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Great
Fabulous look at Welles' career and a critial look at his work as a filmmaker.One of the best, if not THE best works on this fabulour artist. ... Read more

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A New York Times Notable Book of the Year

"Easily the best book on Orson Welles."--The New Yorker

Orson Welles arrived in Hollywood as a boy genius, became a legend with a single perfect film, and then spent the next forty years floundering. But Welles floundered so variously, ingeniously, and extravagantly that he turned failure into "a sustaining tragedy"--his thing, his song.Now the prodigal genius of the American cinema finally has the biographer he deserves. For, as anyone who has read his novels and criticism knows, David Thomson is one of our most perceptive and splendidly opinionated writers on film.

In Rosebud, Thomson follows the wild arc of Welles's career, from The War of the Worlds broadcast to the triumph of Citizen Kane, the mixed triumph of The Magnificent Ambersons, and the strange and troubling movies that followed. Here, too, is the unfolding of the Welles persona--the grand gestures, the womanizing, the high living, the betrayals. Thomson captures it all with a critical acumen and stylistic dash that make this book not so much a study of Welles's life and work as a glorious companion piece to them.

"Insightful, controversial, and highly readable--Rosebud is biography at its best."--Cleveland Plain DealerAmazon.com Review
During Orson Welles'tumultuous honeymoon in Hollywood 1939-1942, Thomson writes, heachieved "glory, but ruined himself; the one was not possiblewithout the other." In this sweeping tribute to the man said tohave "more genius than talent," Thomson chronicles theevents that transformed Welles from Hollywood's bad boy into oneof the most influential and enduring filmmakers. The accounts ofWelles' intellect only serve to contrast with the self-destructivenessof his post-Kane years, and Thomson's analysis shows that Citizen Kaneloomed over the actor-film maker, not just as an achievement he couldnever equal, "but as an underground presaging of his owndestiny." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Very Hard to Read
David Thomson's ROSEBUD is like reading a movie script on LSD. Facts float in and out. Paragraphs are interrupted by a stream of consciousness dialogues that Thomson has with himself. Certain sections receive detailed coverage while others are brushed by with ease. Plainly put, it was a very hard book to read. The best sections deal with "The Third Man" and "Touch of Evil," although both are much sparser than might be expected. The sexual conquests of Welles prior to his ballooning over 300 pounds are endless. It is only matched by his selfishness. Welles, it appears, was Charles Kane, and Kane was Orson Welles.

Dont bother
A hard read.

I will not waste your time, but as an avid reader I have rarely had to stop in the middle of a book and give up.
If you want to be a movie criric this is your book, if you were interested in Welles this is NOT a good book.

Tries Way Too Hard..
This book wants to be an in-depth look at Orson Welles from a point of view not heard before, but ultimately it's just another 'Citizen Kane was good, and everything after wasn't'Welles biography.

There have been so many books about Welles that a biographer can not be faulted for trying a more personalized approach. The problem with Mr. Thomson's point of view is that rather than offering constructive criticism, he seems to genuinely believe that he is smarter than Orson Welles, and that fans are anxious to hear him put Welles in his place.

After an interesting view of Welles' early life and the typical gushing over Citizen Kane, it seems the author is determined to negatively contradict EVERYTHING that's been said about Welles' life and career (This movie wasn't good, it was bad; this wasn't bad, it was really bad; Welles didn't mean this, he meant that).After a while, it's simply too much.

A poor book to start for new Orson Welles fans; more experienced readers may appreciated the different perspective.

Drivel
I have read many books on Welles and this one is absolute garbage. I wasted no time removing this book from my home within minutes of finishing it. Avoid at all costs. It is worthless, from cover to cover. Read Frank Brady's "Citizen Welles" instead.

