Filming The Trial
Filming The Trial | |
---|---|
Directed by | Orson Welles |
Written by | Orson Welles |
Produced by | Orson Welles |
Starring | Orson Welles |
Cinematography | Gary Graver |
Running time | 82 mins |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Filming 'The Trial' is an unfinished
Background
In 1978 Orson Welles directed
Filming
In 1981, Welles gave a 90-minute question-and-answer session at the University of Southern California after a screening of The Trial. He had his cinematographer Gary Graver film the session with a view to editing highlights of the footage into the projected film. Graver observed, "A lot of people were there in the audience that day who are successful filmmakers now",[1] as well as several noted film critics such as Joseph McBride and Todd McCarthy.[2]
However, Welles never got round to editing the raw footage. Its only use in Welles' lifetime was by
Revival of the footage
After Orson Welles' death in 1985, all of his unfinished films were bequeathed to his long-term companion
In the 2000s, the Munich Film Museum then edited together the complete footage into an 82-minute cut of the Q&A session. Since Graver had to change film cartridges approximately every 10 minutes, this created breaks in filming, which are noticeable in the final cut.
The restored footage has been screened at various film festivals, but has never been released on video or DVD. However, since the work is in the public domain, it is available on YouTube in its full length.[3]
References
- ^ "An interview with Orson Welles's cinematographer Gary Graver by Harvey Chartrand – Excerpts from PENNY BLOOD magazine #11 « Wellesnet: The Orson Welles Web Resource" (Interview). Wellesnet.com. 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
- IMDb
- ^ "Filming 'The Trial' [1981] (Unedited) - Rare Orson Welles Documentary". YouTube.