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Mr. Arkadin/Confidential Report, 1955
I know that this film has a complicated history. I have not had time to read up a ton on it, but for reference I watched the "Corinth" edit.
Guy Van Stratten (Robert Arden) is a small time smuggler who happens to be present at the aftermath of a murder. The dying man is able to give Guy's girlfriend, Mily (Patricia Medina) a single name: "Arkadin". Guy eventually becomes entangled with a wealthy, mysterious man named Gregory Arkadin (Orson Welles) and romantically entangled with Arkadin's daughter, Raina (Paola Mori). Arkadin has an extensive network of spies and other figures working for him and is obsessed with collecting information. Claiming amnesia, he hires Guy to learn more about his past.
Because this was a slightly "work in progress" edit, there were certain things I didn't hold too strongly against it (such as some really awful dubbing in a handful of sequences with Arden's character).
The style of the film is incredibly in-your-face, with stark angles and zooms. One part of me appreciated the audacity of it, but the flip side was that there were several times when the style seemed to be trying to impart an intensity or suspense that the narrative itself didn't quite support.
When it comes down to it, Arkadin (in both character and the performance from Welles) is larger than life. There are very few characters who manage to harness that same energy and presence, and many of the in between scenes felt kind of flat. Guy is a decent main character, especially once he really gets on his quest to learn about Arkadin's history, but for a guy who is supposed to have been around the block a few times it takes him a LONG time to figure out certain things that seem pretty obvious from the get go.
With a movie that has such a complicated backstory (apparently a ton of different cuts exist, with varying loyalty to Welles' original vision), it is easy to guess at what could have been. My gut instinct is that Arden's performance would have made this a tricky film, even in a perfectly cut version. The energy of his scenes always depends on who is playing opposite him. There's also something a bit half-baked about Guy's romance with Raina, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that Raina doesn't feel so much like a real person as a prize for Guy and Arkadin to wrestle over in the final act.
Certainly an interesting watch, but doesn't live up to its potential or the promise of those crazy angles/zooms.
Mr. Arkadin/Confidential Report, 1955
I know that this film has a complicated history. I have not had time to read up a ton on it, but for reference I watched the "Corinth" edit.
Guy Van Stratten (Robert Arden) is a small time smuggler who happens to be present at the aftermath of a murder. The dying man is able to give Guy's girlfriend, Mily (Patricia Medina) a single name: "Arkadin". Guy eventually becomes entangled with a wealthy, mysterious man named Gregory Arkadin (Orson Welles) and romantically entangled with Arkadin's daughter, Raina (Paola Mori). Arkadin has an extensive network of spies and other figures working for him and is obsessed with collecting information. Claiming amnesia, he hires Guy to learn more about his past.
Because this was a slightly "work in progress" edit, there were certain things I didn't hold too strongly against it (such as some really awful dubbing in a handful of sequences with Arden's character).
The style of the film is incredibly in-your-face, with stark angles and zooms. One part of me appreciated the audacity of it, but the flip side was that there were several times when the style seemed to be trying to impart an intensity or suspense that the narrative itself didn't quite support.
When it comes down to it, Arkadin (in both character and the performance from Welles) is larger than life. There are very few characters who manage to harness that same energy and presence, and many of the in between scenes felt kind of flat. Guy is a decent main character, especially once he really gets on his quest to learn about Arkadin's history, but for a guy who is supposed to have been around the block a few times it takes him a LONG time to figure out certain things that seem pretty obvious from the get go.
With a movie that has such a complicated backstory (apparently a ton of different cuts exist, with varying loyalty to Welles' original vision), it is easy to guess at what could have been. My gut instinct is that Arden's performance would have made this a tricky film, even in a perfectly cut version. The energy of his scenes always depends on who is playing opposite him. There's also something a bit half-baked about Guy's romance with Raina, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that Raina doesn't feel so much like a real person as a prize for Guy and Arkadin to wrestle over in the final act.
Certainly an interesting watch, but doesn't live up to its potential or the promise of those crazy angles/zooms.