Trickery.
Deceit. Magic. In Orson Welles’s free-form documentary, the
legendary filmmaker (and self-described charlatan) gleefully engages
the central preoccupation of his career - the tenuous line between
truth and illusion, art and lies. Beginning with portraits of
world-renowned art forger Elmyr de Hory and his equally devious
biographer, Clifford Irving. Welles embarks on a dizzying cinematic
journey that simultaneously exposes and revels in fakery and fakers of
all stripes - not the least of whom is Welles himself.
CRITIQUE
With F For
Fake, Orson Welles invented a new form of filmmaking, making it up
as he went along. Too much fact to be fiction, too much fiction to be
fact, the film is not quite a documentary, and it is not quite an
essay, though it has elements of both. The opening credits give us a
clue us in on what is to come. Printed on film cans, passing up and
down, left and right, we get to the phrase “EXPERT PRACTIONERS.”
“Practioners” (or, as we are likely to read, practitioners) is of
course is a meaningless word that will not be found in any dictionary,
and having it on screen with the word experts provides us a clue that
will be answered as the film goes on.
Elmyr, as Welles
aptly puts it, makes fools of the experts. He is the world’s greatest
art forger, living in high society on the Spanish island of Ibiza and
forging works by Picasso, Matise, Degas, Van Gogh, and others. Elmyr
does not copy the works of the masters, he imitates their
style, creating new works that one could easily believe were painted
by the greats. The question becomes, what is art? Welles quotes
Kipling’s poem “The Conundrum of the Workshops:” “It’s pretty, but is
it art?” The forgeries Elmyr creates are so exceptional, they enter
the realm of art themselves. As Welles later says, the important
thing is that it exists. Above all, F For Fake is about the
nature of authorship. Welles adds layers to this himself. The film
itself was taken from another documentary by French filmmaker Francois
Reichenbach, reedited by Welles. Welles stated in interviews that he
deliberately avoided any shots that were “typically Wellesian.”
So who is the
author of this film? Welles certainly leaves the biggest thumbprint,
but certainly there were other contributors. Upon its release in
1973, there were those who said that F For Fake was partly an
answer to critic Pauline Kael’s assertion that Welles had very little
to do with the writing of Citizen Kane, a claim that has been
mostly refuted.
The layers of
fakery pile higher and higher as the film goes on. Elmyr’s
biographer, Clifford Irving, finds himself in the middle of a scandal
after he writes a fake biography of Howard Hughes. Interestingly,
Irving says at one point in the film that he turned to writing
biographies because his fiction did not sell, but it is his fiction
that eventually landed him in federal prison. Irving watched his
subject well, learning some simple, important tricks. The “experts”
are really no more an authority than anyone else. If they are
presented with something “real” they will vouch for its authenticity,
and if they are shown a “fake” they will point out all the obvious
holes.
Like all of
Welles’s films, no matter how it might look on the surface, F For
Fake is ultimately about Welles himself. The film is rife with
references to all of Welles previous films, the most obvious being the
scenes of Elmyr burning his paintings, harking back to the last shot
of Citizen Kane, where Rosebud goes up in flames. There are
several examples. In the opening scene in the train station, where
Welles does magic tricks for the boy (who was Kodar’s real life
nephew): when Welles was a boy, his father took him to see Houdini,
fostering an enchantment that would last a lifetime. F For Fake
plays like a retrospective of Welles’s life and career, all the
more so considering that this was the last film he completed.
The viewer must
discover this film for himself. Welles spent a solid year editing
F For Fake, working seven days a week in three different editing
rooms, and the montage tricks come fast and furious; it takes several
viewings to notice many of them. Welles left his personality all over
this film, perhaps more than any of his other works. Get into the
rhythm of it, and wonder...
THE VIDEO
F For Fake
is
presented in the original 1.66:1 aspect ratio. The transfer is
incredible, beautifully translating and restoring all color levels.
This transfer is even better than that of the laserdisc edition
Criterion released in the 1990’s. The archival footage and the
footage shot by Welles is sharp and free of defects. Finally this
film gets the treatment it deserves.
THE AUDIO
This DVD is
presented in English monaural sound. The presentation is crisp, and
everything comes through with startling clarity. Considering the
complexities of the editing, the mix we have here is all the more
remarkable.
THE EXTRAS
Disc One:
Audio Commentary
with Oja Kodar and Gary Graver:
Recorded in 2004 and 2005, the two talk about the genesis of the film,
its evolution, and they share stories about working with Welles.
Introduction by
director Peter Bogdanovich:
The director talks about the film and his experiences with Welles
trying to get it released.
Trailer:
A nine minute promotional trailer originally used to sell the film to
distributors. Quite and interesting piece.
Disc Two:
Orson Welles:
One-Man Band:
From 1985, a look at Welles and his unfinished projects. Made in
large part with the assistance and participation of Oja Kodar, this
film takes on the model of F For Fake, and it is a fresh look
at his mythical projects. (88:00)
Almost True: The
Noble of Art Forgery:
Made in 1997, this documentary, a more straightforward look at the
infamous de Hory, incorporates footage shot by Reichenbach for the BBC
and used by Welles in F For Fake. (52:00)
60 Minutes
Interview with Clifford Irving:
The CBS news program originally interviewed Irving in 1972, upon the
release of his Hughes “biography.” Filmed in 2000, this interview
looks back on Irving’s hoax and brings us up to date on where he is
now.
Hughes Press
Conference:
Audio clips of the Howard Hughes telephone interview, presented here
in their entirety.
This DVD also
comes with an insert featuring an essay by film critic Jonathan
Rosenbaum.
FINAL THOUGHTS
F For Fake
is one of the best films Welles made, one too often overlooked in his
canon. Now, finally, we have a presentation worthy of the film. The
bonus material gives us an interesting, insightful look at Welles and
his subjects, and the audio-visual presentation is superb. Criterion
has done it again...
