I'm always amazed at how modern it feels, even today. My personal favourite moment is when he talks about death and art as a way to cope with it. Way to stop the fun and cut the mown under the watcher's feet. It's like the Roy Batty monologue at the end of Blade Runner but casually thrown in only to move on to…

According to his biographers that is sadly not the case. He spent all his life trying to lose weight, and was really hurt when people recurred to fat jokes to score cheap points on those TV shows where he was always appearing. Of course he made preemptive jokes about it himself.

And I would have to agree with you. :)

It might be so. One of the guys who allegedly scammed him back in the 70s is still a big fish in Spanish cinema. It never fails to amaze me.

Right. He was a convenient cautionary tale. And as it has been said in comments above, he got himself plenty of ill will from powerful figures for his politics and his attitude towards authority.

You're probably right, though too much compromise can take its toll too. At least that's how I see the last, say, 15 years of Martin Scorsese's director output, or the last 10 of Clint Eastwood. (It might easily be a matter of taste, though).

Very intense too, if she's the same one I'm thinking of…

I might be alone in this one, but I find Welles' Falstaff the weakest link in the whole cast, with the exception of the rejection scene, which he nails. I think you should give it a try, if only to enjoy John Gielgud's Henry IV.

I loved Ida. Instant classic to me.

Saving Private Ryan also comes to mind for some reason.

There are contradictory arguments on this point. I think it was Alex Ross who just wrote a long review discussing how some of Welles' reputation as a financially unreliable filmmaker is somewhat unfair. I find it hard to have a formed opinion one way or the other, because he definitely had let's say issues with…

He also dipped his toes into architecture. :)

I'm not referring to the whole thread but to the 5-6 people who think that pointing out how fat he was is a great contribution to the conversation. Yes. He was fat. He was playing Falstaff too, so if he looked thin in the picture, now THAT would be weird.

I'm a big fan of the TV pilot he shot for Desilu, The Fountain of Youth, also on Youtube. I feel it's one of the greatest What ifs of his career. If the series had been produced, he could have revolutionized TV storytelling the way Rod Serling would.

I'm afraid some issues with sound will always remain, unless some technology I know not of comes to the rescue. Books on the movie often make the point that Margaret Rutherford's soliloquy comes with background noise because the sound technician screwed up the best take, and Welles (correctly imo) decided to keep it…

Is that all you guys have to comment about Welles? His weight? Jeez.

True that. Complacent probably was his middle middle name.

That's funny, and it might be so, but if Vizzini isn't a super genius, it would be less impressive that Wesley beats him in wits, just like he beat a super swordman and a super strong giant… The fairy tale logic would be lost…

I'm surprised on this day and age of ubiquitous fan fiction there isn't somewhere on the net a version of the Princess Bride with ALL the boring parts included…

I was under the impression Goldman only had daughters, and that son was completely imaginary?