In his imaginative take on the life of Orson Welles, Mark Cousins looks at Welles's personal sketchbooks - he was an inveterate scribbler, though he rarely went as far as to produce what we might call finished artworks - and sees the connections to his films, and to his life. This is not just a novel but also an interesting approach: film is a visual medium, but the visual side of a movie is the hardest thing to talk about: the sketches provide a key to the way that Welles conceived his tableaux. The other part of the thesis is that Welles's choice of movies tell us something about his private character. This is more contentious: does someone choose to play Falstaff, say, or film Don Quixote, because the character fits their own self-image? Maybe not, but Cousins gives us a credible speculation of how Welles' own character manifested itself in the work he produced, of how his films reveal the man who made them. Instead of a conventional narrative, Cousins prefers to engage in one half of an imaginary dialogue with the auteur: at times this is less successful, as when Cousins seems to impute a connection of Welles with Ireland that seems more important to him than he manages to convince us it was to Welles. Overall, though, it's a worthwhile endeavor: Welles's story is well known, its arc usually presented as tragic; but Cousins succeeds in making us view it through fresh eyes.
26 Reviews
"....beloved nose putty..."
Brucey_D14 January 2019
Mark Cousins explores the life and works of Orson Welles, through the prism of his artwork.
This documentary is structured in the form of an open letter to Welles, as if he were still alive; the conversation isn't entirely one-sided, as towards the end of the documentary there are imagined replies from Welles too.
Burrowing through the remaining archive of Welles' artwork, often in the company of his daughter Beatrice, shows some insights into the workings of the mind of one of the twentieth century's most influential and controversial film-makers. Although nothing can be examined in great detail in the running time (1Hr 40mins as I saw it), his working life, his marriages, and his political activism are touched upon.
This film is both nicely made and is visually arresting in its own right; the content together with Cousins' quiet intensity makes this a must-see documentary for film enthusiasts. For me it underlined the fact that there are lots of his movies which I have yet to see, and there are aspects of Welles that I knew nothing about.
Eight out of ten from me; a longer version would probably have been an easy nine.
This documentary is structured in the form of an open letter to Welles, as if he were still alive; the conversation isn't entirely one-sided, as towards the end of the documentary there are imagined replies from Welles too.
Burrowing through the remaining archive of Welles' artwork, often in the company of his daughter Beatrice, shows some insights into the workings of the mind of one of the twentieth century's most influential and controversial film-makers. Although nothing can be examined in great detail in the running time (1Hr 40mins as I saw it), his working life, his marriages, and his political activism are touched upon.
This film is both nicely made and is visually arresting in its own right; the content together with Cousins' quiet intensity makes this a must-see documentary for film enthusiasts. For me it underlined the fact that there are lots of his movies which I have yet to see, and there are aspects of Welles that I knew nothing about.
Eight out of ten from me; a longer version would probably have been an easy nine.
A scrapbook overview of a genius
shakercoola3 November 2019
A British documentary film; This is a compelling analysis of the creative output, sketches and paintings of the American actor, director, writer and producer who is remembered for his innovative work in radio, theatre and film. The film critic Mark Cousins regales us with a colourful and insightful account of his motivations. It is gushing as a tribute, but it is heartfelt. It dovetails image and voiceover very well.
Unusual documentary style
lonniehare12 January 2024
I appreciate the effort put into this documentary. I learned a lot about Welles which I had not known. Actually, I wasn't aware that he made or performed in so many films. I believe only a select few are shown on TV these days. I certainly will be on the look-out for more of his films as mentioned in this documentary. Contemporary youth seem to prefer everything In color and flashy so they show no interest in old films especially if they are in black and white. Having said that, I did not give a high rating because I found the director spoke more or less in a monotonous voice most of the time. Of course, he has an Irish accent, but that in itself is not an issue.
hypnotic
SnoopyStyle5 August 2022
It's over 30 years since the death of Orson Welles. Mark Cousins starts this like writing a letter to his dead hero. He's looking at his visual styles. He visits the daughter, Beatrice Welles, who kept a treasure trove of his artworks. Through it all, Cousins is doing a narration worthy of Werner Herzog. It's lesser Herzog. It's not as compelling. It drones on. At first, it's hypnotic but it is also rather repetitive. He's following the artwork to locations across the globe and linking it to his filmography. It's a different way to examine an artistic life.
Poetic
mineshaft-gap26 January 2019
I've found this documentary with its slow paced narration and editing quite apaising and somewhat poetic. I really enjoyed it, it's rather unusual in these times of fast cuts and over-feeding of information to adopt this counterpoint. I must confess I can not say I've seen a lot of Orson Welles' movies but after seeing this documentary I definitively plan to watch more of them. I also was impressed by how good he was at drawing, in summary a great all-around artist.
