The Trial on DVD

[cinescot]

I believe this truncated version was the one Desilu re-edited for TV broadcast in 1984. Welles supposedly had nothing to do with this cut.

The UK distribution label Optimum were taken over by Studio Canal in 2006 and released this in 2007. It has excellent picture quality and the same extras from the French release but unfortunately has used the re-edited version of the film.

[Le Chiffre]

It's amazing to think that Desilu would have the temerity to recut an Orson Welles film without his consent, especially one that he considered one of his best. It would be interesting to hear their rationale for doing this 22 years after the original was first released.

[cinescot]

After doing a bit of checking I have discovered it may not have been Desilu that created this version of The Trial but Cantharus Productions.

This truncated version has a new copyright notice added below the title on the opening credits. The notice states "Cantharus Productions N.V 1983". There is not much information online about this company but they were a production company on Superman III (1983) and Supergirl (1984) which were produced by Ilya Salkind, whose father Alexander produced The Trial.

In 1983-84 Cantharus Productions also released some earlier Alexander Salkind-produced films on VHS. One of these was the first US release of a 1939 Buster Keaton movie called Boom in the Moon. According to the film's wikipedia page, it was reduced from 90 mins to 69 mins and dubbed for this release. Another release from this company was Abel Gance's Austerlitz (which included Welles in the cast).

It is possible that this company made the edits to the film for a VHS release and it was this version that was picked up by Desilu for broadcast. Desilu apparently made a 3 minute introduction to the film for its broadcast as it is an extra feature on the Image / Milestone DVD release.

[Le Chiffre]

Thanks for the info Cinescot. Canthurus apparently also helped produce the big budget bomb SANTA CLAUS in 1985, which I remember reading somewhere that Salkind may have wanted Welles to star in.

This excerpt from Frank Brady's CITIZEN WELLES doesn't answer our question about the prologue's elimination, but does provide a little more background info:

At the beginning of 1983...Money for King Lear seemed more then remotely possible. Alexander Salkind, who had produced Orson's THE TRIAL and had gone on to make tens of millions of dollars launching SUPERMAN I and II, wanted Orson to act in his extravaganza WHERE IS PARSIFAL? Orson, not so reluctantly, took the acting job in Europe in the hope that he might interest Salkind in backing his KING LEAR. Salkind did show initial interest, only to have his enthusiasm diminish when he experienced a rude financial dampener with SUPERMAN III.