Magician: The Astonishing Life And Work Of Orson Welles

It is only right and proper that in 2015, the centenary year of Orson Welles, we should get a full-length documentary that chronicles the man’s never less than intriguing career.

There can be little doubt that Welles was a genius of sorts. This was a man literally larger than life in more ways than one. He had done it all by the time he reached twenty-six, and as the man said himself “I started as a star and worked my way down”. Welles, despite a troubled upbringing, was a precocious boy and with the help of a kindly schoolmaster he was responsible for a number of college productions. Soon however young Welles would take the bull by the horns and embarked from Illinois to Ireland courtesy of an inheritance. Welles had heard about the legendary Gate Theatre, run by the inestimable Messrs Mac Liammoir and Edwards. It wasn’t long before young Welles made himself known to the men in question by pretending he was a Broadway star! Let’s bear in mind he was but sixteen years of age at the time! Having conquered Dublin, Welles returned to the States, New Yawk to be precise, and formed the Mercury Theatre of the Air and stunned the world with the infamous broadcast of H.G. Wells ‘War Of The Worlds’. From here on the world was Welles oyster… or so it appeared…

This documentary provides us with a fascinating insight into the career highs and lows of an often-misunderstood genius. We are treated to interviews with various Welles aficionados, amongst them actor Simon Callow and director Peter Bogdanovich, numerous clips from most of Welles’ important films, archive material and of course some rare footage of the man himself. Towards the end of his career Welles (always witty and urbane) became a very popular guest on various TV-chat shows and provided us with a wealth of amusing stories and anecdotes concerning showbiz gossip. During the course of this documentary, we learn just how many projects left unfinished – invariably due to lack of funding. Think how wonderful it would haven been to see his ‘Don Quixote’ or ‘The Merchant of Venice’ (to name but two of many).
We learn a great deal from Chuck Workman’s docu, which comes over as a labour of love. With Welles, however, you always feel that you want to know more – which is perhaps as it should be in the case of a Magician!