Unique and interesting
jellopuke24 December 2021
This is constructed in a different way than most looks at a life, with a focus on art and drawing to see things the way he saw. It mostly works really, really well, with some great attention to tiny details from his life that only a real scholar would know. It stumbles a bit with the part where he has orson talking back, but that's only 10 minutes of a 100 minute movie that really does offer something for even the person who already has read everything there is to read about Welles.
More vision, less talk
dlynch84317 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I agree with some of the reviews here that the narration was awful.
There's nothing wrong with an Irish accent, unless it's delivered by a pretentious bore.
Why did Cousins think Welles fans would be interested in listening to his opinions for 2 hours? It felt like 3. The documentary was advertised as a look at Welles' art work. OK, we see a lot of it, and it looked like there was more. We see Welles' daughter, and when she started to talk, Cousins cuts in and ends a potentially interesting part of Welles' life. I cannot recommend this to those who want to see a good documentary.
Exactly as it presents itself
black-amra6 January 2023
I was at first skeptical of the initial viewing based on a feeling from the director/narrator's vocal quality as less then engaging and the fact I know so many people that are not willing to accept an accent even when it's one spoken in English.
It's a sad reality I have come to accept that unless a clean "Queen's English" or a deep American version is utilized in a documentary setting it might not grab an audience that ecoevts as much. This is tantamount to what Orson would rival against in his way, and with his particularly deep, yet lispish and lilting vocal quality to compensate his feelings and exemplify them. He had a voice so readily recognized and hardly ever mimicked, and a physical presence that only got greater as tone went on-- no pun on his weight as it also increased.
But very soon found the humor in his words that kept me watching as well as the material he was digging up to support his story.
Orson Welles had been an icon for me as an artist and writer since early teenage years through the Shadow radio program so unusual of my age to encounter, but suffering insomnia and migraines at that age I liked delving into the stories to sooth me and level out and give my overactive brain a time-out. Years later I discovered his pantheon of films, then his love of magic that lead into the discovery of "F for Fake" and his narration of the "Nostrodomus Prophesies" that was my first foray into the world of the occult. I own the original broadcast of "War of the Worlds" on vinyl and play it sometimes on the anniversary of the broadcast. A lifelong Michigan resident, I was startled to discover that so many of his illustrations made over the soan of his entire life and personal effects are stored in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan and was livened by the fact that when I was first beginning to admire the man I too was an illustrator and walking that path only to waver from it into unkown territory just as he had. The facts and history explored here are some I never knew before and feel much better now knowing(like his political views and gear towards a humanistic approach to life), my already prodigious respect for the misunderstood genius that much more profound in the understanding of such. The point that stands out most is his activism-- if he had been present in the days of the George Floyd incident he would have been front and center leading the charge after apparently having seen such an atrocity already in his own time that I never knew about.
Through archival footage rarely seen( at least by me as a lifelong advocate) and solid research as well as contact with Orson's surviving daughter Beatrice, the director spins a tale of a "bedtime story of life nowadays" told to Orson of the world that he would never see, the world he only envisioned and as it is in reality that we take for granted so many decades after his death.
This is a worthy addition to the roster of Orson Welles films, a sort of "book end" to his achievements that I never expected to happen.
The director weaves a tale of visuals between pictures of old, illustrations in Orson's own hand, film scenes that exemplify that vision, and real life correlations that predict his views in a way that is clearly followed and it is sometjibg of a work of art all on its own.
It's a sad reality I have come to accept that unless a clean "Queen's English" or a deep American version is utilized in a documentary setting it might not grab an audience that ecoevts as much. This is tantamount to what Orson would rival against in his way, and with his particularly deep, yet lispish and lilting vocal quality to compensate his feelings and exemplify them. He had a voice so readily recognized and hardly ever mimicked, and a physical presence that only got greater as tone went on-- no pun on his weight as it also increased.
But very soon found the humor in his words that kept me watching as well as the material he was digging up to support his story.
