Orson Welles · Queuebrick

Orson Welles

Directing·May 6, 1915·Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA

Rate

NA/10 avg

George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio. Noted for his innovative dramatic productions as well as his distinctive voice and personality, Welles is widely acknowledged as one of the most accomplished dramatic artists of the twentieth century, especially for his significant and influential early work—despite his notoriously contentious relationship with Hollywood. His distinctive directorial style featured layered, nonlinear narrative forms, innovative uses of lighting such as chiaroscuro, unique camera angles, sound techniques borrowed from radio, deep focus shots, and long takes. Welles's long career in film is noted for his struggle for artistic control in the face of pressure from studios. Many of his films were heavily edited and others left unreleased. He has been praised as a major creative force and as "the ultimate auteur." After directing a number of high-profile theatrical productions in his early twenties, including an innovative adaptation of Macbeth and The Cradle Will Rock, Welles found national and international fame as the director and narrator of a 1938 radio adaptation of H. G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds performed for the radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was reported to have caused widespread panic when listeners thought that an invasion by extraterrestrial beings was occurring. Although these reports of panic were mostly false and overstated, they rocketed Welles to instant notoriety. Citizen Kane (1941), his first film with RKO, in which he starred in the role of Charles Foster Kane, is often considered the greatest film ever made. Several of his other films, including The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), The Lady from Shanghai (1947), Touch of Evil (1958), Chimes at Midnight (1965), and F for Fake (1974), are also widely considered to be masterpieces. In 2002, he was voted the greatest film director of all time in two separate British Film Institute polls among directors and critics, and a wide survey of critical consensus, best-of lists, and historical retrospectives calls him the most acclaimed director of all time. Andrew Sarris in his influential book of film criticism The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1968 included him in the "pantheon" of the 14 greatest film directors who had worked in the United States. Well known for his baritone voice, Welles was also an extremely well regarded actor and was voted number 16 in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars list of the greatest American film actors of all time. He was also a celebrated Shakespearean stage actor and an accomplished magician, starring in troop variety shows in the war years.

Film	Credit
Hopper/Welles2020 · Director	Director
The Other Side of the Wind2018 · Journalist (uncredited), Director, Screenplay	Journalist (uncredited), Director, Screenplay
Too Much Johnson2013 · Keystone Kop, Director, Producer, Screenplay	Keystone Kop, Director, Producer, Screenplay
The Deep2007 · Russ Brewer, Director, Producer, Screenplay	Russ Brewer, Director, Producer, Screenplay
Orson Welles Talks With Roger Hill2005 · (Self), Director	(Self), Director
Filming 'The Trial'2002 · Producer, Director	Producer, Director
Moby Dick2000 · Captain Ahab / Starbuck / Ishmael (archive footage), Director	Captain Ahab / Starbuck / Ishmael (archive footage), Director
One Man Band1999 · Presenter / Various, Director, Writer	Presenter / Various, Director, Writer
Orson Welles: The One-Man Band1995 · Director	Director
It's All True1993 · Director	Director
Don Quixote1992 · Director, Producer, Screenplay	Director, Producer, Screenplay
Unseen Lollo1986 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
It's All True: Four Men on a Raft1986 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
The Dreamers1985 · Marcus Kleek, Director, Writer	Marcus Kleek, Director, Writer
Orson Welles' Magic Show1985 · Director, Writer, Producer	Director, Writer, Producer
The Spirit of Charles Lindbergh1984 · Director	Director
Filming Othello1979 · Host, Writer, Director	Host, Writer, Director
The Orson Welles Show1979 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
F for Fake1973 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon1970 · Actor, Director, Writer, Producer	Actor, Director, Writer, Producer
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Happy Prince1970 · Actor, Director, Producer, Writer	Actor, Director, Producer, Writer
An Evening with Orson Welles: American Heritage, Vol. I – Selections from George Ade, Thomas Wolfe, Mark Twain1970 · Actor, Director, Producer, Writer	Actor, Director, Producer, Writer
An Evening with Orson Welles: American Heritage, Vol. II – Clarence Darrow1970 · Actor, Director, Producer, Writer	Actor, Director, Producer, Writer
An Evening with Orson Welles: Two Wise Old Men – Socrates and Noah1970 · Actor, Director, Producer, Writer	Actor, Director, Producer, Writer
An Evening with Orson Welles: My Little Boy1970 · Actor, Director, Producer, Writer	Actor, Director, Producer, Writer
The Merchant of Venice (Rushes)1970 · Shylock, Director	Shylock, Director
The Merchant of Venice1969 · Shylock, Producer, Screenplay, Director	Shylock, Producer, Screenplay, Director
The Immortal Story1968 · Charles Clay, Director, Screenplay	Charles Clay, Director, Screenplay
Vienna1968 · Director, Writer, Producer	Director, Writer, Producer
The Heroine1967 · Director	Director
Chimes at Midnight1965 · Falstaff, Director, Screenplay	Falstaff, Director, Screenplay
The Trial1962 · Albert Hastler, Screenplay, Director	Albert Hastler, Screenplay, Director
Five Columns on the Front Page: Hong Kong as seen by Orson Welles1960 · Director	Director
The Fountain of Youth1958 · the narrator, Director, Producer, Writer	the narrator, Director, Producer, Writer
Orson Welles at Large: Portrait of Gina1958 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
Touch of Evil1958 · Police Captain Hank Quinlan, Screenplay, Director	Police Captain Hank Quinlan, Screenplay, Director
OOrson Welles and People: Camille, the Naked Lady and the Musketeers1956 · Director, Writer, Producer	Director, Writer, Producer
The Land of the Basques1955 · Director	Director
Mr. Arkadin1955 · Gregory Arkadin, Director, Screenplay, Producer	Gregory Arkadin, Director, Screenplay, Producer
Moby Dick—Rehearsed1955 · An Actor Manager /Father Mapple /Ahab, Director, Writer	An Actor Manager /Father Mapple /Ahab, Director, Writer
Othello1951 · Othello, Director, Producer, Screenplay	Othello, Director, Producer, Screenplay
The Miracle of St. Anne1950 · The Director, Director, Writer	The Director, Director, Writer
Macbeth1948 · Macbeth, Director, Screenplay, Producer	Macbeth, Director, Screenplay, Producer
The Lady from Shanghai1947 · Michael O'Hara, Screenplay, Producer, Director	Michael O'Hara, Screenplay, Producer, Director
The Stranger1946 · Prof. Charles Rankin, Director	Prof. Charles Rankin, Director
IIt's All True1943 · Director, Screenplay	Director, Screenplay
The Magnificent Ambersons1942 · Narrator (voice), Screenplay, Director, Producer	Narrator (voice), Screenplay, Director, Producer
Citizen Kane1941 · Charles Foster Kane, Screenplay, Director, Producer	Charles Foster Kane, Screenplay, Director, Producer
TThe Green Goddess1939 · Rajah/Narrator, Director, Producer	Rajah/Narrator, Director, Producer
The Hearts of Age1934 · Death, Director, Writer	Death, Director, Writer
Twelfth Night1933 · Narrator, Director, Director of Photography	Narrator, Director, Director of Photography