Happy Birthday, Orson Welles!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let me start off by saying that this is a very difficult entry for me to write, because today is what would have been the 94th Birthday of my favorite actor and my favorite director, Orson Welles. Why is it difficult, you ask? Because I have so much to say, and there is not enough space. I know that what I am writing will not do him any justice, because regardless of what YOU think of him, he was the greatest genius Hollywood ever had and I adore him. I love seeing the man act, direct and do what he does the best - because his works and his talent move me in the way no other entertainer in the 20th or 21st century ever has. He was the kind of entertainer we need, but did not accept when he was alive. He died when I was only a little girl and knew nothing of him, but I as got to high school, I was hooked on the man and his work and he became my idol.
What I can say about the actor and director who gave us Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil, The lady from Shanghai and the 1938 radio broadcast of War of the Worlds (Which scared millions of radio listeners who believed we were under attack by Martians.)? He was a genius, and everything he created was ahead of its time. He dared to do things in ways they had never been done before in radio, theater and movies. He was a great actor, even though Orson himself did not think so. His life and personality are among the most intriguing in Hollywood history. He lived life to his fullest even when things were bad for him. And the good things about him make him all the more lovable to me. His beautiful, booming voice is like listening to music, and everything I have seen and heard from him never gave me single a dull moment. He broke ground and his work inspires filmmakers and actors even to this day. Here's to you, beautiful Awesome Welles!
In regards to videos, there are so many favorite Welles moments I love, so it was difficult to choose just a few. I will start, however, with the essential Welles -Citizen Kane. This is one of my favorite scenes from the film:
Click to viewHere is proof of how great an actor Orson Welles was. Here is a scene from the The Third Man. Orson is not in many scenes, but the character, however, has a strong presence throughout the whole film, and in the scenes Orson is in make the movie brilliant. He was the life of the movie.
I love that smile...
Another scene from The Third Man. Orson claimed that he improvised this famed dialogue himself:
And here is another great Citizen Kane scene...the fact that it is a 25 year old man beginning in film behind this is simply breathtaking!
Enjoy, everyone!