Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985), best known as Orson Welles, 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.
Citizen Kane
(Charles Foster Kane)
A Man for All Seasons
(Cardinal Wolsey)
The Magnificent Ambersons
(Narrator (voice))
Chimes at Midnight
(Falstaff)
The Third Man
(Harry Lime)
Touch of Evil
(Police Captain Hank Quinlan)
History of the World: Part I
(Narrator)
The Trial
(Albert Hastler)
Twelve Plus One
(Markan)
The Transformers: The Movie
(Unicron (voice))
Moby Dick
(Father Mapple)
Catch-22
(Brigadier General Dreedle)
The Lady from Shanghai
(Michael O'Hara)
Is Paris Burning?
(Konsul Nordling)
The Stranger
(Prof. Charles Rankin)
And Then There Were None
(Voice on Tape)
House of Cards
(Leschenhaut)
Journey into Fear
(Colonel Haki)
Treasure Island
(Long John Silver)
The Deep
(Russ Brewer)
Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees
(Self - Narrator (voice))
Jane Eyre
(Edward Rochester)
Don Quixote
(Self)
According to Occam's Razor
Welles' Language
(Self (archive footage))
Celebração - 100 Anos do Cinema Nacional
(Self)
Casino Royale
(Le Chiffre)
Waterloo
(Louis XVIII)
Follow the Boys
(Orson Welles (uncredited))
The Battle of Neretva
(Četnik)
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
(Narrator / Nag / Chuchundra (voice))
Macbeth
(Macbeth)
Butterfly
(Judge Rauch)
The Long, Hot Summer
(Will Varner)
Compulsion
(Jonathan Wilk)
Necromancy
(Mr. Cato)
The Lost Print: The Making of Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons
(Himself (Archive footage))
The Vikings
(Narrator (voice) (uncredited))
F for Fake
(Self)
Napoleon
(Sir Hudson Lowe)
The V.I.P.s
(Max Buda)
American: An Odyssey to 1947
(Self (archive footage))
The Black Rose
(Bayan)
The Southern Star
(Plankett)
Prince of Foxes
(Cesare Borgia)
From Introduction to Orson Welles’s Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight
(Falstaff)
Mr. Arkadin
(Gregory Arkadin)
Tomorrow Is Forever
(John Andrew MacDonald)
Three Cases of Murder
(Lord Mountdrago ("Lord Mountdrago" segment))
The Kremlin Letter
(Bresnavitch)
Alfonso Sansone: Producer by Chance
(Self (archive footage))
Malpertuis
(Cassavius)
Othello
(Othello)
The Man Who Saw Tomorrow
(Presenter / Narrator (voice))
Royal Affairs in Versailles
(Benjamin Franklin)
Orson Welles: The One-Man Band
(Self (archive footage))
The Biggest Battle
(Narratore)
The Dominici Affair by Orson Welles
(Self (archive footage))
Tepepa
(Colonel Cascorro)
The Secret Life of Nikola Tesla
(J.P. Morgan)
Slapstick of Another Kind
(Aliens' Father (voice))
A Safe Place
(The Magician)
Hot Tomorrows
(Parklawn Mortuary (voice))
Trent's Last Case
(Sigsbee Manderson)
Ten Days' Wonder
(Théo Van Horn)
The Immortal Story
(Charles Clay)
Emergency: Donald Trump’s "Touch of Evil"
((archive footage))
The Late Great Planet Earth
(Self)
Voyage of the Damned
(José Estedes)
David and Goliath
(King Saul)
Black Magic
(Joseph Balsamo aka Count Cagliostro)
It's All True
(Self)
Ferry to Hong Kong
(Captain Hart)
Ro.Go.Pa.G.
(The 'Director' (segment "La ricotta"))
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
(Self (archive footage) (uncredited))
Future Shock
(Narrator)
Get to Know Your Rabbit
(Mr. Delasandro)
The Fountain of Youth
(the narrator)
The Force Beyond
(Himself (archive footage))
The Spanish Earth
(Narrator (voice))
The Witching
(Mr. Cato)
Marco the Magnificent
(Akerman, Marco's Teacher)
It Happened One Christmas
(Henry F. Potter)
Filming Othello
(Host)
Mysterious Castles of Clay
(Narrator)
I'll Never Forget What's'isname
(Jonathan Lute)
Trouble in the Glen
(Sanin Cejador y Mengues)
Where Is Parsifal?
(Klingsor)
Return to Glennascaul
(Narrator)
It's All Brazil
(Self (archive footage))
The Road to Bresson
(Self)
Parkinson at 50
(Self (archive footage))
Too Much Johnson
(Keystone Kop)
The Tartars
(Burundai)
Is It Always Right to Be Right?
(Narrator)
Hot Money
(Sheriff Paisley)
Man, Beast and Virtue
(Captain Perella, the Beast)
Someone to Love
(Danny's Friend)
The Fight for Rome
(Justinian)
Magic with the Stars
(Host)
The Cave: a parable told by Orson Welles
(Narrator)
King Lear
(King Lear)
Centinelas del Silencio
The Greatest Adventure--The Story of Man's Voyage to the Moon
(Narrator)
Orson Welles in the Land of Don Quixote
(Self (Archive footage))
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
(Narrator)
Tall Tales: The Ireland of Orson Welles
(Self)
Notre Dame de la Croisette
(Self (archive footage) (uncredited))
Othelo The Great
(Ele Mesmo (Imagem de Arquivo))
Edge of Outside
(Self (archive footage))
The Sailor from Gibraltar
(Louis de Mozambique)
The Dreamers
(Marcus Kleek)
Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure
(Himself)
The Roots of Heaven
(Cy Sedgewick)
Crack in the Mirror
(Hagolin / Lamerciere)
To Build a Fire
(Narrator (voice))
Orson Welles in Spain
(Himself)
Man in the Shadow
(Virgil Renchler)
The Muppet Movie
(Lew Lord)
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
((archive footage))
The Battle Over Citizen Kane
(Self (archive footage))
The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
(Self (archive footage))
Looking Back Before You Leap
(General Zaroff (voice))
Ten Days That Shook the World
(Narrator)
It's Pretty, but is it Art?
(Self (voiceover))
Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
(Self - Filmmaker / Various Roles (archive footage))
Flame of Persia
(Narrator)
The Other Side of the Wind
(Journalist (uncredited))
The Paranormal Peter Sellers
(Self (Archive footage))
A King's Story
(Narrator)
The Spirit of Charles Lindbergh
(himself)
Upon This Rock
(Michelangelo (voice))
Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
(Self (archive footage))
Tut: The Boy King
(Himself - Host)
This Is Orson Welles
(Self)
The Hearts of Age
(Death)
Jodorowsky's Dune
(Self (archive footage))
Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
(Self (archive footage))
Twelfth Night
(Narrator)
The Shadow Knows
(Self (archive footage))
Vienna
(Himself)
Lucifer et moi
((archive footage 1982))
LIFE BEYOND: Visions of Alien Life
(Narrator (Archive Sound))
Swiss Family Robinson
(Opening Narrator)
The Merchant of Venice
(Shylock)
LIFE BEYOND I: The Dawn
(Narrator)
On the tracks of a filmmaker
(Orson Welles)
Who's Out There?
(Host)
Jim Henson Idea Man
(Self (archive footage))
The Battle of Grovers Mill
(Radio Host (voice) (archival footage))
A Step Away
(English Narrator)
The Last Sailors: The Final Days of Working Sail
(Narrator)
Moby Dick
(Captain Ahab / Starbuck / Ishmael (archive footage))
Letter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still
(Self (archive footage) (uncredited))
Orson Welles' Magic Show
(Self)
Lafayette
(Benjamin Franklin)
Filming 'The Trial'
(Self)
The Finest Hours
(Narrator (voice))
Portrait: Orson Welles
(Self)
Directed by John Ford
(Narrator (voice))
Rita Hayworth: Dancing Into the Dream
(Self (archive footage))
Oedipus the King
(Tiresias)
King of Kings
(Narrator (Voice))
Start the Revolution Without Me
(The Narrator)
Soft Self-Portrait of Salvador Dali
(Narrator (voice))
The Fight for Rome II - The Betrayal
(Justinian)
Freedom River
(Narrator)
With Orson Welles: Stories from a Life in Film
(Self (archive footage))
London
(Winston Churchill / George Bernard Shaw)
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
A Huey P. Newton Story
(Self (archive footage) (uncredited))
The Well
From Fiber to Fabric: Wool's a Natural
(Narrator)
Lost in La Mancha
(Self (archive footage))
Show-Business at War