Citizen Welles: The Rise and Fall of a Hollywood Behemoth
George Orson Welles (1915-1985) will live forever as the director of arguably the greatest Hollywood Film: Citizen Kane.
Welles directed such classics as "The Magnificent Ambersons";
"The Lady from Shangai"; "Touch of Evil" and "Macbeth.
Welles was known as a boy genius rocketing to fame as the
WPA theatre whiz who directed several New York plays in Harlem
along with his collaborater John Houseman (they later quarreled
and no longer worked together).
Welles became known to all of America with his powerful voice being heard on countless radio prgrams notably "The Green Hornet.
His notoriety was achieved with the 1938 broadcast of "The
War of the Worlds" by H.G. Welles which scared thousands of listeners to believe that Martians had really landed in New
Jersey!
Thomas is a perceptive, entertaining, acerbic and wise scholar of cinema. His look at the life of Welles is insightful.
The Welles who emerges from these pages was multi-faceted, complex and egotistical. Welles drank and ate to much; had too
many affairs, three wives and said a long goodbye after Hollywood shut its doors to this iconoclastic and brilliant man.
If you want a detailed chronological account of Welles life
turn to Frank Brady or Simon Callow's biographies. If you want
a writer who shares his personal reactions to Welles then this
is the book for you.
I thoroughly enjoyed this excellent work. It has helped me
understand the garantuan talent of the late great Orson!
Well done and recommended by this reviewer! ... Read more

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Orson Welles is arguably the greatest figure in the history ofTwentieth Century American drama, revolutionizing the Broadway stage,broadcasting, and film before his twenty-sixth birthday.It was radiothat brought Orson Welles his first national fame as the voice of TheShadow and the director and star of "The War of the Worlds," the mostfamous radio broadcast of all time.The Smithsonian Institution andRadio Spirits proudly present the classic radio programs that helpedmake Welles one of the most prominent figures in American drama.Thiscollection also includes a 60-page historical book featuring aforeward by Mercury Theatre cast member Arthur Anderson. ... Read more

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A young talent
Orson lit up broadway and radio and you can hear the swagger in his voice as he performed.This young man paralyzed the northeast (possibly the country) with his 'War of the Worlds'.This is a glimpse of his talent on radio.I enjoy the forum of radio drama.This guy was lightening in a bottle when on top of his game... and it is great to listen to this part of his life. ... Read more

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With a career spanning almost five decades, Orson Welles became--and in many ways still is--one of entertainment's biggest names. His temperamental vitality, his humor and his general theatricality contributed volumes to the American stage and movie screen. His concepts of lighting and staging brought a new era to American productions. Welles influenced an entire generation of directors. These interviews conducted between 2003 and 2005 record the reminiscences of 30individuals who worked with Orson Welles in a professional capacity. Beginning with 1937 and his work in Mercury Theatre, it follows a selected few of many who were part of Welles's life up to his sudden death in October 1985. Including actors, editors, cinematographers, camera assistants and magicians, the work presents a rounded view of Welles's career and, to some extent, his personal life. Each interview is presented in question and answer format with occasional commentary inserted for context or clarification. Projects discussed include Welles's most notable (Citizen Kane and War of the Worlds) as well as others like Heart of Darkness and The Cradle Will Rock which never quite reached fruition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

An excellent insight to a complicated genius.
From his breakout first film, Citizen Kane, through the remainder of his tumultuous career, this book captures the experiences of Orson Welles's collaborators in dealing with the sometimes frustrating but at all times fascinating aspects of his storytelling genius (including mine! See chapter 11).

Although it never directly answers the age old question of "what happened to this wunderkid of Hollywood that he could never fulfill the promise of his first film", it does offer all the insights you would expect from the people that worked closest to him.And as the pieces become woven together, a portrait emerges of a man so complicated and driven, yet warm and endearing, so haunted and persecuted, yet unwavering and perservering, that you long for such an artist to re-emerge in Hollywood that would dare to swim against the tide of the modern "blockbuster" status quo and return filmmaking to the status of art that it, too, had once promised to be.

TOP WELLES TREASURE
I have fifty or sixty books by or about Welles, a big collection of his films, and have written my own book about him, THE WELLES REQUIEM, as yet unpublished, and now happily confess to revising what I thought I knew about him, especially about his hands-on mode of filmmaking. For me the most important part of this truly stimulating, wonderful book are the parts about Welles in the cutting room. He himself personally did not cut film! He hired people to do that and told them what he wanted and then came back a day or a week later. Most revealing is the cutter for CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT who tells how Welles did not direct the battle scenes and did not do the cutting or assemblage. I won't reveal the "secrets" about thatbut they alone made this book worthwhile. Aside from that, this is truly personal about Orson and he is here talking with you straight into your face and gripping your shoulder and feeding you Chinese take-out. Any lover of Welles, no matter how deeply versed in his life-story, can not help but be lifted to the Wellesian heavens by this one-on-one face-to-face meeting with Orson Welles. Congratulations to young author/editor Peter Prescott Tonquette!

