Was Welles A Better Actor Or A Better Director???
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Orson Welles
JoeKulik — 10 years ago(August 31, 2015 11:27 AM)
I've heard so much praise for Orson Welles as a director, and he was a great director indeed. But just having seen in in the lead role in Black Magic (1949), something is beginning to sway me to believe that Welles' acting career even overshadowed his as directorial achievements. Admittedly, I haven't seen all of the films that Welles was the director and/or an actor, but I've seen enough to feel that his deservedly vaunted status as a director may even be overshadowed by his acting career.
So, Was Welles A Better Actor Or A Better Director??? -
Raxivace — 10 years ago(September 20, 2015 09:45 PM)
I think he's fine as an actor, though as a director he's better. With
Citizen Kane
he made arguably the most influential sound film ever, and it's kind of hard for any of his other accomplishments to top that.
"[Cinema] is a labyrinth with a treacherous resemblance to reality." - Andrew Sarris -
Professional_Tourist — 10 years ago(October 10, 2015 08:32 AM)
I know I'm in a small minority, and I haven't seen all his films, but honestly I don't care for Welles as a film director. The only one of his directorial efforts that I really like is his
MacBeth
, but that one has more the feeling of a stage production, which in reality was where it had begun the year before. From what I've gleaned of that facet of his career, I think I would have liked his theatrical direction, and I admire his directorial work in radio, but where cameras are involved, I like him better as an actor. I do like him very much as an actor, both as a lead and in smaller character roles. -
gorgsharpy — 9 years ago(May 17, 2016 06:35 PM)
He was sort of crazy, bipolar, his opinions changed. Read Bogdanovich's interview. He had a taste for the meanne1908ss of justice which you can appreciate or not, depending on where you stand politically. He thought people who were unaware, like K, were fools. He would probably love the EU and understand it. He digged faking art, because he though art a scam sometimes. He really was unpredictable. But he detested Heston's character in Touch of Evil and Cotton's charater in The Third Man. He compared them to McDuff, people wanting to do right but being naive and causing danger to others. So, I think he would stand with Tarantino and De Palma today.
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