(Self)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
(Self (archive footage))
NASA: A Space Odyssey Vol. 3
(Narrator)
Duel in the Sun
(Narrator (voice) (uncredited))
Rita
((archive footage))
A Horse Called Nijinsky
(Narrator)
The Orson Welles Show
(Self)
Disorder
(Self)
The Greenstone
(Narrator (voice))
They'll Love Me When I'm Dead
(Self (archive footage))
The Quest for Fire Adventure
(Narrator)
Working with Orson Welles
(Himself (Archive Footage))
Filmmakers vs. Tycoons
(Self (archive footage))
Bugs Bunny Superstar
(Narrator (voice))
The Enchanted Journey
(Pippo)
Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces
(Self (archive footage))
The Eyes of Orson Welles
(Self - Filmmaker / Various Roles (archive footage))
The Hitch Hiker
(Ronald Adams)
The Battle of Sutjeska
(Winston Churchill)
The Welles Raft
(Himself (Archive Footage))
High Journey
(Narrator)
Orson Welles: The Paris Interview
(Himself)
Around the World of Mike Todd
(Self - Narrator)
La Classe américaine
(Self (archive footage))
Battle for Survival
(Narrator)
Orson Welles at the Cinémathèque Française
(Himself)
The Other Side of Welles
(Self (archive footage))
Hopper/Welles
(Self)
The Cave
(Narrator)
Jeanne Moreau: Free Spirit
(Self - Filmmaker (archive footage))
The Challenge... A Tribute to Modern Art
(Narrator)
The Best of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
(Self - Roaster (archive footage))
Rosabella - La storia italiana di Orson Welles
Something Else
Genocide
(Narrator (voice))
Orson Welles at Large: Portrait of Gina
(Self - Host)
Orson Welles' Sketch Book
(Self - Host)
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Michael Landon
The Psychic Connection
(Narrator)
Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years
(Self)
A Legend a Lifetime: Citizen Welles
King Penguin: Stranded Beyond the Falklands
(Self - Narrator)
Baryshnikov in Hollywood
(Self - Narrator)
Out of Darkness
(Self - Narrator)
The Battle of Austerlitz
(Robert Fulton)
Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady
(Self)
Disorder Is 20 Years Old
(Self)
Orson Welles - The Marketed Genius
(Self)
Doug Henning's World of Magic
(Self - Special Guest)
Let Poland Be Poland
(Self)
The Magic History of Cinema
Embers & Dust
(Professor Richard Pierson / Self (voice) (archive sound))
Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind
(Self (archive footage))
The Great Buster: A Celebration
(Self (archive footage))
South Seas Adventure
(Narrator)
River of the Ocean
(Narrator (English))
Mexico City, Old and New
(Narrator)
Lords of the Forest
(Narrator (voice))
Know Your Ally: Britain
(Narrator/Bob (helpful taxi passenger))
An Arabian Night
(Storyteller)
It's Not All True
(Himself (archive footage))
The Lions of Capitalism: Some Call It Greed
(Narrator)
To Try Again... and Succeed
(Narrator (voice))
The Enemy Before Us
(Narrator)
The Man Who Came to Dinner
(Sheridan Whiteside)
The New Media Bible: Book of Genesis
(Narrator)
Kelly Country
(Narrator)
The Double McGuffin
(Narrator)
Power and Corruption
(Himself)
Search for the Titanic
(Himself (host))
In Our Hands
(Himself)
Magnificent Monsters of the Deep
(Narrator)
Almonds and Raisins
(Narrator)
NBC: The First Fifty Years
(Self / Narrator)
The New Deal for Artists
(Narrator (voice))
A Gift of Harvest
(Narrator)
Wagner e Venezia
(Richard Wagner (voice))
Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park
(Narrator)
Jeanne Moreau : Vive le cinéma !
Brasil
(Self (archive footage))
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
(Genghis Khan / Bayan (archive footage))
Caesar's Guide to Gaming with Orson Welles
(Himself)
The Land of the Basques
(Himself)
The Blinding of Isaac Woodard
(Self (archive footage))
Beggars Would Ride
(Narrator)
Who Is Henry Jaglom?
(Self (archive footage))
Night of 100 Stars
(Self)
Magic Mirror Maze
Aliens Uncovered: Close Encounters
(Self)
Magnum, P.I.