Orson Welles had been an icon for me as an artist and writer since early teenage years through the Shadow radio program so unusual of my age to encounter, but suffering insomnia and migraines at that age I liked delving into the stories to sooth me and level out and give my overactive brain a time-out. Years later I discovered his pantheon of films, then his love of magic that lead into the discovery of "F for Fake" and his narration of the "Nostrodomus Prophesies" that was my first foray into the world of the occult. I own the original broadcast of "War of the Worlds" on vinyl and play it sometimes on the anniversary of the broadcast. A lifelong Michigan resident, I was startled to discover that so many of his illustrations made over the soan of his entire life and personal effects are stored in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan and was livened by the fact that when I was first beginning to admire the man I too was an illustrator and walking that path only to waver from it into unkown territory just as he had. The facts and history explored here are some I never knew before and feel much better now knowing(like his political views and gear towards a humanistic approach to life), my already prodigious respect for the misunderstood genius that much more profound in the understanding of such. The point that stands out most is his activism-- if he had been present in the days of the George Floyd incident he would have been front and center leading the charge after apparently having seen such an atrocity already in his own time that I never knew about.
Through archival footage rarely seen( at least by me as a lifelong advocate) and solid research as well as contact with Orson's surviving daughter Beatrice, the director spins a tale of a "bedtime story of life nowadays" told to Orson of the world that he would never see, the world he only envisioned and as it is in reality that we take for granted so many decades after his death.
This is a worthy addition to the roster of Orson Welles films, a sort of "book end" to his achievements that I never expected to happen.
The director weaves a tale of visuals between pictures of old, illustrations in Orson's own hand, film scenes that exemplify that vision, and real life correlations that predict his views in a way that is clearly followed and it is sometjibg of a work of art all on its own.
My interest in Orson Welles, versus awful narration by Mark Cousins
frukuk12 February 2019
Gave up on this after 12 minutes (couldn't even make it to a quarter of an hour).
It's almost as if, for some perverse reason, Mark Cousins tried to make his narration as irritating as possible. Is it meant to be a test: if you're truly interested in Welles, then you ought to be prepared to sit through this tripe?
To adopt Mark Cousins' style of narration: "You've messed this up, Mark. You need to go back to the drawing board. And not one once owned by Orson Welles. Ain't that the truth, Mark."
It's almost as if, for some perverse reason, Mark Cousins tried to make his narration as irritating as possible. Is it meant to be a test: if you're truly interested in Welles, then you ought to be prepared to sit through this tripe?
To adopt Mark Cousins' style of narration: "You've messed this up, Mark. You need to go back to the drawing board. And not one once owned by Orson Welles. Ain't that the truth, Mark."
A director, in portrait
GrumpyHistory4 February 2023
A director described by his portraits, his direction discerned from sketches of memories and memories of sketches. Light is explored in painting and set design, all in an effort to paint Orson Welles in a new light, or figure what light he saw himself in as he positioned figures on a stage. I figure this film goes far enough in capturing the expanses allowed us from Welles' mind and how his lines frame future films. However, I'm a little lost in the repetition of the particular picture with sideburns.
I suppose I am led to see it differently in the different "acts" of this exploration. It feel youthful, then classy, then a marketing shape cut out of virgin clay, then fringe, then cool, then something else entirely. Self-obsessed? Not in a selfish way.
The bee will always make honey.
I suppose I am led to see it differently in the different "acts" of this exploration. It feel youthful, then classy, then a marketing shape cut out of virgin clay, then fringe, then cool, then something else entirely. Self-obsessed? Not in a selfish way.
The bee will always make honey.
DIFFERENT APPROACH TO AN INSIGHT ON ORSON WELLES AND HIS ART...THROUGH HIS SKETCHBOOK
LeonLouisRicci27 August 2021
Distinctive but could be Off Putting to those Looking for Deep Constructions of Welles Directing, Writing, and Acting.
Documentarian Mark Cousins Decides to Flip Through a Great Number of Welles' Sketching and Doodling.
Then in a Continuous Narrative of Voice-Over Pontificates Prolifically on the Connection to the Pages and Welles Personality and Decisions.
While all of this is Purely a Personal Opinion and rather Conceitedly Delivered at that, some may Instantly be Annoyed and Appalled.
But if You Buy into the Essay that Cousins is Sharing about His Take on Welles' Work and Motivations and are Interested Enough in Any Analysis of Orson's Art, this is a Curve-Ball of an Approach and is Worth a Watch.
It is Certainly Worth Eye-Balling the Sketchbook, as many have Never Been Seen by the Public.
They are of Infinite Interest on Welles' Background and can be an Alternative to Only His Films as a Deep Probe in what made the Big-Man Tick.
Seeing the Sketches, that Welles did Relentlessly and Continuously Throughout His Life, Surely can be an Insight to those who Care about His Artistic Output.
That was, aside from Sketching, His Writing and Directing in the Theatre, Radio, and Film.
Documentarian Mark Cousins Decides to Flip Through a Great Number of Welles' Sketching and Doodling.