Orson Welles and Magic
I have always been a fan of Orson Welles on radio and television. Having collected a ton of radio broadcasts on CD and audio cassette and having watched most of his movies, I appreciate the genius of his work. I picked up a copy of this book recently and am amazed at the amount of research put into it. An aspect of Welles rarely discussed is his magic career. At the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention this September in Aberdeen, Maryland, I plan to attend the presentation about Orson Welles and his magic career so I can watch rare footage and films with Welles, and get an even deeper insight to his trickery. Book comes recommended. ... Read more

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INTERESTING ADAPTATION BY THE LATER WELLES CRIMINALLY ALTERS THE ENDING
At the time of the Welles adaptation, the atom bomb and Auschwitz were on everyone's mind. And so Welles altered the original novel drastically to fit those popular concerns. This book includes photos and the screenplay from Welles production, rewriting and direction of Kafka's The TRial, which you should read side by side, as you watch the film (what, you cannot multitask?) to see what you think.

I think the original remains much more universal and true, and evocative and tragic, although Welles does manage to squeeze other insights from the allegory. I believe where he is strongest is when he remains most faithful to what we can grasp of Kafka's nightmare vision.

As ever when confronted with a cinema adaptation of a great novel: read the original book. Period.

... Read more

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An illustrated retelling of the Bravade, an annual festival held on St.-Tropez's saint's day, is an uncorrected reproduction of the Christmas gift that the author prepared for his daughter in 1956. ... Read more

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In Making Movies with Orson Welles, Gary Graver recounts the highs and lows of the moviemaking business as he and one of the most important and influential directors of all time struggled to get films produced. The two men collaborated on more than a dozen projects, including F for Fake, Filming Othello, and the still-unreleased The Other Side of the Wind. Their close friendship and creative filmmaking partnership would endure for 15 years, until Welles' death in 1985. Also including a filmography of works and 20 photos from Graver's personal collection, this fascinating memoir recalls what it was like to work with the legendary Welles and offers advice and tales of caution for future filmmakers. ... Read more

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Charming memoir of working with Orson Welles
During the last 15 years of Orson Welles' life, Gary Graver was Welles' dedicated cameraman. Even though Welles only completed two films during these years (his last masterpiece "F for Fake" and the spellbinding "Filming Othello"), this period was one of great activity and creativity. Graver was with Welles every step of the way.Graver's memoir, structured as a series of anecdotes, gives a wonderful sense of what working with Welles was like. Along with Joseph McBride's "What Ever Happened to Orson Welles" and Peter Tonguette's "Orson Welles Remembered", Graver's book is a bracing corrective to the misconception of Welles' last years as wasted and unproductive.Graver's modesty, loyalty and warmth shine through on every page. Kudos to Andrew Rausch for pushing the book to completion after Graver's death. Highly recommended. ... Read more

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From the earliest days of radio to the golden age of television and beyond, Orson Welles has occupied a unique place in American culture. InMichael Anderegg considers Welles's influence as an interpreter of Shakespeare for twentieth-century American popular audiences. Exploring his works on stage, radio, and in film, Anderegg reveals Welles's unique position as an artist of both high and popular culture. At once intellectually respected and commercially viable, the Shakespeare Welles gave the American public reflects his unique genius as a writer, director, and actor. From early plays in school to thebooks and the Mercury Text Records adaptations, Anderegg illustrates how Welles tried to transcend the barriers between the classical and the popular. He argues that "Welles the Shakespearean" sought to be a restorer as well as an innovator by drawing on his knowledge of the abundant, lowbrow popularity of Shakespeare in nineteenth-century America. Welles's three film adaptations of Shakespeare,andare examined. From his peculiarly "Scottish" version of Macbeth, to his postmodern reading of the history plays inWelles's interpretive strategies--and the public's reception of them--are considered. In the final chapter, Anderegg surveys Welles's work as an actor--his legacy and myth--and reexamines the common view that he squandered his talents in the era afterTaking into account his non-Shakespearean roles, Anderegg shows Welles to have been a markedly "Shakespearean" actor and, in his versions of the Bard's plays, a key arbiter of culture. ... Read more

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Orson Welles' Unexpected Shakespeare
This was a wonderful book.It examined Welles' career not in light of Citizen Kane but through his Shakespeare projects.This cast Welles in a very different light for me.

