It always upsets me when people say Orson Welles made Citizen Kane and then did not make anything worthwhile after that. Every project after Kane with Welles behind the camera are worth watching. Some are masterpieces, a word I hate using but will to drive home this point, like F for Fake or the difficult to find The Chimes at Midnight. Then there are the films that could have reached those heights without pesky studio executives interfering with a creative mind’s vision, like The Magnificent Ambersons. Even if the film ends up not being an A++, best movie ever type thing, there is always a reason to watch a Welles movie.
His last film, The Other Side of the World, went unfinished. Welles shot it over the course of seven years on and off, from 1969 to 1976. In the latter days of his career, when he was off in Europe personally funding his movies, this was not an uncommon occurrence. The film tells the story of film director Jake Hannaford (John Huston), who at the age of seventy is having trouble making a comeback in the film industry. It primarily focuses on the night before his death. The Other Side of the World is Hannaford’s latest film, which we are given excerpts from. Clearly, there is a lot of autobiography in this story for Welles, though Hannaford is also partly modeled on Ernest Hemmingway.
For film nerds like me, The Other Side of the World has been a film you always hear whispers about. It is one of those films that has a special aura around it, even though almost no one has seen it. That, however, looks like it is about to change. Royal Road Entertainment has acquired the rights to his film and look to release it on May 6th, 2015, which would coincide with Orson Welles’ 100th birthday. This is huge, people.
Welles is a very important figure in film for me. It is overly cliché to say and will probably make a huge percentage of your eyes roll, but Citizen Kane is my favorite movie. It is a huge reason why I love movies and aspire to make them. Everything Welles has done affects me greatly, and to know there will be more on the way is immensely exciting. While most will be looking forward to next May for Avengers: Age of Ultron, I will be filled with so much excitement to see The Other Side of the World.
Original report from the New York Times.
