Orson Welles: The Paris Interview

Overall, entertaining and interesting, though I have to admit that it is more than a little disconcerting to realise that at the time of this interview Orson Welles was five years younger than I am now. Early on, Braden's questions are rather niggling, but he settles down a little after a while. Still, in all of these Welles interviews there is a feeling of a missed opportunity, with the interviewers mostly sticking to the surface of things or seeming motivated by hopes of generating a reaction.

Perhaps Welles' finest interview (performance), at least on film. Much credit goes to Bernard Braden for his disarming effect on Orson. If you want to know what a filmmaker with integrity looks and sounds like, and you should, then you need to watch this interview. While Welles would likely deny it, this interview confirms his status as a true intellectual but at the same time a (well intentioned) charlatan and, not to forget, "an out of practice magician".