Welles tried to make Shakespeare accessible.To him, Shakespeare should not be something in a glass case at a museum.Thus he kept shaking up the Shakespeare plays he adapted.And critics hated him for it.His film of "Macbeth" in particular got raked over the coals.

The book shows how Shakespeare was regarded in American culture in the 20th Century and how Welles tried to shape that attitude.It is a slim book, but it gives the reader very much to think about in an accessible, jargon-free way.

An exceptionally insightful, well-written book
Anyone interested in Shakespeare and Orson Welles will want to buy this extremely useful and unusually thoughtful book.It is quite compact andoffers chapters on all of the Shakespeare films Welles made.Andereggargues tht Welles sought to democratize Shakespeare through the use of massmedia such as records, radio, and film.there's a wonderful openingchapter about an I Love Lucy episode with Welles and a stunning conclusionabout Welles as a star author (Anderegg contrast him with Bertolt Brecht). The book is very well-written and very accesible.Ideal for classroom use. ... Read more

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At the age of twenty-six, Orson Welles made the film which remains immovable at the top of the critics' polls for the ten best films of all time - Citizen Kane. John Russell Taylor's riveting biography of Welles examines the way the Welles legend has been constructed through the years, and how his death has shattered some of the illusions of not only his friends but his enemies. (Taylor is film critic for the London Times and the authorized biographer of Alfred Hitchcock.) ... Read more

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Short Life Summary
This is a short but effective summary of Orson Welles' life career.Many more details could have been added, but as such it's an effective introduction to a remarkable life.

'Celebration' deserves to be celebrated!
This book is, in a word, fabulous. The text is concise, yet flavorful, and of course the subject matter (Orson Welles) is ALWAYS interesting, but the real wealth here is in those delectable photographs. The barrage of images starts with the cover and doesn't quit until the last page. All of them are tasteful, well-chosen, and evocative.A must for any Orson Welles fan... ... Read more

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Multilingual Edition: German, French, English ... Read more

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The author first met Orson Welles in Dublin's Gate Theatre during the late 1930s, and established a long and stormy relationship with him. When the film of "Othello" was planned by Welles, the author was hired as Iago. This book is an account of the travails attendant on the production, which constantly ran out of money, and is also an acerbic and witty assessment of Welles himself. ... Read more

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Welles
One thing's for sure: Higham's 1985 ORSON WELLES: THE RISE AND FALL OF AN AMERICAN GENIUS is an entertaining read.

Published just months before Welles' death, RISE determines to cut through Welles' mythmaking and debunk the legend.It is quite effective in doing so.

But Higham short-changes the last thirty years of Welles' life, and is so determined to emphasize the bad things that the overall portrait emerges as grotesque.This might not be bad if Welles was not so famously charming.

The Rise of Welles Continues, his spirit lives on.
ORSON WELLES, THE SHADOW, AND OLD TIME RADIO By Mike Ray

Before he made Citizen Kane (recently named the Greatest American Movie ever), and before his success at the Gate Theatre in Dublin, and the Apollo Theatre in New York, Orson Welles was the top Radio star of his day.Barely 21 years old, Welles was the producer and director of"The Mercury Theatre on the Air," as well as the main attraction of"The American Cavalcade," and as Lamont Cranston, the dapper man about town, in "The Shadow."

Yes it's true, Welles had "THE VOICE," but he was also a pure genius (not a term to be thrown around lightly). He had a vision for what he wanted to accomplish, and many of his Radio productions are considered (60 years later) the greatest programs the industry ever produced.