(Robin Masters (uncredited) (voice))
Moonlighting
(Orson Welles)
I Love Lucy
(Orson Welles)
Omnibus
(King Lear)
The Merv Griffin Show
(Self)
Night Gallery
(Narrator)
The Ed Sullivan Show
(Self)
Hallmark Hall of Fame
(Sheridan Whiteside)
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
(Self)
Shōgun
(Narrator)
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries
(Self - Host)
The Steve Allen Show
(Self)
Scene of the Crime
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
(Self)
Doug Henning's World of Magic
(Self)
Talking Pictures
(Self (archive footage))
Around the World with Orson Welles
(Host: Orson Welles)
The Magic of David Copperfield
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
(Self)
In the Land of Don Quixote
(Himself)
Around the World with Orson Welles
(Self (Host))
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
(Self)
A Woman Called Moses
(Narrator (voice))
V.I.P. Schaukel
(Self)
Orson Welles' Sketch Book
(Himself - Host)
National Geographic Specials
(Narrator)
Star Life
(Self (archive footage))
Cinépanorama
(Self)
Hollywood and the Stars
(Self (archive footage))
The Dick Cavett Show
(Self - Guest)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
(Self - Guest Host)
Magnum, P.I.
(Robin Masters (voice))
What's My Line?
(Self - Panelist)
Dinah!
(Self)
Omnibus
(Self - Presenter)
An Evening with Orson Welles
Tempo
Colgate Theatre
Ford Star Jubilee
(Oscar Jaffe)
One Man Band
The Silent Years
The Name of the Game
(Narrator)
Tales of the Klondike
(Narrator)
Survival
(Narrator)
Reflets de Cannes
(Self)
Best of The Dean Martin Variety Show
Citizen Kane
(Screenplay)
Citizen Kane
(Director)
Citizen Kane
(Producer)
The Magnificent Ambersons
(Screenplay)
The Magnificent Ambersons
(Director)
The Magnificent Ambersons
(Producer)
Chimes at Midnight
(Director)
Chimes at Midnight
(Screenplay)
Touch of Evil
(Screenplay)
Touch of Evil
(Director)
The Trial
(Screenplay)
The Trial
(Director)
3 A.M.
(Editorial Services)
The Land of the Basques
(Director)
The Stranger
(Director)
The Lady from Shanghai
(Screenplay)
The Lady from Shanghai
(Producer)
Don Quixote
(Director)
Macbeth
(Director)
F for Fake
(Director)
Mr. Arkadin
(Director)
Othello
(Director)
Orson Welles at Large: Portrait of Gina
(Director)
The Hearts of Age
(Director)
Orson Welles at Large: Portrait of Gina
(Writer)
The Immortal Story
(Director)
The Fountain of Youth
(Director)
The Fountain of Youth
(Producer)
The Fountain of Youth
(Writer)
The Fountain of Youth
(Production Design)
It's All True: Four Men on a Raft
(Director)
It's All True: Four Men on a Raft
(Writer)
Vienna
(Director)
It's All True
(Director)
Filming Othello
(Writer)
Filming Othello
(Director)
The Magnificent Ambersons
(Screenplay)
Too Much Johnson
(Director)
Freedom River
(Producer)
The Dominici Affair by Orson Welles
(Director)
F for Fake
(Writer)
The Other Side of the Wind
(Director)
The Other Side of the Wind
(Editor)
The Dreamers
(Director)
The Dreamers
(Writer)
The Spirit of Charles Lindbergh
(Director)
The Deep
(Director)
The Deep
(Producer)
The Deep
(Screenplay)
Vienna
(Writer)
The Merchant of Venice
(Producer)
The Merchant of Venice
(Screenplay)
The Merchant of Venice
(Director)
Hong Kong as seen by Orson Welles
(Director)
The Bible: In the Beginning...
(Additional Writing)
The Magnificent Ambersons
(Additional Photography)
Moby Dick
(Theatre Play)
Moby Dick
(Director)
Trick or Treats
(Other)
Othello
(Producer)
Orson Welles' Magic Show
(Director)
Orson Welles' Magic Show
(Writer)
Filming 'The Trial'
(Producer)
Filming 'The Trial'
(Director)
Historias Breves 0: Distant encounters
(Thanks)
Twelfth Night
(Director)
Twelfth Night
(Costume Design)
Twelfth Night
(Adaptation)
Twelfth Night
(Director of Photography)
The Bible: In the Beginning...
