Welles dream: Wouldn't it be nice to have...

[Wellesnet]

...a box set of Orson Welles's unfinished work? Here's a message we received from Andreas Abbatista on Wellesnet Facebook:

i would like to ask you if it's possible think about a campaign to ask the Munich Film Museum and La Cinémathèque française fans want to see published a box with the incomplete work of our Beloved Orson Welles (the deep, Don quixotte, Merchant of Venice etc) i can't understand why all this Welles work are strictly present at festivals and available just for expert, i would like to be able to see all this materials available for the pubblic old fans and new fans to be able to understand all the efforts Welles put in his latest works... what do you think? is it possible put together our voices to let them know what Orson Welles fan wants?

[tonyw]

I think this is a superb idea. Who wants to begin this campaign?

[cinescot]

It would be great for a Blu-ray distributor like Criterion to release the unfinished works that are held at the Munich Film Museum. I'm assuming a deal would still need to be done with Oja Kodar who owns the rights to these films. However that doesn't look likely to happen in the near future from what Stefan Droessler has recently said. Of course a lot of his excellent restorative work is also ongoing.

It may be a little more likely that some of the completed reconstructions could make there way onto Blu-Ray releases as extra features. The full color restoration of the F FOR FAKE trailer was actually a hidden extra on the UK Masters of Cinema DVD release. I felt that Criterion's forthcoming release of THE IMMORTAL STORY would have been an ideal release for THE DREAMERS to be included. That's not a criticism of the Criterion release which I'm sure will be excellent.

Of course, I would support any campaign that would get more of this material released and made available to everyone.

Additionally, I would be disappointed if the forthcoming OTHELLO Criterion release did not include FILMING OTHELLO. Although this is a finished feature I believe it is also held at the Munich Film Museum and the rights are held by Oja Kodar. It would be a shame for Welles last completed feature to remain available only in poor quality versions online. I think the Criterion release is probably the only chance of it happening in the near future.

[Jeff Wilson]

This would indeed be nice to have, but the economics of the set would likely be a problem, because such a set would not be cheap, and would be a very niche product in an already niche market. It probably wouldn't review well, due to the rough and unfinished nature of much of the work. Take The Deep. I sat through that once, and really don't need to do so again. Obviously, opinions are going to differ on this material, but it would need quality contextual presentation, to explain the rough edges and missing elements and so on. I think it would be fascinating to lay it out to be viewed either by project, or in a timeline, where you could see what Welles was working on, jumping back and forth from project to project, over the years. That would be a pain in the ass to put together, but we're talking pipe dreams here, so why not.

[atcolomb]

I think everybody would agree it would be nice to have The Magnificent Ambersons complete the way Welles wanted it. Still hoping the missing footage will show up somewhere but it's a slim chance after all theses years.

[RayKelly]

Although this is a finished feature I believe it is also held at the Munich Film Museum and the rights are held by Oja Kodar.

The rights to Filming Othello were held by the German producer, who has since passed away. The footage from Othello contained in the documentary is owned by Beatrice Welles. I tracked down the names and contact information of the producer's heirs and passed it on to the appropriate people in hopes it will be included. I have direct no knowledge of what is planned for the Criterion release, other than the 1955 edit will likely be included with the Estate-sanctioned restoration.

[cinescot]

This would indeed be nice to have, but the economics of the set would likely be a problem, because such a set would not be cheap, and would be a very niche product in an already niche market. It probably wouldn't review well, due to the rough and unfinished nature of much of the work. Take The Deep. I sat through that once, and really don't need to do so again. Obviously, opinions are going to differ on this material, but it would need quality contextual presentation, to explain the rough edges and missing elements and so on. I think it would be fascinating to lay it out to be viewed either by project, or in a timeline, where you could see what Welles was working on, jumping back and forth from project to project, over the years. That would be a pain in the ass to put together, but we're talking pipe dreams here, so why not.

Jeff, I agree it would require a lot of contextual presentation and how that would be achieved for a Blu-Ray release I'm not sure. At the very least there would have to be in-depth introductions to each film. I do agree that for several reasons it is unlikely we would see this release which is why I would have liked to see some of the restorations/reconstructions included as extras on other Welles films that are soon to be released on Blu-Ray.

The rights to Filming Othello were held by the German producer, who has since passed away. The footage from Othello contained in the documentary is owned by Beatrice Welles. I tracked down the names and contact information of the producer's heirs and passed it on to the appropriate people in hopes it will be included. I have direct no knowledge of what is planned for the Criterion release, other than the 1955 edit will likely be included with the Estate-sanctioned restoration.

Ray, thanks for the info. Jonathan Rosenbaum states in his book on Welles that the US rights to FILMING OTHELLO were held by Oja Kodar. However, there is no copyright record to reflect this when running a search for it so it could be a mistake. The elements for the film were certainly with Oja Kodar and then passed to the Munich Film Museum for preservation along with the unfinished films. However, it is good you have passed on the info and hopefully it will be included.

[RayKelly]

Jonathan Rosenbaum states in his book on Welles that the US rights to FILMING OTHELLO were held by Oja Kodar. However, there is no copyright record to reflect this when running a search for it so it could be a mistake. The elements for the film were certainly with Oja Kodar and then passed to the Munich Film Museum for preservation along with the unfinished films. However, it is good you have passed on the info and hopefully it will be included.

In recent months, I have done extensive copyright research on various Welles' films, scripts and plays. The footage from Othello is copyrighted by Beatrice Welles. No one filed a U.S. copyright on Filming Othello. There is little doubt in my mind the rights to the documentary belong to the children of the late German producer. It was not among the films Welles gave to Oja Kodar months before his death nor is it mentioned in his will. Physical elements are at the the Munich Film Museum.