Finally! The Tortured Story Of Long-Lost “The Other Side Of The Wind!”
John Huston, Orson Welles and Peter Bogdanovich may be laughing in the photo above, but there is nothing funny about the torturous route that the legendary Director’s last film took to the big screen.
Film buffs know Orson Welles – “Citizen Kane” is usually referenced as the greatest cinematic achievement of all time, or arguably in the top three. That however, was a LONG TIME AGO, and as they say, “what have you done for me lately?”
Well, thanks to Netflix, and a serious “BRAVO” to them, Orson’s last, unfinished film, “The Other Side of the Wind” is completed 48 years after filming began!
Netflix Steps Up To Finish An Unfinishable Film!
As Deadline.com reports:
It will finally unveil at the Venice Film Festival following a meticulous and painstaking process of re-editing and re-writing funded by Netflix. Accompanying it will be a Netflix documentary about Welles, titled They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead, which may or may not prove a valid prediction. (Wind will be released in select theaters and on Netflix November 2;
Going back to Citizen Kane (1941) and the Mercury Theater, the world of Welles was steeped in mythic conflict, confusion and strokes of genius, and the release of The Other Side of the Wind will reinforce this mythology. Wind is not so much a movie as a gripping collision of two movies: one is an edgy, sexy drama about loyalty and betrayal, the other a satiric faux documentary about the egotism of European filmmakers. In true Welles fashion, they were shot in fragments between 1970 and 1977. Welles didn’t even cast his lead, John Huston, playing a legendary filmmaker, until three years into production. He shot one seven-minute sex scene over the course of two years in three different locations.
Here is the film’s plot in a nushell:
Surrounded by fans and skeptics, grizzled director J.J. “Jake” Hannaford (a revelatory John Huston) returns from years abroad in Europe to a changed Hollywood, where he attempts to make his comeback: a career summation that can only be the work of cinema’s most adventurous filmmaker, Orson Welles.
Check out the terrific new trailer:
Veteran Actor/Director John Huston won the Best Screenplay AND Directing Oscar for the brilliant film “The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre” as well as starring as Noah Cross in the classic 1974 movie “Chinatown”.
Director Peter Bogdanovich’s Role!
Director Peter Bogdanovich directed the brilliant 70’s films “The Last Picture Show”, “Paper Moon” and “What’s Up, Doc?” – but before that he was a passionate writer covering film, and he got involved in “The Other Side Of The Wind as well…
As Deadline.com reports:
Peter Bogdanovich, 27, was another motivated recruit. As a young freelance writer about film and filmmakers, Bogdanovich was inspired by Welles’ unique vision and fascinated by his battles with the studios. Bogdanovich was about to pursue his own directing career with The Last Picture Show when he received an unexpected phone call from Welles.
The fabled filmmaker, it seemed, had an urgent request. “He wanted to meet me to discuss my playing a part in his new movie,” Bogdanovich recalls. “It was a bit part but Orson urgently wanted me to play it and needed to shoot it immediately. I explained I was about to get on a plane to Dallas but Orson said, ‘I’ll meet you at the airport’.”
Welles arrived with a small camera crew and told Bogdanovich he wanted him to portray an eager young cineaste — it was type-casting — and Welles even offered a few sample lines of dialogue. Says Bogdanovich, “I asked him if it was OK if I did the scene as a sort of Jerry Lewis impression. I knew Lewis and did him convincingly. Orson said, ‘fine,’ so we shot it and it may have been a bit campy but he seemed pleased.”
Read more of this great restoration effort here – bravo to Deadline.com for giving the story so much depth and perspective:
Now, while Orson Welles may have died decades ago, his legacy lives on for films like this – and of course for his cantankerous attitude while filming commercials!
Yes, he may have had a bit of a temper – listen to some of those recording sessions here!
Again, bravo to Netflix for stepping up to save this classic piece of cinema history!