(Scenario Writer)
Jane Eyre
(Associate Producer)
London
(Director)
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
(Director)
London
(Writer)
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
(Writer)
Monsieur Verdoux
(Story)
The Battle of Grovers Mill
(Original Story)
Macbeth
(Screenplay)
Macbeth
(Producer)
Macbeth
(Costume Design)
Journey into Fear
(Screenplay)
Journey into Fear
(Producer)
The Orson Welles Show
(Director)
The Big Brass Ring
(Writer)
The Hearts of Age
(Writer)
Hopper/Welles
(Director)
Treasure Island
(Writer)
Portrait of a Murderer
(Writer)
Mr. Arkadin
(Story)
Mr. Arkadin
(Screenplay)
The Stranger
(Co-Writer)
Othello
(Screenplay)
Mr. Arkadin
(Producer)
Mr. Arkadin
(Costume Design)
Mr. Arkadin
(Editor)
Mr. Arkadin
(Production Design)
Don Quixote
(Producer)
Don Quixote
(Screenplay)
Chimes at Midnight
(Costume Design)
Don Quixote
(Editor)
The Immortal Story
(Screenplay)
The Way to Santiago
(Writer)
Something Else
(Original Concept)
The Other Side of the Wind
(Screenplay)
The Big Brass Ring
(Writer)
Moby Dick
(Editor)
The Hearts of Age
(Original Concept)
Citizen Vader
(Characters)
NBC: The First Fifty Years
(Writer)
F for Fake
(Editor)
The Trial
(Editor)
The Hitchhiker
(Original Concept)
F for favor
(Original Concept)
Portrait of a Murderer
(Production Design)
Too Much Johnson
(Producer)
The Merchant of Venice
(Editor)
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
(Producer)
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
(Music Arranger)
Too Much Johnson
(Screenplay)
Too Much Johnson
(Editor)
The Fountain of Youth
(Music Arranger)
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
(Production Design)
Orson Welles' Magic Show
(Producer)
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
(Editor)
London
(Editor)
Vienna
(Producer)
The Orson Welles Show
(Writer)
Three Cases of Murder
(Theme Song Performance)
Waxwork
(Thanks)
Silent Times
(Thanks)
Macbeth
(Set Designer)
Incident at Barstow
(Thanks)
Treasury of Children's Stories
(Theme Song Performance)
Variations on a High School Romance
(Thanks)
Dieter & Andreas
(Thanks)
Continental
(Thanks)
Valentines. A Bouquet of Letters and Poetry of Lovers
(Theme Song Performance)
Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV
(Thanks)
Halston
(Theme Song Performance)
Tim May Presents Reptile
(Thanks)
Mr. Arkadin
(Art Direction)
The War of the Worlds: Next Century
(Thanks)
Dahmer vs. Gacy
(Thanks)
The Debridement of Rome
(Thanks)
As Long as He Lives
(Thanks)
The Brother Side of the Wake
(Thanks)
Passage to Mars
(Theme Song Performance)
Cerné par le diable
(Thanks)
Orson Welles' Sketch Book
(Director)
The Lady from Shanghai
(Director)
In the Land of Don Quixote
(Director)
In the Land of Don Quixote
(Editor)
Around the World with Orson Welles
(Director)
One Man Band
(Screenplay)
One Man Band
(Director)
Around the World with Orson Welles
(Writer)
Beer and Board Games
(Thanks)
Bucket
(Thanks)
Colgate Theatre
(Music Arranger)
Crónicas fantásticas
(Thanks)
Shindig!
(Theme Song Performance)
Welcome to the Basement
(Theme Song Performance)
Moonlighting
(Thanks)
In the Land of Don Quixote
(Additional Camera)
An Evening with Orson Welles
(Music Arranger)
L'antre du Mea
(Thanks)
Orson Welles' Sketch Book
(Director)
Orson Welles' Sketch Book
(Writer)
Tempo
(Writer)
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries
(Director)
An Evening with Orson Welles
(Director)
An Evening with Orson Welles
(Writer)
Colgate Theatre
(Screenplay)
Tempo
(Director)
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries
(Screenplay)
Colgate Theatre
(Director)
In the Land of Don Quixote
(Producer)
Colgate Theatre
(Producer)
Around the World with Orson Welles
(Creator)
In the Land of Don Quixote
(Creator)
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries
(Creator)
An Evening with Orson Welles
(Creator)
Orson Welles' Sketch Book
(Creator)
One Man Band
(Creator)
Scene of the Crime
(Creator)