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Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 10:06 pm
by Gordon
I saw With Orson Welles: Stories from a Life in Film (1988, Leslie Megahey) yesterday via a DVD-R and all I can say is WOW! It's an amazing piece of work, with Welles (from a 1982 interview) appearing immaculately dressed and groomed and overflowing with ebullience and wit, telling some hilarious anecdotes and dispelling many myths. Jeanne Moreau and Anthony Perkins provide some great insights, also and the general style of the piece is delightful, with the film running out during at one point, but the sound still rolling, much to Welles' amusement! He laughs throughout the film and I came away liking the man even more. This is a BBC property, so I would assume that it wouldn't be too difficult to acquire. This is a documentary that simply has to be seen by Welles fans and so it simply has to appear on a Welles DVD at some point.
Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 8:29 pm
by What A Disgrace
Now a January 22 release, with no update on the specs.
Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2006 12:16 am
by der_Artur
So the thing seems to be finished, isn't it? I have been just cleaning up and found an old, dusty and noisy tape containing "The one Man Band", "Confidential Report" and two shorts ("Magic Show" and "London"). The shorts are the only things I could not substitute by a DVD... So, will one of them be on your DVD? Especially "London" is nicely entertaining, so I would prefer a decent release over my TV recording.
Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 8:03 pm
by NABOB OF NOWHERE
Specs at Amazon where it's listed for £11.99 -
# DVD Features:
* Main Language: English
* Sub Titles: English
* Restored high definition Criterion transfer
* Commentary by Bill Krohn and Gary Graver
* Optional English subtitles
* Booklet
Since release date is only two weeks away, this might suggest a pretty bare bones affair.
Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 1:30 pm
by jt
play.com also lists this as 22/01/07 with only the commentary and booklet as extras.
Nick, is this even still happening? There is a surprising lack of buzz considering how close the release date is (and considering it's Welles). The MoC website doesn't even include a page for it in it's catalogue yet (as it has done for Shoah).
Will there be any other extra's to try and compete with the CC version or is this just for the region-locked crowd?
Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 4:54 pm
by NABOB OF NOWHERE
Release seems to have slipped till end of Feb. Does this bode well for some eleventh hour additions or is that just wishful thinking????
Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 12:14 am
by Ste
Amazon are still listing it as a January 22nd release. I have it on order, so we'll see if it turns up.
Peerpee, can you please tell us what is happening with this release? There is still no cover art on the MOC website, while other, later spine numbers are already on the shelves. This should be a major release, but it looks like it will sneak out with very little fanfare, if it comes at all. I'm not complaining, I'd just appreciate an update on the situation. Thank you in advance.
Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 12:37 am
by peerpee
It's going to be mid to late Feb, I'm afraid. Extended work on SHOAH and F FOR FAKE has affected our release dates. I've bitten off more than I can chew in the last 6 months, it's my own fault. Sorry.
Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 12:11 pm
by skuhn8
peerpee wrote:It's going to be mid to late Feb, I'm afraid. Extended work on SHOAH and F FOR FAKE has affected our release dates. I've bitten off more than I can chew in the last 6 months, it's my own fault. Sorry.
You'll be expected to chew must faster from here on out.
Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 4:33 pm
by lazier than a toad
F For Fake and specs are
back in the catalogue, and appears to be on sale at amazon.co.uk (from the 26th) and play.com (when in stock). 11.99 on the former.
Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 3:03 pm
by peerpee
I received a finished copy last Friday. Should be in distribution channels today.
Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:42 am
by MichaelB
I've just watched it (or rather the main feature: I'll tackle the extras tonight).
Anyway, it looks fabulous - well done!
As far as I can make out, it's progressive anamorphic PAL from a pristine source - there's a fair bit of grain in some shots, but that's definitely an unavoidable part of the original, especially as Welles often zooms into existing footage to highlight a particular detail. Because it's sourced from HD, NTSC conversion side-effects aren't an issue. Aspect ratio is 1.66:1, which I believe is correct (it certainly looked fine). I haven't seen the Criterion so can't compare, but presumably it's exactly the same but progressive NTSC.
Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 12:35 pm
by kuzine
no reviews for this one yet?
Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 12:54 pm
by MichaelB
Mine's in the current Sight & Sound, but I've already posted the gist in this thread.
Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 2:52 pm
by meanwhile
Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 4:07 pm
by foggy eyes
It's a cracking disc: the transfer is glorious, Krohn and Graver's commentary is, as I think Michael said in his S&S review, lively, chatty and informative, and the rambling Rosenbaum piece is entertaining and enlightening. As ever, an excellent job all round!
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 9:13 pm
by ola t
Wellesnet
reveals a colorful hidden feature.
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 9:44 pm
by colinr0380
And the colour trailer is
here, courtesy of peerpee.
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 1:07 am
by Ste
ola t wrote:Wellesnet
reveals a colorful hidden feature.
That was me, actually.
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 8:55 am
by MichaelB
Gordon wrote:This is a BBC property, so I would assume that it wouldn't be too difficult to acquire. This is a documentary that simply has to be seen by Welles fans and so it simply has to appear on a Welles DVD at some point.
Agreed, but I suspect it would be so expensive as to make it more or less prohibitive except as a standalone release.
For starters, the BBC now charges an absolute fortune for licensing its documentaries to other distributors - so much that you now very very rarely see them on non-BBC discs in the UK. And in this case there's a huge number of third-party rights clearances, all of which would have to be negotiated separately with the relevant rightsholders (since the BBC certainly wouldn't have cleared retail rights back in 1982 - they'd have had no motive).
So even if it makes it to DVD at all, it would be something of a miracle if it ended up intact.
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 2:00 pm
by BrianInAtlanta
Nice article on Wellesnet by Lawrence French on the sources for the movie with quotes of some of the acid reviews it got in the U.S. at its release:
Truth and Lies about Orson Welles’ F FOR FAKE
Re:
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 10:44 am
by Will Barks
ola t wrote:Wellesnet
reveals a colorful hidden feature.
Could somebody reveal how you can actually access this hidden feature? I can't seem to find it.
Re: 31 F For Fake
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 3:59 pm
by bigP
Slarek at DVD Outsider wrote:To access the trailer, select the Commentary from the main menu. On the Commentary page click the 'up' button on your remote twice and a large question mark will appear in the bottom right of the screen. Press 'select' and the trailer will run.
Re: 31 F For Fake
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 5:28 pm
by Will Barks
Thanks, bigP, for the hint!