F FOR FAKE - DVD review

"Up to your old tricks, I see."
"Why not? I'm a charlatan."


What is "F for Fake?"

Wow, where do I start? How do I begin to describe a movie that numbers among its "cast" members not only Orson Welles, but also a Hungarian art forger, Howard Hughes, the cathedral at Chartres, and Pablo Picasso? How do I categorize a movie that can be described equally well as a documentary, a fictional feature, an essay, or even as an overblown clip show?

OK, I think I know where to start. "F for Fake" is a movie about Oja Kodar. Who is Oja Kodar? Oja Kodar was Welles' partner both in his creative work (she co-wrote "F for Fake") and in life. Oja Kodar is also a woman so beautiful that mere adjectives and adverbs do not suffice to describe her; I have to call in Raymond Chandler for help. Oja Kodar is the kind of woman who could, in Chandler's words, make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window. She's also the kind of woman who could convince Pablo Picasso to give her twenty-two original paintings and… No, that's the ending. Always save the best for last. And you don't get much better than Oja Kodar. Let me start again.

"F for Fake" is a movie about Elmyr de Hory, the world's second greatest art forger (the best is Oja's father but that's a different story.) Elmyr has painted more Modiglianis than Modigliani; he can have three new ones ready for you by lunch if you're willing to wait. His paintings hang on the walls of museums throughout the world, not that he'll ever officially admit to it. And the museum curators and art sellers, well, let's just say they'd rather not ask difficult questions. Elmyr also has a biographer named Clifford Irving who has been a busy man. Not only has he written a book about Elmyr, but he's also just ghost-written an auto-biography of Howard Hughes. Or has he? Hughes denies ever having met the man, though it also appears that Irving's wife just might have walked into a Swiss bank one day wearing a wig and pretending to be a woman named Helga Hughes and…

OK, now I'm getting confused again. What exactly is "F for Fake?" Let me try one more time, and this time I'll just start with the facts.

"F for Fake," released in 1972, is the final feature film completed by Orson Welles. He continued to film actively and obsessively until his death in 1985, but most of these projects (such as "The Other Side of the Wind" and "The Dreamers") remained unfinished due in part to a lack of funding, and also in part to an abundance of ambition. Welles was a tireless craftsman who needed to juggle as many projects as possible to keep him occupied.

With "F for Fake," Welles intended to create a new type of film which combined elements of both non-fiction and fiction; a personal essay influenced perhaps (though I don't really know what Welles' direct influences were) by the work of avant garde documentarians like Chris Marker and Stan Brakhage. Though the bulk of the film ostensibly concerns the story of art forger Elmyr de Hory, Welles weaves Elmyr's story (and Cliff Irving's and Oja Kodar's) into his own biography. As he notes with a wink and a smile, his own career began with a rather (in)famous bit of fakery of his own; the "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast which drove hundreds or perhaps thousands (accounts differ) of viewers into a panic over a Martian invasion. Just as he did in his radio broadcast, Welles is both willing and eager to mix fiction with fact in his "documentary." Indeed, that's the entire point. How else do you tell a story about fakers except by faking it? And what is filmmaking if not the art of fakery, the craft of the magician who, with a little sleight of hand, can make you see whatever he wants you to see.

"F for Fake" addresses many issues, but central to the film is the question of authorship. On one level, there's the question of Elmyr's status as an art forger. Welles repeats a question: "It's pretty, but is it art?" If you can't determine the difference between the original and the fake, is there any real difference at all? In one telling scene, Elmyr forges a portrait and then signs Orson Welles' name (though he misspells it "Wells".) Whose painting is it anyway?

Furthermore, though "F for Fake" is an "Orson Welles film," much of the footage of Elmyr is taken from a documentary shot by Francois Reichenbach, and an early "study" of girl-watching was actually written and filmed by Oja Kodar several years before "F for Fake." Whose film is this, and does it even matter? Welles' suggestion is that all that matters is the final product, and he amply credits the film's other "practioners" – an intentional misspelling – in the opening credits. At one point, Welles stands in front of the magnificent cathedral at Chartres and marvels at its enduring beauty. He describes it as one of the greatest achievements in mankind's history, but notes nobody ever bothered to "sign" it. It is anonymous, and eternal, and beautiful. It's pretty, but is it art? You bet, says Orson.

"F for Fake" is a film which contains such manifold pleasures, it's at least a minor felony to spoil it by something as venal as a search for meaning. The movie is a joy to watch solely for its surface elements: Oja Kodar, Elmyr's eel-slick performance, Welles' stentorian voice, Oja Kodar, the kaleidoscopic editing, beautiful paintings, Michel Legrand's music and, of course, Oja Kodar.

