The Other Side of the Wind is a chaotic film. It would have been quite something had it been finished and released in the 70s, when it would have been an interesting meta-commentary on the Hollywood, masculinity and art. The almost 50-year delay between it's conception and release only adds another layer to this film. After all, the movie *is* about an aging film-maker scrambling to finish his latest piece.
The movie is absolutely not plot driven although I presume there are many parallels between the movie and Welles' situation at the time he started making this. Some scenes do drag a bit and the movie fumbles during those periods, but these are few and far between. The movie-within-a-movie scenes are some of the most beautiful shots in the movie, and the whole thing works surprisingly well given the manic nature of the rest of the movie. Mad props to John Huston for his effortless performance as the aging director Hannaford and Michael Legrand for his jazzy score that keeps pace with the movie.
Also, there is an incredibly funny exchange in the movie where a member of the audience watching the movie points out to the projectionist that he is playing the wrong reel. The projectionist replies, "Does it matter?" (Insert shrug emoji here)
The movie is absolutely not plot driven although I presume there are many parallels between the movie and Welles' situation at the time he started making this. Some scenes do drag a bit and the movie fumbles during those periods, but these are few and far between. The movie-within-a-movie scenes are some of the most beautiful shots in the movie, and the whole thing works surprisingly well given the manic nature of the rest of the movie. Mad props to John Huston for his effortless performance as the aging director Hannaford and Michael Legrand for his jazzy score that keeps pace with the movie.
Also, there is an incredibly funny exchange in the movie where a member of the audience watching the movie points out to the projectionist that he is playing the wrong reel. The projectionist replies, "Does it matter?" (Insert shrug emoji here)