Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

F for Fake Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 28, 2014

Orson Welles' "F for Fake" a.k.a. "Vérités et mensonges" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original teaser trailer for the film; video introduction by Peter Bogdanovich; audio commentary with Orson Welles' partner Oja Kodar and cinematographer Gary Graver; two documentaries: Knut W. Jorfald’s "Almost True: The Noble Art of Forgery" (1997) and Oja Kodar, Roland Zag and Vassili Silovic's "Orson Welles: One Man Band" (1995); and a lot more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring Jonathan Rosenbaum's essay "Orson Welles's Purloined Letter". In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The magician

This incredible film directed by the great Orson Welles tells not one but three different stories. They mix facts and fiction with such authority that one never feels the need to question its observations.

The first story is about Hungarian art forger Elmyr de Hory. Using archival material and clips from different interviews, Welles profiles the legendary artist who copied and sold to collectors and museums around the world numerous replicas of works by Picasso, Degas, Chagall, and Modigliani. The bulk of the interviews were filmed on the beautiful island of Ibiza, where de Hory supposedly did some of his best work, surrounded by friends, snobs, and bored stars.

The second story is about investigative reporter and novelist Clifford Irving, who wrote a book (Fake!) about de Hory and his legacy in the late ‘60s. Shortly after the book was published, Irving was able to convince his publisher that the great Howard Hughes, who at the time had disappeared from the public eye, had agreed to participate in a series of interviews which he planned to use while working on his official biography. A few years later, a manuscript of Irving’s "biography" was leaked, and Hughes, who had never met or talked to Irving, discredited him in a press conference conducted by telephone.

The third story is the most unusual one. It is about Welles’ passion for magic, the power of cinema, and the seemingly fine line that separates truth from fiction.

The film is formatted as a long visual essay. Archival documents, audio and video clips, photographs and personal notes are used to create a mosaic of facts and speculations that offer a glimpse into the creative worlds of three men whose lives were full of controversies. Welles narrates large portions of the film and highlights and questions various statements produced by de Hory, Irving, and some of the people who knew them well. Because many of these statements frequently overlap and additional material is used to place them in proper context, it takes a bit of time to get used to the film’s erratic tempo.

What makes everything gel together is Wells’ very subtle sense of humor. It adds flavor to the film and makes it far more entertaining than the sum of its parts suggests. The final third, in particular, where Welles opens up his bag of tricks, is absolutely brilliant.

During the shooting of the film, Welles was assisted by French director/cinematographer/writer François Reichenbach. During the editing process, Welles collaborated with Dominique Engerer and Marie-Sophie Dubus (Andrzej Zulawski's Possession, Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Cercle Rouge).

The film’s exotic soundtrack was created by Oscar winning composer Michel Legrand (Jacques Demy’s The Young Girls of Rochefort, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg).

***

Also included on this release are two outstanding documentary films. Knut W. Jorfald’s Almost True: The Noble Art of Forgery (1997), which was made for the Norwegian Film Institute, focuses on the very unusual life and mythical work of de Hory. Orson Welles: One Man Band (1995) takes a closer look at the different myths and half-truths about the American director and his legacy. It was created by his partner Oja Kodar and filmmakers Roland Zag and Vassili Silovic.

F for Fake Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.62:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Orson Welles' F for Fake arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"Supervised by assistant editor Dominique Engerer, this high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit DataCine film scanner from a 35mm interpositive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, and scratches were manually removed using MTI's DRS and Digital Vision's DVNR. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the 35mm magnetic master. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD, AudioCube's integrated workstation, and iZotope RX 3.

Transfer supervisor: Dominique Engerer.
Colorist: Richard Deusy/Scanlab, Saint-Cloud, France."

