A pilotless plane flying before us: unusual way to start a movie. YOu wonder what it might have been had he not had to edit it so quickly. Even some of the dialogue doesn't come out of the actors' mouths when they speak....maybe it was my DVD but I don't think so.
Medina as the floozy, sliding all around the yacht's cabin as she flirts with Welles is a scene that also sticks in your head, as does the awfully ugly husband of the countess. But he's someone she loves, and does not wish to bring Mr. Arkadin down. Too bad for her, as she is just one of a long list of folks who knew him when....too bad for them.
You have to wonder what the daughter sees in the protaganist, other than a hairy chest. He doesn't have all that much chemistry. Welles should have let a woman pick the actor for that part!!! The daughter keeps coming back to him repeatedly, and you're wondering, "Why?"
Nice to see Mexico, Paris, Germany and all the places we are led through the search for Arkadin's roots. SPOILER: Also a nice touch, the old guy looks dead when we first see him, and after a hilarious tussle getting him to a safe hotel room without his pants on, we finally see him with the same look, but now he IS dead. END OF SPOILER
As a fan of Welles, I only wish he'd been free to make more such of these kind of movies.....not the same cookie-cutter stuff we see. On the other hand, I wish the editing had been better, less jerky. You don't want to realize, "I'm looking at a poorly cut film" when you're watching same.
Medina as the floozy, sliding all around the yacht's cabin as she flirts with Welles is a scene that also sticks in your head, as does the awfully ugly husband of the countess. But he's someone she loves, and does not wish to bring Mr. Arkadin down. Too bad for her, as she is just one of a long list of folks who knew him when....too bad for them.
You have to wonder what the daughter sees in the protaganist, other than a hairy chest. He doesn't have all that much chemistry. Welles should have let a woman pick the actor for that part!!! The daughter keeps coming back to him repeatedly, and you're wondering, "Why?"
Nice to see Mexico, Paris, Germany and all the places we are led through the search for Arkadin's roots. SPOILER: Also a nice touch, the old guy looks dead when we first see him, and after a hilarious tussle getting him to a safe hotel room without his pants on, we finally see him with the same look, but now he IS dead. END OF SPOILER
As a fan of Welles, I only wish he'd been free to make more such of these kind of movies.....not the same cookie-cutter stuff we see. On the other hand, I wish the editing had been better, less jerky. You don't want to realize, "I'm looking at a poorly cut film" when you're watching same.