Mr. Arkadin

Rating:
Summary: Let's drink to character!
Review: "Mr. Arkadin" chronicles the attempts made by a small time theif,Guy Van Stratten,to blackmail an influential billionaire~(Welles). It is one of the most under-rated films ever made & I,personally,rate it up there with "Citizen Kane" & "Touch of Evil" as being Welles' most energetic & potent of movies. Check it out.

Rating:
Summary: Good movie, bad bad bad DVD
Review: First of all, let me state that this is a shockingly poor mastered DVD and it is the only version I have ever watched of this film. Ordinarily I'm not greatly affected by the quality of a DVD, but this one is in such a bad state that I have to comment on it. Somehow the people at Limelight have managed to recreate exactly the look and feel of a ten-year-old video copy that was recorded off the air. There are nasty scratches all throughout the film, the picture is fuzzy and there are places where the video disappears for a few frames and is replaced by a red screen. The sound is extremely poor in places, seems to be very compressed and is a second out of sync with the video for the entirety of the movie. That last complaint is really inexcusable and greatly affected my enjoyment of the film. The fast nature of the film and the quickly edited scenes mean that the audio problems jarred much more annoyingly than they would in another movie. Hopefully someone will release a cleaned up version of this movie in the future; I would definitely be planning on buying that version.

As for the movie itself, I found it to be very interesting. The audio problems with this DVD meant that some of the dialogue is inaudible even on repeat viewings, but the film is so enthralling that this does not matter too much. The acting from Orson Welles is wonderful, of course, although some of the other performers are not quite up to his standard. The direction is great and the fast edits really work in keeping the viewer interested.

All in all, this is a very good film, but if you plan on buying it on DVD I'd wait until some one else (anyone else) releases one. Also, Tony Curtis' wardrobe in his introductions is really starting to unnerve me. The black leather gloves are just too much.

Rating:
Summary: Good movie, bad bad bad DVD
Review: First of all, let me state that this is a shockingly poor mastered DVD and it is the only version I have ever watched of this film. Ordinarily I'm not greatly affected by the quality of a DVD, but this one is in such a bad state that I have to comment on it. Somehow the people at Limelight have managed to recreate exactly the look and feel of a ten-year-old video copy that was recorded off the air. There are nasty scratches all throughout the film, the picture is fuzzy and there are places where the video disappears for a few frames and is replaced by a red screen. The sound is extremely poor in places, seems to be very compressed and is a second out of sync with the video for the entirety of the movie. That last complaint is really inexcusable and greatly affected my enjoyment of the film. The fast nature of the film and the quickly edited scenes mean that the audio problems jarred much more annoyingly than they would in another movie. Hopefully someone will release a cleaned up version of this movie in the future; I would definitely be planning on buying that version.

As for the movie itself, I found it to be very interesting. The audio problems with this DVD meant that some of the dialogue is inaudible even on repeat viewings, but the film is so enthralling that this does not matter too much. The acting from Orson Welles is wonderful, of course, although some of the other performers are not quite up to his standard. The direction is great and the fast edits really work in keeping the viewer interested.

All in all, this is a very good film, but if you plan on buying it on DVD I'd wait until some one else (anyone else) releases one. Also, Tony Curtis' wardrobe in his introductions is really starting to unnerve me. The black leather gloves are just too much.

Rating:
Summary: Home Vision/Janus version is the only one that makes sense!
Review: Having now seen all the commercially available versions of Mr. Arkadin/Confidential Report, I have to say that the VHS version from Janus Films/Home Vision Cinema, isbn 0-7800-2063-4, is the only one in which the story makes any real sense. This is the original English language release version, released in Europe in 1955 (a Spanish language version, with some different actors, was released first, in Spain). It is longer than the other versions with many of the holes in continuity filled in with missing footage and dialogue. The image ond sound quality is far above other available versions--beautiful.

This is the one you need to buy. Janus Films releases many films on DVD with Criterion, and I have no idea why they haven't done so with this facsinating film as well.

But, don't buy this expecting to see the "director's cut." Welles never created a final cut. The film was taken from him by his European backers, who had it cut their own way. Reportedly, Welle's version was more like Citizen Kane, with a series of out-of-order flashbacks told through the point of views of different characters. This version is more linear. Peter Bogdonavich wrote that he had seen a copy of the film in the US that restored the flashback format, but that version, if it survived, has not seen a video release.

To confuse the question of "what was Welle's original vision for Arkadin" even more, there was also a novel based on Welle's screenplay that came out before the film was completed and a radio play with the same plot years earlier.

In any case, for now, this VHS from Janus is the best way to go (and, unfortuntely, the most expensive).

Rating:
Summary: Poor quality ruins the experience
Review: I am referring to the Laser Light dvd edition of this film, which promises the best digital transfer of the film. That is great, but they used the worst print anyone could concieve to transfer! I taped this off of television awhile back and decided to buy a dvd version and this is 100 times worse than the version I taped myself on the slowest speed off of late night tv! In reading other reviews it appears that there is a much better VHS version and I would recommend that over this. Do not be fooled like I was with the fine condition of Welles' "The Trial" by Laser Light or the pipe smoking picture packaging of this. This version of Arkardin is a total waste of money.