Because the film uses content from different sources -- for example, some of it comes from different raw archival sources, while some of it was blown-up and edited (16mm/35mm) -- detail, clarity and density frequently fluctuate. Occasionally, colors can appear faded as well, and contrast levels can fluctuate between different sequences. However, these limitations are in fact part of the film's original visual design. This is also true for the various small scratches, specks, and dirt spots that occasionally pop up here and there. What is important here is that the film has a solid organic appearance -- there are no traces of compromising digital anomalies and overall image stability is excellent (again, some small fluctuations exist, but they appear as they exist on the content that was used by Orson Welles). During the original content -- for example, the different inserts where Orson Welles is seen looking at his monitor and then commenting -- detail and clarity are very good (see screencapture #1). Lastly, during the original content color stability is also very good. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

F for Fake Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

While there are some minor dynamic fluctuations during the archival content, depth is actually very good (listen to Orson Welles' narration). Michel Legrand's exotic soundtrack enhances the film's unique atmosphere very well. There are no pops, crackle, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in this review.

F for Fake Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Peter Bogdanovich Introduction - this video introduction by Peter Bogdanovich initially appeared on Criterion's DVD release of F for Fake. It was recorded exclusively for Criterion in 2005. In English, not subtitled. (7 min, 1080i).

• Trailer - presented here is the original, and quite long, teaser trailer for F for Fake, which features footage Orson Wells shot after the film was completed. The teaser trailer was rejected by the film's American distributor. In English, not subtitled. (10 min, 1080i).

• Tomorrow - presented here is a fascinating episode of Tom Snyder's talk show Tomorrow. In it Orson Welles discusses the difficult production history of F for Fake, his image as a renegade in Hollywood, his friendship with the great Harry Houdini, the success of Citizen Kane and the impact it had on his career, his love for radio and his famous 1938 spoof, etc. The episode was broadcast on April 8, 1975. In English, not subtitled. (45 min, 1080i).

• Orson Welles: One-Man Band - this documentary takes a closer look at the different myths and half-truths about the American director and his legacy. It features various archival clips and fragments filmed by Orson Welles during the years, as well as original content featuring his partner, Oja Kodar. The documentary was created by Oja Kodar and filmmakers Roland Zag and Vassili Silovic. In English and German, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (88 min/Dolby Digital 1.0/1080p).
  
  1. Orson Welles' shadow
  2. The Other Side of the Wind
  3. The F for Fake trailer
  4. Moby Dick
  5. The Deep
  6. The Merchant of Venice
  7. One-man band
  8. The Orson Welles Show
  9. The Dreamers
  10. "Beware of the waxing moon"

• Almost True: The Noble Art of Forgery - this magnificent documentary focuses on the very unusual life and mythical work of art forger Elmyr de Hory, one of the key figures in Orson Welles' F for Fake. Included in it are interviews with Elmyr de Hory's partner Mark Forgy, writer Clifford Irving, actress Ursula Andress, various museum officials, etc. The documentary was made in 1997 by Yellow Cottage Productions for the Norwegian Film Institute, and is presented courtesy of Janson Media. In English, not subtitled. (52 min/Dolby Digital 2.0/1080i).
  
  1. "Paganini with the brush"
  2. Mark Forgy
  3. Elmyr's travels
  4. Childhood in Hungary
  5. Lessard and Legros
  6. Final extradition

• 60 Minutes Interviews Clifford Irving - presented here is an episode of 60 Minutes in which writer Clifford Irving addresses his notorious fake autobiography of Howard Hughes. The episode was broadcast in 2000. In English, not subtitled. (9 min, 1080i).

• Howard Hughes Press Conference - presented here are audio clips from a press conference, conducted by telephone, in which Howard Hughes addresses the authenticity of Clifford Irving's "autobiography". Audio only. In English, not subtitled. (20 min, 1080p).

• Audio Commentary - this is the same audio commentary with Orson Welles' partner Oja Kodar and cinematographer Gary Graver that initially appeared on Criterion's DVD release of F for Fake. It was recorded exclusively for Criterion in 2004 and 2005.

• Leaflet - illustrated leaflet featuring Jonathan Rosenbaum's essay "Orson Welles's Purloined Letter" and technical credits.

F for Fake Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Wildly unpredictable and hugely entertaining, Orson Welles' F for Fake is the type of film one should plan to see multiple times in order to fully appreciate the quality of the content that is gathered in it. Also included on this release are two documentary films, Almost True: The Noble Art of Forgery and Orson Welles: One-Man Band, which are every bit as fascinating as the main feature. A great package and wonderful upgrade from Criterion. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.