Welles believed that ones creative days are limited. So he literally conducted his life burning both end! ! s of the candle to accomplish everything he wanted to do. His typical day would have him start out at 8 a.m. with the Mutual Radio Network, and then he would rush across town to hit NBC by nine. He, and that marvelous voice would be needed at CBS to do the Shadow at 10 a.m. Then back to Mutual and continue the process throughout the day. Not only was that process physically draining on Welles, it was also nerve racking trying to make his job appointments on time. One day a co-worker (Agnes Moorhead of the Mercury Theatre) suggested to him that he rent out an ambulance and with siren blaring weave in and out of traffic to get him to the networks on time. Welles found out that it was not against the law to travel in this fashion, and adopted this mode of transportation for the next 2 years.

At night Welles would produce his own stage productions, using money he earned from all of his radio jobs during the day. Quite often his Mercury Theatre Radio team would join him in his e! ! vening pursuits. Welles and his Mercury crew produced Shake! speare's "Julius Caesar" in New York. The play was such a hit it put him on the cover of TIME. Not bad for a chubby kid from Kenosha, Wisconsin.Welles then produced Macbeth with an all black cast at the Apollo theatre in Harlem.The Apollo was not only sold out, but on opening night traffic was at a standstill for over a mile radius of the Theatre. The play was an unqualified success. Welles received rave reviews from critics everywhere.

Still on his breakneck pace, the now 22 year old sensation was about to embark on the project that would make him a household name in America.On October 30, 1938 Welles and his Mercury Theatre presented "The War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells.

The story is about a Martian invasion of earth. Under Welles' direction, the play was written and performed so it would sound like a news broadcast about an invasion from Mars. As the play unfolded, dance music was interrupted a number of times by fake news bulletins reportin! ! g that a "huge flaming object" had dropped on a farm near Grovers Mill, New Jersey.Welles direction was so stupendous that people either forgot that they were listening to a program, or turned on the radio and thought the news bulletins were real. It caused a huge panic. People packed the roads, hid in cellars, loaded guns, evenwrapped their heads in wet towels as protection from Martian poison gas.

Welles and his team of Mercury Theater players made one of the most fascinating and important demonstrations of all time. They proved that a few effective voices, accompanied by sound effects, can convince people of most anything, even an invasion from Mars, and create a nationwide panic.

But that is the power of radio. Thought provoking, exciting, thrilling, and entertaining.

As one who grew up with radio drama, I can't think of a better way to be entertained than to sit back, relax, and enjoy one of those great programs of years gone by. Especially if it's Or! ! son Welles. ... Read more

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Traces Welles' career from theatre and radio to Hollywood and Europe. ... Read more

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A splendid biography about the genius of Kenosha!
Andre Bazin died pitifully months after having being released "Touch of evil" , but the impressive documentation effort , the conscientious analysis around the previous films of the prodigal son of Wisconsin, the forewords of Truffaut, make of this book a true artistic worthy to have it and reread it over and over.

Don't miss it!

Orson Welles and Magic
I have always been a fan of Orson Welles on radio and television. Having collected a ton of radio broadcasts on CD and audio cassette and having watched most of his movies, I appreciate the genius of his work. I picked up a copy of this book recently and am amazed at the amount of research put into it. An aspect of Welles rarely discussed is his magic career. At the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention this September in Aberdeen, Maryland, I plan to attend the presentation about Orson Welles and his magic career so I can watch rare footage and films with Welles, and get an even deeper insight to his trickery. Book comes recommended. ... Read more

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Orson Welles (1915-85), film and stage director, actor, writer and producer, was a uniquely talented artist who nevertheless struggled for much of his life to realize his unique vision. His greatest triumphs came dazzlingly early. In his 20s, he had a seminal influence on radio drama with his company the Mercury Players. Their 1938 radio adaptation of Welles' War of the Worlds caused a nationwide panic when listeners thought aliens really had landed in New Jersey. He was only 25 when, with the help of some very talented collaborators, he co-wrote, directed and starred in Citizen Kane (1941), generally considered one of the greatest films ever made. But when RKO studios released a mangled version of his next film, The Magnificent Ambersons, without his consent, it set the pattern of frustration and creative battles that would mark the rest of his life. Nevertheless he went on to produce several more great films - A Touch of Evil (1958) and his version of Othello notable amongst them - and iconic performances - most famously as Harry Lime in the classic The Third Man (1949). ... Read more