Welles’s most outwardly poetic work - Mr. Clay's subplot is essentially the epilogue to Citizen Kane, but imbued with the classicalism we see in Ambersons and Chimes. Here, it feels like a almost floating film. It’s equal parts the most tender and erotic film Welles ever made; the latter an anomaly in Welles’s cinema, and the bedroom sequence is my favorite part of all his movies. Is it minor? It's smaller for sure, a real cinematic short story - but it hits notes Welles would never hit before or since.

Orson Welles is so good at movies that it makes me mad.

A dreamlike, beautifully shot and tightly wound tale about the art of storytelling. Call it Welles' Vertigo. As he often did, here he is illustrating the fine line between illusion and reality and the ability of fiction to actualize myth. "I hate pretense"? No words have ever been less true, Orson, and that's why we love you so.

57/100

The last Welles feature I will ever see for the first time (unless The Other Side of the Wind finally escapes). It's beautifully made, but the titular story turns out to be kinda bland, especially given how much time is spent building it up. Hard to believe sailors have been repeating that tawdry tale for decades, which means that the film's power (and that of Blixen's story, presumably, though I haven't read it) resides entirely in the performative meta-narrative, plus a quartet of strong performances. Roger Coggio, as the bookkeeper, provides a master class in servile strength, and I kept wanting him to go full Bogarde/Pinter. Ending's a little cute—wonder whether it was Welles or Blixen who hoped that announcing it in advance might help. In any case, there's no denying that almost every other picture Welles completed has a stronger claim to immortality.

"He's full of the juices of life. There's blood in him... I suppose he's got tears. He longs and yearns for the things which dissolve people-- for friendship and love. Such things a man's bones are dissolved."

"I have heard it before... long ago... but where?"

Welles is perhaps the screen's greatest poet of regret.

ahhh yes, Madrid is definitely ‘China’, it is made so by the Mandarin caligraphy, a dragon carved in black in the walls, ornamental lights, Asian extras cast in the background; the film’s main characters are definitely ‘17’

but maybe it’s all part of the story? a figment of fiction with no reliable narrator?

maybe part of Welles’ fiction is to cast not an ethnography of China, but a film about colonialism, an aged American Kane in the mansion, trading in guineas and washed up on the shore as lost and away from home as the sailor

or maybe he didn’t think of any of that (part of the story too)

How fucking cool was Orson Welles, man? To take a story as rich and complex as this and tell it in just under 60 minutes. I’m not familiar with the short story, but it’s one of the most intriguing explorations of ego narcissism I’ve ever seen, with such a striking imagery, and a great twist of irony at the end. It kinda goes over the top with its “poetic” verbiage at points, but man this has to be his most gorgeous film. He apparently was forced to shoot in color and didn’t like  the end result, but imagine if he could see how damn good this restoration looks.

And Jeanne Moreau rules, as always. Such a magnetic screen presence.

Bold of Welles' character to monologue about hating prophesies while his film predicts Inland Empire and Neon Genesis Evangelion.

God, what a king...

Leisurely. Monotone. Red.

Yes, lots of red in one of the rooms. And Welles gives us some gorgeously framed shots, frequently using a close-up of one character while another stands in the background. I tried to take a photo on my TV of one moment, where Moreau seen through a doorway in the background, holding a white sheet in front of her body while the accountant's face is seen in closeup -- spectacular. (Sadly, the photo didn't come out clearly. Too bad; it would have made a great wallpaper on my desktop.)

I agree with other reviewers that the young sailor lacks the emotional power of the other three leads. And what you feel about the pacing and dialogue delivery will determine whether you like the film. (It's very "art house".) I happened to dig it, but I might have grown weary if it had been 90 minutes instead of 60.

Con solo una hora de duración y con un presupuesto bajo, el primer film a color de Welles nos cuenta la historia de Mr. Clay, de sus últimos días con vida y de como se obsesiona con convertir un viejo cuento que escuchó hace mucho tiempo en un suceso real.

La película tiene un juego autoconciente interesante ya que Clay tomaría el rol de un "director" al buscar a sus "actores" y planificar adaptar este cuento a la realidad, esto queda más que claro ya que el mismo Welles es el que actúa en el papel de Clay.

A destacar también la gran manera en la que se combinan la fotografía y su banda sonora. Estéticamente es preciosa. Una gran sorpresa para mí.

A dreamlike, beautifully shot and tightly wound tale about the art of storytelling. Call it Welles' Vertigo. As he often did, here he is illustrating the fine line between illusion and reality and the ability of fiction to actualize myth. "I hate pretense"? No words have ever been less true, Orson, and that's why we love you so.

Feels a bit flat for Orson. Good performances but it lacks the flair and texture of his body of work.

A tad messy but wow that cinematography is so beautiful!!!!!

Def a respect more than an enjoy but Orson really knows how to experiment at the right times

Orson Welles Retrospective

This is a damn good looking TV movie.

Quite a bit better than I was expecting if I'm being honest. The performances aren't particularly good (Welles is decent), the dialogue is quite wooden, and there's more than a few notable continuity errors. However I can't get over just how beautiful this is to look at. It's Welles first colour film and he really uses it well. Some extremely rich colour to be found throughout, especially in the set design. The bedroom is a particular highlight with the myriad of flowers and the pure white of the bed itself. Plus, the story itself is quite an interesting one that isn't as surface level as it seems. I think it actually benefits from the shorter runtime as it doesn't outstay it's welcome and avoids being drastically dragged down by its issues.

100/100

His last dive into fictional storytelling was a interesting one and one that shows pure talent and artistry born all the way back in nineteen forty-one with Citizen Kane.

A beautiful mess. Haunting. Traces of Kane scattered around a 60’s European art film made by master. Orson’s worst performance in one of his own films. Watching him play with color is a true joy.

Letterboxd told me that Orson was my most-watched actor of 2020, so I thought it would be nice to get the ball rolling on Orson-21. It was good to have somebody who actually felt like a big part of my year-I think my most-watched actor of 2019 was some guy who showed up in the background of a bunch of Italian cop films I'd seen. Hour-long films based on short stories is a genre that needs to be bulked up...I feel like you got a lot of this sort of thing in the 40s. Even at the length, it's very ponderous and does drag. Orson is in full 'what do now' mode, pretty inexpressive and just saying a load of cool-sounding stuff. I got some nice flashes of Derek Jarman, and the music is just perfect.

This is a film that proceeds like a ritual, adding to a story that engulfs it.

J'en ai entendu parler pour la première fois hier, et c'est vraiment une très bonne surprise. Welles joue ici sur les questions de légendes, notamment autour de la question si la fiction n'était-elle pas plus intéressante que la réalité. Visuellement, le film est très joli, c'en est presque dommage de se dire que c'est le seul film fini du maître en couleur

Welles sempre foi muito maior do que Cidadão Kane. É muito bom ser lembrado disso. Sinto que A História Imortal é quase um precedente pra experimentos televisivos como Twin Peaks ou para filmografias como a de Raúl Ruiz.

With any luck this will be the worst film I see in 2021

Not actually a bad film so much an absently boring detour