Orson Welles' unfinished Hollywood critique

ORSON WELLES' UNFINISHED HOLLYWOOD CRITIQUE

By Jerry Saravia

Time and again, for the last thirty years or so, we have heard reports that an unveiling of Orson Welles' unfinished film from the 1970's, entitled "The Other Side of the Wind," was imminent. And time after time, disappointing reports continually emerged ranging from Beatrice Welles (Welles's daughter) blocking the release of the film in any form, to a mangling of funds that includes financing from the Shah of Iran leading to it being locked in a Parisian vault, to the Showtime network eager to cough up the completion funds for the editing of the film, 40 minutes of which had been edited by Welles, though it remained heavily dependent on who edited the film to the beat of Welles' style and if the original financiers could come to an agreement. So will we see "The Other Side of the Wind" in some form, some day?

I say, yes, except it will be a rough cut of no more than the edited 40 minutes. Keep in mind that clips from the film were first shown when Welles was honored by the AFI in 1975, leading to speculation that the airing of such clips were a direct step in acquiring completion funds (which ironically is the plot of the film itself). Since then, one more clip surfaced in the fascinating documentary, "Orson Welles: The One Man Band" and, in the last couple of years, another clip appeared on youtube of directors Henry Jaglom and Paul Mazursky verbally sparring about the merits of past films by Jake Hannaford (the fictional director in the film). All the footage thus shown is incredible and well ahead of its time for its fast-cutting style employing different film stocks and many different points-of-view. Case in point would be the birthday party scene where John Huston plays the maverick, macho film director, Jake Hannaford (Jake being the nickname Welles used for John), celebrating his 70th birthday while paparazzi and a film crew gather around taking his pictures. Susan Strasberg appears as a Pauline Kael-type film critic, Juliette Riche, and Peter Bogdanovich is the young hot-shot film director, Brooks Otterlake (originally played by Rich Little), who is a box-office draw. This one scene alone shows us a world that might not exist anymore (except maybe for some film elitists), where the art of film and gaining box-office dollars and who is copying whom or paying homage is discussed. This clip in particular anticipates Oliver Stone's style used in "J.F.K.," "Natural Born Killers" and "Nixon" with a rapid-fire succession of images that are paced and cut with the energy of an addict on speed.

Two other scenes had also been shown. One other clip shown at the AFI had film director Norman Foster (who helmed the exciting 1942 thriller "Journey into Fear") as a Hannaford stooge convincing a young film executive that Hannaford's film is not in trouble, and hilariously providing commentary for the unfinished film that seems to have no clear narrative. The other clip (shown in "Orson Welles: The One-Man Band") is a highly erotic scene of Oja Kodar (Welles's stunning girlfriend of 20 years) having sex with the leading actor of Hannaford's film in the front seat of a car during a rainstorm. This clearly shows, as Bogdanovich pointed out, that Welles wanted to make a dirty movie like "Last Picture Show" and it is by far the most erotic footage I've ever seen in a film, hands down. More clips had been shown at the Harvard Film Archive in 2008, presented by Stefan Drossler (more on that presentation can be found at http://www.wellesnet.com/?p=302#more-302)

Orson Welles has gained a favoritism and appeal since his death in 1985. Two screenplays of his, "The Big Brass Ring" and "The Cradle Will Rock," have been made into films (when they couldn't get any financing while Welles was alive). "Citizen Kane" is practically mentioned every time a list of the greatest films ever made is compiled. The incomplete "It's All True," not to mention a restoration of "Touch of Evil" in 1998 edited to Welles' own original specifications, were eventually theatrically released. "The Deep," a 1970 flick with the late Laurence Harvey, might actually see the light of day someday, though it only exists in black-and-white and color workprints. But it is the monumental epicness of "The Other Side of the Wind" that looms larger than any other incomplete Welles film, if for no other reason than the spectacular cast. John Huston, Susan Strasberg, Peter Bogdanovich, Oja Kodar, Cameron Mitchell, Peter Jason, Dennis Hopper, Mercedes McCambridge, journalist and film historian Joseph McBride and, yes, even future film director Cameron Crowe round out the cast. I'd say make the 40 minutes of film available as a documentary on the making of this legendary film. I'd definitely pay to see that.


FOOTNOTE: For a further clarification of the financing of "Other Side of the Wind," here is an excerpt from "Bright Lights Film Journal":

'Welles raised $1 million for The Other Side of the Wind himself and received a further $1 million from a Paris-based Iranian company, Les films de l'Astrophore, headed by Medhi Boushehri, who happened to be the Shah of Iran's brother-in-law. At this point, a Spanish investor embezzled around a quarter of a million from the production and disappeared into Europe. The Iranian company agreed to provide further funding to replace the missing cash, on the condition they received a higher percentage, with the result that l'Astrophore finally owned around 80 percent of the film, and were denying Welles the right to final cut. At this point, the Iranian revolution happened, the Shah fell, and the Ayatollah Khomeini came to power and all foreign assets, including the negative of Orson Welles' final film, came under his jurisdiction.'

UPDATE: Netflix, the streaming giant, acquired the rights to "The Other Side of the Wind" and it has not only been completed, it is also going to be streaming on Nov 2nd of 2018. Early screenings have been held at the Venice Film Festival and they have been largely positive. It is a pleasure to know that this film has finally been unveiled for the public, not just for film buffs but for Orson Welles fans and John Huston fans. Thank goodness because its arrival in this world of conflated cinema standards, made a time pre-"Star Wars," indicates what cinema might have been - adventurous, intoxicating, perplexing and complex.