The travails of the actor, writer and director
Orson Welles are so well known that they are emblazoned on the psyche of movie makers world-wide as a cautionary tale about the penury that industry can inflict upon the conceits of uncompromised auteurism. Welles many, ultimately fruitless, battles with various actors, studios, producers and distributors have been retold with such frequency- particularly in their parallels with modern renegades of cinema - that they have almost become cliché; the legends surrounding his battles with money men and legal team are now the stuff of legend. The number of projects seemingly unfinished or abandon is impressive in a way, seemingly paralleled the peaks and troughs of a manic depressive personality, though more often, the failure of much of his work to reach fruition was a combination of financial mismanagement and arbitrary personal misfortune. Among the distinguished list of projects unfinished in ells lifetime were:
Heart of Darkness- Abandoned due to budgetary concerns. Welles shot Citizen Kane instead.
Cygano de Bergerac- Welles wrote a screenplay for Alexander Korda who sold the rights to Columbia Pictures when he encountered money troubles.
Don Quixote- Lead actor Francisco Reiguera died late in filming. In spite of efforts by Welles the shot footage was only edited to a poorly received release years after his death. These instances represent among Welles most notable regrets, but in truth many more existed although, periodically, there are reports or suggestions by Welles heirs and others that own existing materials, that one of his films will be completed and release post-humously. The film about which there is most fervent speculation is Welles lost masterpiece,
The Other Side of The Wind - a psychological dissection of the final days of a megalomaniacal film director, in part based on the life of Ernest Hemingway.
Unlike many of Welles other films, the majority of the movie was shot and edited, but ultimately it did not see the light of day due to the deposition of one of the films founders, the Shah of Iran. Each subsequent decade has seen the possibility of a belated release come and go, but quotes from a legal firm battling for the rights to the movie in the
Observer, suggest there maybe light at the end of the tunnel. James Sidle of Gipson Hoffman & Pancione said:
We are in negotiations for the picture, which would lead to the finishing and public exhibition. Hopefully within the next few weeks we will know."
Sidle and his firm represent one of the descendants of the Shaw who wants to purchase the rights from the remaining interested parties, including co-writer, actress, and Welles former lover, Oja Kodar. It is implied that if they are successful, a theatrical release would almost certainly follow, and the first auteur of American cinema would have his vision realised. Even if this deal is struck however complications still exist in regards to the completion of the picture. Welles apparently gave actor Peter Bogdonavich editing notes but producer Francoise Widhoff who collaborated with Welles on his film F for Fake would prefer for the raw footage to be shown. Meanwhile another Welles collabator Andres Vincente Gomez feels that it would be an "act of betrayal". Hopefully some sort of deal can be struck because knowing that there is more of the master to see and not being able to see it is like knowing that Mozart has a hidden concerto or that Shakespeare has a lost play. Welles was that precious to the film industry and everything the man committed to celluloid deserves to be seen.
(last two paragraphs of this article written by Laurent Kelly)