Orson WellesPaolo Mereghetti

Orson Welles (USA, 1915-1985) was a complete auteur, a brilliant director and scriptwriter, a prodigious actor of memorable physique and a figure of legend. He began his directing career in 1940, at the age of twenty-five, with Citizen Kane, an undisputed, ground-breaking masterpiece of cinema history. Welles’ stature as a baroque, impetuous and profoundly free artist made the studios uncomfortable. He had control of every detail on the twelve feature films he was able to make, including Lady from Shanghai with Rita Hayworth (1947), Touch of Evil with Charlton Heston (1958), adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays including Macbeth (1948) and Othello (1952) and Kafka’s The Trial (1962). Orson Welles remains a unique figure in cinema history and a real source of inspiration for future generations of film-makers.

Specifications:

  • Format: Paperback
  • Size: 240 × 195 mm (9 1/2 × 7 5/8 in)
  • Pages: 104 pp
  • Illustrations: 100 illustrations
  • ISBN: 9782866427016

On the Masters of Cinema Series

"Modern directors are briefly and brilliantly profiled in sharp prose and smart pictures in these movie master-classes for film buffs and beginners."—Saga

"Short, beautifully illustrated essays on great directors."—The Times

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"Bargain price. Does an already saturated market need yet more auteur guides? On this evidence, yes... Briskly paced, scalpel-sharp primers... The collective quality is high, the tone scholarly but not intimidating... A triumph of layout as much as content, each book glows with gorgeous on- and off-screen archive photography... Magnifique."—Total Film