F for Fake versus F for Fake - regarding the two DVD releases

[jaime marzol]

i love elmyr's body guard, who takes his job serious.

and elmyr is master of another kind of fiddle.

next time before a road trip, make audio tape of f for fake soundtrack. very interesting. once you know the tape you become aware of his manipulation of time and his method of assembling a story totally different from what he filmed

[R Kadin]

Just a quick response re F for Fake foreshadowing today's music videos: that wasn't meant to suggest Welles invented the form; rather, I meant that the style he incorporated so fluidly, that of having a speaker voice sentences fluidly while the visuals depict him/her speaking the words in a changing array of settings reminds me most of today's music videos, where singers get switched, back and forth from one distinctive place or look to the next - often in mid-lyric. Unless my math is way off, 1976 was before MTV and NBC's "Friday Night Videos", most of which would not come anywhere near as ambitious an approach until years later, culminating in today's almost relentless use of the technique.

Once again, because the world around us has changed to incoroprate into the more mainstream the techniques and ideas that pioneers such as Welles had introduced longer ago than we sometimes remember, we can watch his works today and fall into accepting them fairly readily while forgetting just how unusual they were for their times.

Show "F for Fake" to an MTV crowd and I think you'll find an audience very much at home with the style of what they see. What they might miss, of course, is the cheeky timeliness of the subject matter; but, that's fine: Welles always imbued his work with enough artistry, wit, plus layers of meaning and enjoyment that there's more than enough else left over to delight a new generation.

[Jaime N. Christley]

If you're using Mssr. Reichenbach for your avatar, may I suggest this one? It may not make a difference, but (a) the image is sharper, and (b) he doesn't have his teeth jutting out.

[Jaime N. Christley]

I meant that the style he incorporated so fluidly, that of having a speaker voice sentences fluidly while the visuals depict him/her speaking the words in a changing array of settings reminds me most of today's music videos, where singers get switched, back and forth from one distinctive place or look to the next - often in mid-lyric.

I see what you mean now - that is a relatively recent device, although I think Richard Lester used it as early as The Knack, and in America it was used in A Thousand Clowns - that movie was directed by Fred Coe, who mostly produced "television playhouse" type stuff, but there's an unmistakable Lester influence to it. (Lester had already made, speaking of fast, clever motion pictures accompanied by pop music, A Hard Day's Night.)

And, of course, I wouldn't place my entire life savings on Lester having invented the technique, but I can't think of a precedent. Interesting stuff to think about, though.

[Fredric]

How's that look?

[Jaime N. Christley]

Much better!

[Welles Fan]

Here's a tip that may be of help to R Kadin. I brought one of my Region 2 DVD's (the 1970 epic WATERLOO-unavailable in the US) to work this morning to see if it would play on my machine here. My work machine is an E-Machine cheapie with Windows XP, with a Samsung SD 612, and the default DVD playing software is Windows Media Player. The Windows player could not play the DVD, as it was "wrong region", but I have another DVD Software Player called Cyberlink PowerDVD and tried it. When I hit play, a window came up asking which region I wished to select. I selected Region 2, and the movie played fine. PowerDVD also has a cool Screen-Capture utility (which is where I got all my Welles Othello avatars). Here is one from the Region 2 version of WATERLOO:


I suggest you order the PowerDVD software and give it a try.

[Welles Fan]

Hmm...I had not realized how this thread has grown since I last looked in. I see that R Kadin has already managed to see F FOR FAKE. Next time I'll read the rest of the thread before posting!

[R Kadin]

That's okay, Welles Fan. All suggestions are welcome & appreciated - particularly those that offer an added bonus of screen captures. Thanks!

[Electric2k]

Allow me the opportunity to resurrect an extremely old thread, but WOW is this film is amazing. I just received my copy of F for Fake in the mail today (from CD Japan) and I was QUITE impressed with this movie, as it was the first time that I'd had the pleasure to view it.

As far as the DVD goes, I recommend it highly. It has some SLIGHT video noise, but the DVD is suprisingly detailed considering the fact that it is non-anamorphic. The audio clips horribly in the Astrophore's studio opening, but thankfully this is NOT a problem for the most part during the film. The film is in mono, but is quite adequate considering the source material.

In all, if you're a fan of this film, I HIGHLY recommend the DVD. Hopefully Criterion will put out an even better version of this, but in the meantime we have the quite good Japanese version to tide us over.

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=IMBC-86
http://www.hmv.co.jp/Product/Detail.asp?sku=568138

[jaime marzol]

...............

i still have the tape of the voyager disc with no supplement. is there any supplement material on the dvd? anything?

[Electric2k]

i still have the tape of the voyager disc with no supplement. is there any supplement material on the dvd? anything?

Nope, it doesn't even have as much as the Criterion (which I've read has the trailer). Just the film only.

[jaime marzol]

...............

damn, no supplement.

same thing with the restored THE TRIAL laser disc, nothing.

same thing with the voyager MR ARKADIN, nothing.

and the voyager KANE and AMBERSONS, a totally BS supplement.

but the voyager OTHELLO has a great supplement, and SAP. excellent.