McBride knows his Welles: he’s been writing about him since 1970. He watched Kane 60 times before approaching Welles for an interview. Not long after he did, Welles cast McBride in The Other Side of the Wind—Welles’ legendarily unfinished final film. Continue reading WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO ORSON WELLES?
For many, it’s the greatest of all time. But when it was released 80 years ago, Citizen Kane was a death sentence. The movie’s director and star, Orson Welles, came to Hollywood by way of the stage and radio with a contract … Continue reading CITIZEN KANE
They’re all sort of home movies—a vacation documented… —Orson Welles to Peter Bogdanovich Paris, February 1955: Orson Welles is trying to get a staged version of Moby Dick off the ground. Enter English writer Wolf Mankowitz. Armed with means, Mankowitz convinces Welles … Continue reading AROUND THE WORLD WITH ORSON WELLES
You cannot capture a man’s entire life in two hours,” Herman J. Mankiewicz says. “All you can hope is to leave the impression of one.” The movie Mankiewicz refers to is Citizen Kane—arguably one of the most well-known movies ever made—but … Continue reading MANK
For many, Citizen Kane, made when Orson Welles was 25 years old, is the greatest achievement of the filmmaker’s tempestuous career. The shadow of Kane is indeed long, and Welles never quite found his way out of it, but it … Continue reading CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT
George Clooney’s 2019 adaptation for Hulu was faithful to Joseph Heller’s novel until it missed the mark. He condemned Yossarian to a Sisyphean hell rather than set him free and off into the world. Clooney’s deviation probably comes from a … Continue reading CATCH-22
Based on a novel by Franz Kafka, The Trail is filmmaker Orson Welles at his most Wellesian. Anthony Perkins stars as K, a man accused of a crime he neither committed nor comprehends. K can ask all the questions he wants, but … Continue reading THE TRIAL
Comfort watching comes in all shapes in sizes. Sometimes it’s a chubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff. Other times it’s Gene Kelly dancing with an umbrella and splashing around in puddles. Diversion, you could call it: A moment of … Continue reading Home Viewing: Existential Cinema
The legacy of Orson Welles looms large in the history of cinema. So large, even Welles himself fell into its blackness. “The word genius was whispered into my ear—the first thing I heard—while I was still mewling in my crib,” … Continue reading A Matter of Persistence: Orson Welles
Michael J. Cinema 
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