The Complete Mr. Arkadin (Criterion Collection): Amazon.ca: Orson Welles, Peter van Eyck, Michael Redgrave, Patricia Medina, Akim Tamiroff, Mischa Auer, Paola Mori, Katina Paxinou, Gr�goire Aslan, Suzanne Flon, Robert Arden, Jack Watling, Jean Bourgoin, Renzo Lucidi, William Morton, Louis Dolivet: DVD

Product Details

Actors: Orson Welles, Peter van Eyck, Michael Redgrave, Patricia Medina, Akim Tamiroff
Directors: Orson Welles
Writers: Orson Welles
Producers: Orson Welles, Louis Dolivet
Format: Box set, Black & White, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Region: Region 1 (US and Canada This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 3
MPAA Rating:
Studio: eOne Films
Release Date: April 18 2006
Run Time: 93 minutes

Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

ASIN: B000E1OI80
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #44,845 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)
- #7 in DVD > Art House & International > Criterion Collection > Thrillers
- #82 in DVD > Art House & International > By Country > Spain
- #95 in DVD > Mystery & Suspense > Neo-Noir

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Product Description

Amazon.ca

Will the "real" Mr. Arkadin please stand up? Probably not. However, thanks to the folks at the Criterion Collection, we may now have a version of Mr. Arkadin that is as close as it's going to get to Orson Welles's original vision. Part Citizen Kane, part The Third Man, Mr. Arkadin is another Wellesian Post-War Noir tale about the unraveling of the defining secret of a powerful and wealthy tycoon. Welles plays the ruthless financier Mr. Arkadin who hires small time smuggler Guy Van Stratten (Robert Arden) to investigate the amnesiac Arkadin's lost past and create a confidential report of his findings. Did the mysterious and elusive Mr. Arkadin simply want his criminal past uncovered? Or is his motive to erase a key missing piece of his past? As many fans know, the story of Mr. Arkadin's post-production and ascertaining which of the many versions is the most "Wellesian" is almost as mysterious as Guy Van Stratten's search for Gregory Arkadin's identity. Since the film is unfinished it does have an incomplete feel to it. For instance, it is very choppy with a few awkward jump cuts, there are lots of annoying overdubs that are not cleanly matched, the supporting cast is fairly weak and some scenes clearly needed to be reshot. However, the gems of the films are so precious, such as Welles's picturesque shots, unique camera angles, flashback story telling, and intricate plot, it's easy to overlook the shortcomings and classify Mr. Arkadin as essential Orson Welles.

Mr. Arkadin may have been written, directed and starred Orson Welles, but it sure wasn't edited by him. So the story goes, since it took Welles too long to complete the editing process, producer Louis Dolivet banned him from the editing room and never allowed Orson to get the final cut. Welles, who was known to say "All of the eloquence of my film is created in the editing room" disowned the film claiming it was the most butchered of all his works. There were many cuts made of the Mr. Arkadin film stock over the years, none of which are considered "definitive", all of which contain pieces to the overall puzzle. Fueled by their passion for film, along comes the Criterion Collection. Their mission, to take all the pieces of Mr. Arkadin's troubled past (the best available versions of the films, documented timelines, a reprinted version of the novel, scholarly documentaries and feature length commentaries), compile it and present it to fans in one incredibly comprehensive set letting them decide which is the real Arkadin. The Complete Mr. Arkadin (A.K.A. Confidential Report) includes digitally restored transfers of the two well known versions of the film (the flashback "Corinth" (99 minutes) version and the notorious linear "Confidential Report" (98 minutes)). In addition, there is a newly edited "comprehensive" version (105 minutes) pieced together by top Welles scholars who have an intimate understanding of his style, his creative direction, and thought process in the editing room. This new "comprehensive" version is the crown jewel of the set and without a doubt the best version of Mr. Arkadin ever released. While no one will ever know what Welles intended, you can’t help but feel this comprehensive version has got to be pretty darn close. Inevitably, purists may feel this is another instance of someone mucking with Welles's film stock, but in all honesty, the end result is stunning. So who is the real Mr. Arkadin? No one may ever know, but with the help of this set you have all you need to piece together the puzzle and draw your own conclusion. Enjoy. --Rob Bracco

Product Description

Orson Welles’s Mr. Arkadin (a.k.a. Confidential Report) is one of cinema’s great mysteries. How did a globetrotting narrative of espionage, amnesia, and backstabbing come to be itself marked by these qualities? In the film, small-time American smuggler Guy van Stratten is hired by elusive billionaire Gregory Arkadin to investigate the tycoon’s past. What follows is a dizzying descent into the Cold War landscape of a Europe trying to erase its history. In making the film, Welles was ultimately banned from the editing room by producer Louis Dolivet. As a result, many versions exist, none of them definitive. The Criterion Collection is proud to collect the many faces of Mr. Arkadin into one box for the first time—from the story’s beginnings in radio to the novel published under Welles’s name to an all-new “comprehensive version” of the film.

