The Complete Mr. Arkadin (a.k.a. Confidential Report) [3 Discs] [With Book] [Criterion Collection]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Also known as Mr. Arkadin, this flawed late effort by director Orson Welles recalls the structure of Citizen Kane, centering around an investigation into the past of a powerful millionaire. This time around, however, the millionaire is very much alive; in fact, it is Gregory Arkadin (Welles) himself who orders the inquiry, claiming to suffer from amnesia. The investigator soon gets a taste of the difficulty of his task, however, when several witnesses to Arkadin's past suspiciously turn up dead. Indeed, the closer he comes to the truth about Arkadin, the more he fears that he himself may be the next victim. While it aspires to intense suspense, Confidential Report suffers more than most of Welles' films from budgetary limitations and erratic shooting habits, with the final result often seeming choppy and needlessly confusing. Nevertheless, any Welles effort is by definition at least partially worthwhile, if only for further demonstration of his brilliant visual sensibility. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 3
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Screen: Black and White
• Features:
  • cc
  • Audio commentary by scholars Jonathan Rosenbaum & James Naremore
  • Interview with Orson Welles biographer Simon Callow and star Robert Arden
  • Interview with director Peter Bogdanovich
  • Interview with film archivists Stephan Droessler & Claude Bertennes
  • Three half-hour episodes of the radio program "The Lives of Harry Lime"
  • Outtakes, rushes, and alternate scenes from the film
  • Extensive stills gallery

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Orson Welles - Gregory Arkadin
       Jack Watling - Marquis of Rutleigh
       Michael Redgrave - Burgomil Trebitsch
       Patricia Medina - Mily
       Akim Tamiroff - Jakob Zouk
       Robert Arden - Guy Van Stratten
       Mischa Auer - The Professor
       Paola Mori - Raina Arkadin
       Katina Paxinou - Sophie
       Gregoire Aslan - Bracco
       Peter Van Eyck - Thaddeus
       Suzanne Flon - Baroness Nagel
       Frederick O'Brady - Oscar
       Tamara Shayne - Woman in Apartment
       Gordon Heath - Pianist

• Director:

  Orson Welles

• Producer:

  Orson Welles

• Screenwriter:

  Orson Welles

• Cinematographer:

  Jean Bourgoin

• Composer (Music Score):

  Paul Misraki

• Editor:

  Orson Welles, Renzo Lucidi

• Art Director:

  Orson Welles

• Set Designer:

  Gil Parrondo, Luis Perez Espinosa, Frank Prosper

• Costume Designer:

  Orson Welles

REVIEW:

• Financed by Spanish and Swiss sources, and shot on a minuscule budget in Germany, France, and Spain, Mr. Arkadin (1955) was another Orson Welles tale of power, corruption, and the unraveling of a great man's mystery by an intrepid investigator. Conceived as Citizen Kane European-style and shot with Welles' customary skewed angles and high contrast black-and-white, the movie makes the most of its locations and palatial interiors to communicate Arkadin's seemingly unfathomable potency and inscrutable motives. Increasing the story's decadent aura, the reporter is a shady, fortune-hunting traveler hired by Arkadin under flimsy pretexts. Rather than Kane's extended flashbacks, however, Arkadin's past is pieced together through the verbal memories of a gallery of grotesque former associates, including a flea circus wrangler who feeds his insects with his own blood. Welles as Arkadin is a bearded gargoyle, hiding behind masks, shadows, and dark glasses. Like Kane, Arkadin remains an enigma, although the film's rough sound occasionally enhances his obscurity. Dubbed in Spanish and English, Mr. Arkadin was released in Europe in 1955 as Confidential Report; it was not released in America until 1962. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi