Orson Welles’ F for Fake: The Film That Haunted Its Creator
Orson Welles’ experimental documentary F for Fake was initially dismissed, leaving the director deeply disappointed. Over time, however, the film gained recognition as a bold and innovative masterpiece.
Few figures in the history of cinema have been burdened by expectation quite like Orson Welles. His first feature, Citizen Kane, set a standard so high that every subsequent effort seemed destined to be measured against it. Lauded as a prodigy and hailed for his debut, Welles found himself in a rather unenviable position: no matter what he produced afterwards, it was always compared to that towering achievement.
Struggling with the Weight of Genius
Welles spent much of his career wrestling with the critical response to his later works. He was known to take negative reviews to heart, particularly when it came to projects that strayed from the mainstream. In a conversation with Peter Biskind, as recounted in My Lunches with Orson: Conversations Between Henry Jaglom and Orson Welles, he described the chilly reception to his unconventional documentary F for Fake as
“the tragedy of my life.”
He went on to reflect,
“I think, F for Fake is the only really original movie I’ve made since Kane.”
For Welles, most films merely nudged the medium forward, but he believed that true innovation had become rare.
“I believe that the movies, I’ll say a terrible thing, have never gone beyond Kane. That doesn’t mean that there haven’t been good movies, or great movies. But everything has been done now in movies, to the point of fatigue.”
Breaking the Mould
F for Fake marked a significant departure from Welles’ earlier style. Blending documentary elements with staged scenes and self-referential interludes, the film was a bold experiment in form and narrative. While his willingness to challenge conventions earned him the admiration of fellow directors, the public and critics were less receptive at the time. The film’s lack of commercial appeal, especially when compared to his celebrated debut, only added to Welles’ frustration.
Despite the criticism, Welles poured considerable energy and care into the project. He hoped it might push the boundaries of what cinema could achieve and inspire others to do the same. As he mused,
“You can do it better, but it’s always gonna be the same grammar, you know?”
He continued,
“Every artistic form, the blank-verse drama, the Greek plays, the novel, has only so many possibilities and only so long a life, and I have a feeling that in movies, until we break completely, we are only increasing the library of good works. I know that as a director of movie actors in front of the camera, I have nowhere to move forward. I can only make another good work.”
Legacy and Reappraisal
F for Fake would become one of the last major projects Welles managed to complete. Many of his later films remained unfinished, often due to financial constraints. He did eventually release the documentary Filming Othello, reflecting on his Shakespearean adaptation, but his final narrative feature, The Other Side of the Wind, would not see the light of day until long after his passing, thanks to a determined restoration effort.
Although F for Fake was initially met with scepticism, its reputation grew over time. By the time The Other Side of the Wind finally premiered on Netflix, audiences and critics alike had come to appreciate Welles’ later work, greeting his swansong with a warmth that had eluded him for much of his career.