Customer Reviews

The Trial

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

What The Trial lacks in comprehension (purposely at that) it makes up for in cinematography, set design, art direction and music. Essentially a nightmare tale, Joseph K. slowly comes to madness as his accusation for some unknown crime leads him into the abyss of a legal system, full of strange, abusive, mysterious, confusing people.
As a film I couldn't sit through it at once, I had to get up and return a couple times because the convoluted situation makes it hard to follow. This aspect is surely purposeful, Welles is a master of storytelling and images, and the production itself proves amazing.
I would highly recommend this for it's adaptation of Kafka's posthumous story, beautiful and horrible direction, cinematography, set and art direction and music.

Orson Welles' so called "personal favourite film", based on the novel by Franz Kafka does remain more or less consistent with the original written work, though Welles has changed a few things to amplify effect or to introduce characters.

The poor quality of the reel (the film was nearly lost), also make it that some lines go unheard and make characters difficult to identify. The "mise en scene" also adds to this confusion, with Josef K. walking through numerous strange rooms, corridors and halls.

Still though, the film can help visualize certain elements from the book that might be difficult to imagine otherwise. Also, it is important to remember that Kafka's work was unfinished and unassembled, and Welles has attempted to reflect this non-linearity within the film.

All in all, I do recommend you see this film if you have read or plan on reading the original work, but you might be very confused by the storyline without this base knowledge.

What is Joseph K guilty of? There are a number of possibilities, none of which I will suggest here. I don't want to be guilty of ruining the fun of figuring that out for yourself. This movie is Welles at his brilliant best. Many great directors seem to have a trio of films that represent their greatest work. With Welles, those three seem to be Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil and The Trial. The Magnificent Ambersons wsa murdered by the studio and an editor sent in to hack together a new ending. But the Welles directed part is so good I guess it has to rank with the above mentioned three. Then there is Othello, ruined by poor funding; but is it a wreck of a movie? I guess it belongs with the above mentioned four. Forgive me, I guess I'm guilty of digressing, as well as assuming that one can pick three of Welles's movies that stand out from his other work. What I can say about The Trial is that Welles had enough money to make his ideas work as they should on screen. When a Welles movie has enough money to cover technical costs the movie is usually great. The Trial is no exception. The Milestone DVD is a little costly; but you get an excellent looking transfer, which is all you really need to make this movie worth owning.

The Trial is Orson Welles' adaptation of the Franz Kafka novel of the same name. It follows the story of Josef K., a man who finds himself in a nightmarish version of reality he neither understands, nor can escape from. It begins with Josef K. (played by Anthony Perkins) being awakened by police officers, who refuse to tell him the crime he's accused of. He's placed under arrest, but not taken into custody - they allow him to continue his "normal" life. Instead, he is taken away at bizarre moments to appear in court, which is a distorted mockery of the concept of justice. There is no judge, no jury, no stated charges, no burden of proof, no lawyers, and no one that assumes impartiality or responsibility. When Josef K. asks for a lawyer, he's told it's not necessary, since it's an "informal" questioning. After the "court" appearance, Josef K. goes to enlist "the Advocate" to defend him. The Advocate (played by Orson Welles) is portrayed as a demi-god of legal access and information not available to the common man - to be worshiped and feared at all costs, since without him, they are nothing. However, in the end, Josef K. is sentenced and eventually executed for these elusive crimes.
The Trial is a merging of the existential philosophies of Kafka with the cinematic genius of Welles. Josef K. is not a particularly empathetic character - he's weak, morally flexible, and passively pushed along this nightmare. In either ending, (the book or the film), Josef K. doesn't fight against his fate, or meekly accepts it. It embodies the existentialist view that Josef K.'s nightmare prison is one of his own making, and therefore only he is responsible for its injustices. Welles adds his own perspective in the sense that it reflected the subversive tactics of those in power around the judicial system during that time - a very Marxist perspective in the face of the McCarthy era, where the HUAC had frightening similarities to the nightmare court.
Overall, it's a film with many possible interpretations and meanings - that are neither right nor wrong, but dependent on the audience's own observations. Like most of Welles' and Kafka's work - you can either take it at face value, or as an intellectual piece - either way, it's a well done cinematic accomplishment.

This film is dark in more ways than one. My copy was way dark. Of course it is emotionally dark also. Didn't much like the novel in college & my opinion hasn't improved. It was a pain to sit through it. This subject has so much promise but not with a depressive like Kafka. One of Welles lesser films to be sure. But one extra star for Welles portayal of the advocate, the best thing in this film.

What is Joseph K guilty of? There are a number of possibilities, none of which I will suggest here. I don't want to be guilty of ruining the fun of figuring that out for yourself. This movie is Welles at his brilliant best. Many great directors seem to have a trio of films that represent their greatest work. With Welles, those three seem to be Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil and The Trial. The Magnificent Ambersons wsa murdered by the studio and an editor sent in to hack together a new ending. But the Welles directed part is so good I guess it has to rank with the above mentioned three. Then there is Othello, ruined by poor funding; but is it a wreck of a movie? I guess it belongs with the above mentioned four. Forgive me, I guess I'm guilty of digressing, as well as assuming that one can pick three of Welles's movies that stand out from his other work. What I can say about The Trial is that Welles had enough money to make his ideas work as they should on screen. When a Welles movie has enough money to cover technical costs the movie is usually great. The Trial is no exception. The Milestone DVD is a little costly; but you get an excellent looking transfer, which is all you really need to make this movie worth owning.

Citizen Kane is one of my favorite movies ever, and of course I respect Mr. Welles as a director. But I am afraid this movie falls short. Sound editing problems, bad acting and some unexplainable changes in the story are awful. For example, the end of the movie is simply bizarre. This movie could be much better. Although it is a good try, it is not good enough for Kafka's story.

Have you ever been accused of doing something you didn't do? How about being accused, arrested, tried, convicted, and executed, without ever finding out what any of the charges against you actually are? Sound like a nightmare? It is. A brilliant nightmare, brought to dark, suffocating life by Orson Welles. Anthony "Psycho" Perkins is great as the poor slob Josef K, who wakes from dreamland, only to be thrust into the horrors of his reality. He is confronted by "secret police" types, who answer his questions with questions, and turn his words inside out. Soon, friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers become suspicious eyes on him. Josef K has had a guilty conscience since boyhood. It is used against him in a diabolical conspiracy of increasing insanity! The more he tries to escape the snare, the tighter it gets. This is a film of terrifying images and strangling paranoia. Even if you forget the dialogue, the cold stone and shadows of "The Trial" will haunt you...

Despite being a very uncomfortable and tough-to-watch film, Orson Welles' take on Kafka is a thought provoking, unforgettable masterpiece. This version of the story of Joseph K. (man accused of a mysterious crime) rivals the original book!
As for the DVD...ugh! Okay, let's just assume that a good looking/sounding version of "The Trial" doesn't exist. After all, it was an independantly finances, low budget 1960s European movie.
On the extras side, there's a bad (as usual) intro by black-gloved Tony Curtis, who rambles on about everything except "The Trial." There's a trailer to the surprisingly non-Welles directed "Compulsion" ('A real thriller!' promises Tony Curtis), along with one of the most startlingly ugly menus you've ever seen.

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The film itself is an all time favourite, I have seen it a few times. I exerts a magic effect on me, almost like suggestion. It describes such an unnatural world, which is nevertheless so easy to imagine and get mentally involved in. It is a bit akin to Brazil, but less noisy and more convincing.

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