Rating:
Summary: Extremely good story but terrible picture quality
Review: I bought Orson Welles Citizen Kane and liked it so I decided to watch other Welles movies. I bought Mr. Arkadin because the DVD is cheap and rated high on IMDB. I should have buyed Touch of Evil instead. The quality of the picture is laughable, sometimes there are glitches in the sound during scene changes. Judging by the picture and sound quality I would say that they used equipment from the 30's to shoot and edit the movie and that the print used for that transfer was stored in a refrigerator during 45 years. Welles directing work is good but obviously he had to deal with the poor quality of the European movie industry of the 50's. Sometimes the picture shake, during the opening credits the captions are white on a white or gray background so we can't read everything. The editing is very poor, there are too many scene changes. When I bought this DVD I expected to receive the LaserLight version, instead I got a DVD made by Alpha Video. The case cover is different and there is no supplemental material. He was mastered cheaply on a PC with the SpruceUp DVD Maestro software, that seem to create problems, each time I try to play the disc on my computer the FBI warning message appear and then the disc eject. I didn't notice any audio syncing problems however. This movie is the perfect candidate for a remake. I give **** for the story and * for the overall quality of the movie.

Rating:
Summary: Overlooked not overblown ,Mr. Maltin.
Review: I gave this film 5 stars because first & foremost it's a Welles movie. Which doesn't mean to say it's not a good film. If you are partial to Welles then it's a good film. If you believe that he was the greatest film maker that ever walked the earth, then this could possibly be your favourite. The trouble is, "Mr. Arkardin" ,unfortunately, has been mutilated by bad editing. Not unlike many of the films Welles had taken away from him before editing began. Still,it is quite a classic Wellesian artifact,containing hallmark camera angles & positions that are instantly recognisable to the trained Orsonite. Other directors who try, always fail, unable to achieve the same depth of field. Mr Arkadin ~(aka Confidential Report in some countries)~ has a wonderful cast & it's interesting to see Welles venture into the "Citizen Kane"-type plot once again. The out-of-sync voices will disturb a few viewers, but if so there's still plenty to watch. Interesting to note that Orson's last wife appears as the lead. I would have liked some restoration & care, but I'm still quite happy it's finally on DVD. This ribbon of dreams inspired many great directors of the 70's. I'm sure it will inspire many more. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: WORST OF SEVEN VERSIONS
Review: Laserlight's scratched and speckled public domain version of MR. ARKADIN, even at four bucks, is worthless and rapes Welles's memory. Seven versions of this film are floating about. The best is Criterion Collection's superbly rich, smooth-flowing laserdisc, which I have and which I hope will appear on DVD along with Criterion's vastly well-documented MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS. And may Criterion get the strong new print released to theaters early last year for its DVD version of CITIZEN KANE. Laserlight's MR. ARKADIN, the film's U.S. title, is just atrocious, with jumps, dialogue dropouts, a pale image, and worst of all, a linear re-editing of the story which Welles expressly strove to avoid. He wanted wildly intense editing. With its lost footage (you wouldn't believe the great stuff they left out), the Laserlight version only looks swift, while the Criterion version, called CONFIDENTIAL REPORT, has the European release, anointed by New Wave directors back in the fifties, which cleaves more closely to Welles's vision. There is NO FINAL EDIT BY WELLES known to exist. While you await Criterion's DVD of CONFIDENTIAL REPORT (or seek the laserdisc on auction sites), buy the DVDs of THE TRIAL and the re-edited TOUCH OF EVIL for Welles in his glory. I haven't seen Bogdanovich's LADY FROM SHANGHAI DVD, a film gutted by Columbia Pictures (especially the Fun House climax), then rescored, and stripped as well of Welles's strong, radio-smart sound effects (just dead studio sound remains)---but have great hopes for it and await its delivery from Amazon. RKO gutted THE STRANGER, weakening it, removing a dark, 20-minute opening about Nazis in South America which set up Franz Kindler's being in New England.It's a necessary DVD, nonetheless. But avoid Laserlight's washed out public domain MY MAN GODFREY DVD. My tape off PBS is far richer, as I imagine is the videocassette version.

Rating:
Summary: Another Welles film butchered...
Review: My low rating is for the DVD, not the movie itself. (Although I think the film is a little too mannered and is marred by some poor casting, it would have earned a solid three stars on its own merits.) The picture quality is abysmal, with a plethora of scratches, tears, squiggles, and all the other signs of a bottom-of-the-barrel print used for the digital transfer. The contrast drops almost to nil two-thirds into the film, rendering Welles' rich blacks into a uniformly soupy grey. Several scenes in outdoor locations look horribly overexposed, resulting in a bleached white frame that is almost physically painful to watch. The audio track is just as bad, with crackles and a constant hiss making it difficult to understand the dialogue. (The absence of a subtitle track makes this even worse!) The only "extras" are a trailer for CITIZEN KANE and an utterly extraneous intro by Tony Curtis (who mispronounces "Arkadin" and continues his creepy habit of wearing black leather gloves). To top it all off, this is the version that excises almost ALL of Welles' original flashback structure for the film! Bottom line: Don't buy this. This is the most slovenly manufactured DVD I own, and an insult to our country's greatest filmmaker.

Rating:
Summary: Somebody save this poor film!
Review: Okay, I am a fan of Welles, and believe that all of his films should be released in the most pristine perfect version possible. So to watch this monstrosity of a DVD pained me more than anything. I couldn't enjoy the film because the limitations of the disc were so annoying. First off, this is not a clean print. The image looks horrid and the sound is not much better. Laserlight really just dumped the picture and ran. Is the film good? Yeah, it's not his best film, but it's still entertaining. But I'll pick up another copy sometime when a company that cares about it releases it. This versions cheap becuase it's not very good.