At last I have finished this hugely detailed biography of Orson Welles up to when he is twenty six. Simon Callow has done so much research, leaving no stone unturned. And it is all here, for me just too much information. There was some I found interesting and a lot I didn't. His life at Todd School for Boys showed just what a precocious talent he was, as was his time at The Gate Theatre in Dublin.
Then the Negro Unit of The Federal Theatre Project where his all black Macbeth was a triumph in 1936. Welles directing was only 21. His first real attempt at commercial theatre at the Mercury was a successful Caesar. The trials and tribulations of casting, rehearsals and staging would make a fine movie. Then the "accident" that was "War of the Worlds".
I was very interested to read about his screenplay of Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" that was never made into a film, especially that Charlie Marlow's search up river for the elusive Mr Kurtz (the trader turned God) was the basis for the movie "Apocalypse Now". Callow explains on Page 465 "As far as Conrad is concerned, the initial pull of the story on Welles is clear to see. It had great personal resonance for him; many of it's themes continued to fascinate him for the rest of his life. His work on the story, moreover, fed in various subtle and subliminal ways into his first complete film ("Citizen Kane"). The central figure of Kurtz is an epitome of the ambiguity of greatness, or more precisely, greatness gone wrong."
Then the writer's summing up in the last two pages is equally stunning. But I would love to see someone be allowed to do an edited version.
Then the Negro Unit of The Federal Theatre Project where his all black Macbeth was a triumph in 1936. Welles directing was only 21. His first real attempt at commercial theatre at the Mercury was a successful Caesar. The trials and tribulations of casting, rehearsals and staging would make a fine movie. Then the "accident" that was "War of the Worlds".
I was very interested to read about his screenplay of Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" that was never made into a film, especially that Charlie Marlow's search up river for the elusive Mr Kurtz (the trader turned God) was the basis for the movie "Apocalypse Now". Callow explains on Page 465 "As far as Conrad is concerned, the initial pull of the story on Welles is clear to see. It had great personal resonance for him; many of it's themes continued to fascinate him for the rest of his life. His work on the story, moreover, fed in various subtle and subliminal ways into his first complete film ("Citizen Kane"). The central figure of Kurtz is an epitome of the ambiguity of greatness, or more precisely, greatness gone wrong."
Then the writer's summing up in the last two pages is equally stunning. But I would love to see someone be allowed to do an edited version.
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