Then in a Continuous Narrative of Voice-Over Pontificates Prolifically on the Connection to the Pages and Welles Personality and Decisions.
While all of this is Purely a Personal Opinion and rather Conceitedly Delivered at that, some may Instantly be Annoyed and Appalled.
But if You Buy into the Essay that Cousins is Sharing about His Take on Welles' Work and Motivations and are Interested Enough in Any Analysis of Orson's Art, this is a Curve-Ball of an Approach and is Worth a Watch.
It is Certainly Worth Eye-Balling the Sketchbook, as many have Never Been Seen by the Public.
They are of Infinite Interest on Welles' Background and can be an Alternative to Only His Films as a Deep Probe in what made the Big-Man Tick.
Seeing the Sketches, that Welles did Relentlessly and Continuously Throughout His Life, Surely can be an Insight to those who Care about His Artistic Output.
That was, aside from Sketching, His Writing and Directing in the Theatre, Radio, and Film.
Lovely, mesmerizing and innovative take on Welles
nicksambidesjr16 August 2022
The Eyes of Orson Welles examines the actor, director, writer, producer, (private) painter, magician, newspaper columnist and commentator and political activist through the aspect of Welles he himself least regarded -- his drawings and paintings -- and the result is marvelous.
Mark Cousins' take on Welles is therefore unique and refreshing, for aside from music -- which Welles knew deeply but never actually performed publicly after his 10th birthday so therefore is a dead end -- drawing was something he did even before he learned how to write and practiced all of his life, making it something so deeply fundamental to the man and his art that Cousins' examination of it opens Welles in a way never before seen. That's damn difficult to do and a feat, if not a triumph, given how hard it is after all these decades of Wellesian examination to do something original.
People here have rapped Cousins for his somewhat elliptical narrative, but to me, that criticism is off the mark, pun intended. Cousins' personal essayist approach relieves the film of the dry structure of biographical narrative, and his fancifulness shows that Cousins is engaged with his subject. Besides, Cousins' camerawork is lovely. His shots of the places Welles has traveled, and his connection of Welles to those places through Welles' work, bring the cosmopolitan, wandering gypsy that was also Welles -- so many Welles' there were! -- alive in a way few have.
It is a work so thoughtful that I find myself returning to it repeatedly just to be transported on the journey that Cousins takes us into this brilliant, troubled, endlessly fascinating man. Thank you, Mark, for such a great, illuminating ride.
Mark Cousins' take on Welles is therefore unique and refreshing, for aside from music -- which Welles knew deeply but never actually performed publicly after his 10th birthday so therefore is a dead end -- drawing was something he did even before he learned how to write and practiced all of his life, making it something so deeply fundamental to the man and his art that Cousins' examination of it opens Welles in a way never before seen. That's damn difficult to do and a feat, if not a triumph, given how hard it is after all these decades of Wellesian examination to do something original.
People here have rapped Cousins for his somewhat elliptical narrative, but to me, that criticism is off the mark, pun intended. Cousins' personal essayist approach relieves the film of the dry structure of biographical narrative, and his fancifulness shows that Cousins is engaged with his subject. Besides, Cousins' camerawork is lovely. His shots of the places Welles has traveled, and his connection of Welles to those places through Welles' work, bring the cosmopolitan, wandering gypsy that was also Welles -- so many Welles' there were! -- alive in a way few have.
It is a work so thoughtful that I find myself returning to it repeatedly just to be transported on the journey that Cousins takes us into this brilliant, troubled, endlessly fascinating man. Thank you, Mark, for such a great, illuminating ride.
the eyes of orson welles
mossgrymk23 March 2022
A doc on Welles that focuses on his drawings? Sounds about as interesting as one on Warhol that centers on his films. And as a number of previous reviewers have observed the director/narrator's droning, second person Irish tones get old five minutes in.
Self indulgent and pretentious.
jrgibson-5193117 January 2019
Being a longtime admirer of Welles and his work, I looked forward to seeing this documentary but I found it tedious and boring. Of the many documentaries on Welles, this was the least interesting and Mark Cousins, while clearly in awe of his own brilliance, stretched what could have been an interesting and informative one-hour film about Welles drawings/paintings and film compositions into a two-hour pretentious commentary on Orson's films, politics and romances. If you never heard of Welles or seen one of his films, you may learn something from this opus, otherwise, watch one of the many interviews with the endlessly entertaining and fascinating Orson Welles instead of this attempt to cash in on the renewed interest in the great man, created by the long-awaited release of The Other Side of The Wind.
Disjointed and arrogant
moyetbear-224-58496015 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The narrator kills any hope of knowing more about Oraon and keeps asking questions about what is going on as if Orson was going to answer him.