"F for Fake" also features Welles at his most playful, a little boy who has never gotten tired of playing with grown-up toys like movie cameras and editing tables. The editing in "F for Fake" is downright silly at times, and wonderfully so. Welles revels in his ability to smash any two images together, and thereby create the rules for his own game in the process. There are many other Orson Welleses in this movie too: Welles the raconteur, Welles the magician, Welles the gossip, and even Welles the gourmand. The man loved to eat, and he's not above poking fun at his own girth. In one scene, he hands a platter of utterly decimated lobster to a waiter and tells him it's time to bring the steak au poivre next.

Finally, "F for Fake" is a masterpiece. It is one of Welles' greatest films which, by definition, makes it one of the greatest films of all-time. If we listen only to the Hollywood history, Welles' career was one continuous slide after achieving early greatness. In reality, he has a great filmmaker who continued to make great films at every stage of his career, even in the face of difficult financial circumstances. "Chimes at Midnight" (1965) may well be his greatest work, and "F for Fake" is certainly not far behind.


Video

The DVD is presented in its original 1.66:1 aspect ratio. The restored high-definition transfer is a vast improvement over the VHS copy previously in circulation, though it is uneven at times. Welles shot the film on multiple sources (16 mm and 35 mm) and also used footage from other films and video broadcasts. In general, the image quality is excellent but some scenes appear not to have received the full restoration treatment. The scene at Chartres, for example, is still grainy and dirty; it doesn't appear to have been touched up much, if at all. But I'm not complaining. This is still a fine transfer. I've seen it several times on VHS, and I greatly appreciate the improvements made on the Criterion release.

Audio

The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital Mono. The dialogue is all well-mixed, no small task since Welles' audio designs were always so complex, mixing and matching location sound with ADR and voice-over with dialogue in many scenes. Legrand's soundtrack also sounds great. Optional English language subtitles support the audio.

Extras

Speaking of pleasures, this DVD is loaded with them.

Disc One:

Commentary track by Oja Kodar and Director of Photography Gary Glover. More a series of observations than the typical wall-to-wall conversation that comprises most commentaries. I liked it a lot.

Peter Bogdanovich intro (6 min.) Welles' friend and biographer, Bogdanovich describes the film as "unlike any other." Maybe so, though he acts as if Welles invented the film essay which would be great news to Chris Marker and Agnes Varda, among others.

Trailer (9 min.) A nine minute trailer? Well, let's just say that Orson Welles did everything big. More a short film than a trailer, it includes much footage recorded solely for the trailer. The "trailer" is hilarious, entertaining, and a perfect description of "F for Fake." Naturally, American distributors rejected it.

Disc Two:

"Orson Welles: One-Man Band" (1995): A feature-length (87 min.) documentary made in cooperation with Oja Kodar. It includes footage from several of Welles' unfinished films: "The Other Side of the Wind," "Moby Dick," "The Deep," and much more. There are also clips of Welles' performing magic on stage, and several short comedy films he made late in his career which portray the playful, self-deprecating side he displays in "F for Fake." This documentary is an absolute gem that would be worth buying all by itself. Plus it's got Oja Kodar.

"Almost True: The Noble Art of Forgery" (1997): A short feature (52 min) made for the Norwegian Film Institute about Elmyr de Hory. The "straight" version of Elmyr's story. A nice companion piece to the main film.

"60 Minutes Interviews Clifford Irving" (2000, 9 min.): In 1972, Irving went on a relatively new show called "60 Minutes" to defend himself against claims that his Howard Hughes' autobiography was a hoax. He lied through his teeth. In 2000, he was invited back on the show to explain himself. Very interesting.

"Howard Hughes Press Conference." Hughes held a press conference by phone to deny all of Irving's claims. This feature includes several audio clips of Hughes answering reporters' questions. The popularity of "The Aviator" makes this feature somewhat more interesting.

Closing Thoughts

My earliest memory of Orson Welles is as the host of an exploitation flick called "The Man Who Saw Tomorrow," a so-called documentary about Nostradamus' prophecies. I was probably 11 or 12 years old when I saw it, and I didn't have the slightest idea who this fat guy with piercing eyes, a scruffy beard, and a booming voice was. Nostradamus was, of course, a complete fraud (as a prophet – as a physician, he treated many plague sufferers who other doctors wouldn't touch) but when Welles spoke his (very loosely translated) words, he had me convinced. The world was going to end in 1987 when Halley's Comet returned ("when the comet shall run!") and I, for one, was scared to death. I wonder if Orson believed any of it. For him, it was almost true since his own world ended in 1985. I'm willing to bet that he knew it was all fake, though. That was the fun of it, right?