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Third-rate Kane knockoff - by the man himself! Oct 20 2003

By Eddie Konczal

Format:DVD

This film represents sort of an artistic low point for Welles. Presumably exhausted by his four-year ordeal of producing "Othello" and far removed from his Hollywood glory years, he attempted a comeback with this hodgepodge re-working of the "Citizen Kane" theme. The rich and mysterious Mr. Arkadin hires an investigator to research his past, presumably to keep his secrets away from his enemies. However, everyone interviewed by the private eye mysteriously dies! (This idea was realized more effectively in 1987's "Angel Heart"). Although this film showcases' Welles unique style far better than, say, "The Stranger," its utter lack of production values make the experience somewhat grueling. Welles shoots with a manic energy, but fails to reach the giddy heights of "The Lady from Shanghai" or the visual eloquence of "Othello." Fortunately, Welles gets some entertaining performances from his supporting cast, particularly Michael Redgrave as an effeminate shopkeeper and the ubiquitous Akim Tamiroff ("Touch of Evil's" Uncle Joe Grandi) as the kooky Jacob Zouk.

The Laserlight DVD transfer doesn't help matters. As noted, it's taken from a grainy, choppy, poorly synced public domain print. However, you do get an unintentionally funny Tony Curtis intro, as well as the chance to own a rarely seen Welles film for a budget price.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Welles' richest and most underrated fables Jan 13 2004

By "mythologue"

Format:VHS Tape

We will probably never know exactly what Orson Welles envisioned Mr. Arkadin to be, but even in its present state, it remains a commandable achievement and one of his most underrated films. His storytelling mastery is evident throughout, both in the sound and images. As in Citizen Kane, the main character's life is gradually explored, but this time it's the subject of the inquiry who started it himself; this brings the film in the territory of initiations and psychoanalysis. Seemingly to uncover his own past, Arkadin sends low-profile hood Guy Van Stratten in a complex initiatic quest, one in which the initiated is mostly lured by money and luxury. Like Kane, Arkadin takes shape mainly via other people's testimonies, and he undergoes his own type of initiation: for the very first time, he is stripped of the masks and disguises he always relied on, and he is scared at the perspective of his private self (his Jungian 'number 2' personality) being discovered by the only person he cares for. Fables are scattered throughout the film, and the movie itself is such a tale, Arkadin acting as its grand, imposing Ogre, a character possessing strange and far-reaching powers. His overbearing abilities are illustrated in various ways, notably through the film's rapidly changing settings (a device also used in The Trial). The work's depth can also be measured by this consideration: Mr. Arkadin's universe is a huge maze in which Arkadin himself is Minos, Dedalus and the Minotaur all at once. This dense, rich and dreamlike film has never really received its due.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Extremely good story but terrible picture quality Dec 29 2003

By Joe Blo

Format:DVD

I bought Orson Welles Citizen Kane and liked it so I decided to watch other Welles movies. I bought Mr. Arkadin because the DVD is cheap and rated high on IMDB. I should have buyed Touch of Evil instead. The quality of the picture is laughable, sometimes there are glitches in the sound during scene changes. Judging by the picture and sound quality I would say that they used equipment from the 30's to shoot and edit the movie and that the print used for that transfer was stored in a refrigerator during 45 years. Welles directing work is good but obviously he had to deal with the poor quality of the European movie industry of the 50's. Sometimes the picture shake, during the opening credits the captions are white on a white or gray background so we can't read everything. The editing is very poor, there are too many scene changes. When I bought this DVD I expected to receive the LaserLight version, instead I got a DVD made by Alpha Video. The case cover is different and there is no supplemental material. He was mastered cheaply on a PC with the SpruceUp DVD Maestro software, that seem to create problems, each time I try to play the disc on my computer the FBI warning message appear and then the disc eject. I didn't notice any audio syncing problems however. This movie is the perfect candidate for a remake. I give **** for the story and * for the overall quality of the movie.

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