious brooding far-away look in his eyes when speechifying in OTHELLO or CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT will I see a thought balloon appear above him with an éclair in it?

Okay, low blow and a cheap laugh (not that you weren’t all thinking it), and I apologize, but REVISITING VIENNA feels more like Orson’s probably covering some overdue restaurant and hotel bills by doing some subjective plugging of the Hotel Sacher and Café’ Mozart for the potential tourist trade, but he also gets some good interviews and info regarding the political climate in Vienna post-Nazism and the recipe for the real way to make an apple strudel (we had to call out for some after the movie night we ran it at this week) and Welles is always a fascinating and jocular host in whatever he is doing. The rest of the series does have some stand out episodes, especially the one called CHELSEA PENSIONERS, where Welles interviews some of the legendary lifetime pensioners of the English town, it is always nice to see how gentle and respectful Welles is with older people, and he gets a wonderful interview with some aged old soldiers in a pub. The Basque Country episodes also generate some interesting images and info, and though the bullfighting episode will not go down with PETA people these days, Welles was a serious aficionado at the time and manages a few insights once we get beyond Kenneth Tynan in the first half.

AROUND THE WORLD WITH ORSON WELLES was never a serious Welles project, it was a quick funds-grabber that only managed seven of the twenty-six episodes promised and what was done was finished by others than Welles, but all Welles is worth watching, and this and the BBC’s ORSON WELLES SKETCHBOOK were two of the too few Welles television projects that ever came to fruition, it really was a medium he could have used more for the personal essay film form he was interested in exploring, a pity he spent more time on talk shows and narrating others documentaries than making his own. I say pick up this set pronto.


RICHARD M ROBERTS

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Re: AROUND THE WORLD WITH ORSON WELLES Blu-Ray

Postby Gary Johnson » Mon Aug 31, 2015 12:35 pm

I was always surprised Welles didn't treat television the same way he did radio. His radio work was far more expansive than just scaring the bejesus out of the country with fake reports of UFO landings. He performed plays, read essays, provided news commentary and acted silly on sketch comedy programs. He was very diverse. My memories of him on TV growing up were, as Richard states, talk shows, commercials and the Dean Martin show.

I am not that familiar with this BBC series. I'll have to look it up. And now I'm going to dream of chocolate tarts as I emote in front of the mirror reciting Shakespeare.

Richard M Roberts
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Re: AROUND THE WORLD WITH ORSON WELLES Blu-Ray

Postby Richard M Roberts » Mon Aug 31, 2015 1:08 pm

Gary Johnson wrote:I was always surprised Welles didn't treat television the same way he did radio. His radio work was far more expansive than just scaring the bejesus out of the country with fake reports of UFO landings. He performed plays, read essays, provided news commentary and acted silly on sketch comedy programs. He was very diverse. My memories of him on TV growing up were, as Richard states, talk shows, commercials and the Dean Martin show.




I think Welles would have been happy to treat Television the same way he did radio, but Television didn't treat Welles the way Radio did, then again, with Television, it was pretty much the same problem it was in the movies, funding and studio interest. With radio, it was easier to get Welles in the studio with a script in front of him, someone once attributed Welles' success in the medium was because he couldn't argue with the clock, when it hit time, you were on the air and no more tinkering could be done, and Welles was a proven success in radio and treated as such by the powers that be (at least until the political climate basically pushed him off radio in America in the late 40's). Welles had his failed and uncompleted television projects as well that made TV execs leery of financing any independent ventures, so he soon found himself relegated to guest shots on Variety Shows and Talk Show appearances for the rest of his life. Don't get me wrong, Orson Welles on a Talk Show was conversational gold, but the opportunity for more FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH's or F FOR FAKE's on the boob tube dissipated pretty quickly, too many boobs running it.

RICHARD M ROBERTS


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