Glimpses of Orson's artwork is all we see, mixed with footage of the town's, places and things that influenced Orson to be the director he was.
We are left wanting more of Orson and less of the arrogant director/narrator. Maybe someone will do Orson's artwork justice and let it actually be filmed.
Not the ever close up of the same wide eyes picture of the man over and over and over again.
Glimpses of Orson's artwork is all we see, mixed with footage of the town's, places and things that influenced Orson to be the director he was.
We are left wanting more of Orson and less of the arrogant director/narrator. Maybe someone will do Orson's artwork justice and let it actually be filmed.
Not the ever close up of the same wide eyes picture of the man over and over and over again.
Ruined by narration
malcolmgsw14 January 2019
Now there is some interesting information in this film.Sadly it is completely ruined by the narration of Mark Cousins.He delivers it in a low monotone,at times making out as if he is talking to Orson Welles.It is difficult to understand this method of delivery.Sadly the actual content of the narration is pretentious and at times virtually unintelligible.
Soooo Sloooowww
BeanRound17 May 2019
Irritating and testing. Please. Make. It. Stop.
duncan-16023 May 2021
Commendable in the sense that Cousins tries an original take on the documentary structure but it just doesn't work on any level.
Imagining an intimacy with Welles which puts him (Cousins) at the centre of the story rather than the subject feels profoundly, unforgivably pretentious in my view. His relentless, monotone questioning is a huge distraction, making this almost completely unwatchable. I persevered and persevered but had to give up after forty minutes. Welles' story is fascinating without all the unbearable and distracting drawl and he and his story deserves better than this pompous guff.
You have been warned.
Imagining an intimacy with Welles which puts him (Cousins) at the centre of the story rather than the subject feels profoundly, unforgivably pretentious in my view. His relentless, monotone questioning is a huge distraction, making this almost completely unwatchable. I persevered and persevered but had to give up after forty minutes. Welles' story is fascinating without all the unbearable and distracting drawl and he and his story deserves better than this pompous guff.
You have been warned.
Annoying, flawed narration
rpatrickvelez23 September 2022
This is an incomplete review for a film I just couldn't watch!
The narrator delivers lines as if he were talking to Welles. This isn't exactly what I had hoped for... I don't care about his opinion, I wanted to learn about the vision of Welles.
I simply couldn't watch the film after a few minutes... By the way, there's simply no reason to discuss Obama and Trump and "the rise of despots." Perhaps there's useful research here, but it's glossed over (Welle's sketches for example.)
The first 10 minutes are very difficult to watch, eventually we're introduced to items of historical interest from Welles' descendant.
I would pass on this one.
The narrator delivers lines as if he were talking to Welles. This isn't exactly what I had hoped for... I don't care about his opinion, I wanted to learn about the vision of Welles.
I simply couldn't watch the film after a few minutes... By the way, there's simply no reason to discuss Obama and Trump and "the rise of despots." Perhaps there's useful research here, but it's glossed over (Welle's sketches for example.)
The first 10 minutes are very difficult to watch, eventually we're introduced to items of historical interest from Welles' descendant.
I would pass on this one.
Narration is nails on a chalkboard
dmaran796 July 2022
Incredibly pathetic.
sundragonarts14 May 2019
Pretentious, Malick induced Irish whispering masquerading as art, self indulgent, moot content, and more about the documentary's love of self, then love and insight into a truly great artist. One word keeps popping up in my head to describe this monstrous waste of so called cinematic space - pathetic.
Worth viewing but...
drjgardner14 May 2019
Orson Welles made what is arguably the finest film ever made and followed it up with a few good films and a lot of films that have flashes of brilliance but are marred by serious flaws. That being said, even his worst films are worth watching, as are the many documentaries about his life and craft. This film, "The Eyes of Orson Welles" has some marvelous material about Welles' life and his craft, and it's material you've never seen before. But like most of Welles' own films, this documentary has some serious flaws that detract from what might have been a major contribution. It's well worth watching, but could have been so much better.
Possibly the most aggravating documentary ever
ArtVandelayImporterExporter14 May 2019
Orson Welles fascinates me. Or, to be more accurate, movie fans' fascination with Welles fascinates me. As far as I'm concerned he made one watchable movie - A Touch of Evil. Everything else is bloated or over-rated or unfinished or all 3.
So I went into this hoping to learn something.
Now I've got nothing against the Irish, but when you combine that accent with the younger generation's penchant for inflection at the end of every sentence you start contemplating pouring battery acid into your own ears.
I give one of the other reviewers credit for lasting 12 minutes. I lasted 8.
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