This film is another example of Tim Robbins pushing his version of reality on the movie going audience. He paints the 1930's as an era where the rich and powerful attempt to squash the downtrodden.
Orson Welles was a giant not only in his film work but also on the stage. Robbins effectively reduces Welles to an alcoholic homophobic buffoon with zero tolerance for an actor's personal needs.
I never heard of this film until reading about it on an Orson Welles web site. The audience apparently stayed away in droves. It is not surprising to learn that the film recaptured less than ten percent of its budget at the box office. The film's commercial failure it seems has ended Robbins career as a writer/director.
The film contains dozen of characters and numerous plot lines none of which generate any degree of sympathy for the audience to create an engaging story. Robbins' homage (or plagiarism) of Robert Altman's ensemble format fails badly as he tries to push his spin on historical fact. At least he posts a disclaimer, during the opening credits, that the film is mostly true. His message seems to be that those on the left are oppressed holders of the truth while those on the right are corrupt censors of artistic freedom.
Another weak spot of the film is that the musical play itself is of dubious quality in both words and music. Robbins, to his credit, shows very little of the play's weak content.
The cinematography in the film is very good as is the production design. But if Robbins ever gets the chance to write another film he should study up on screenplay structure and read Lajos Egri on character development.
Orson Welles was a giant not only in his film work but also on the stage. Robbins effectively reduces Welles to an alcoholic homophobic buffoon with zero tolerance for an actor's personal needs.
I never heard of this film until reading about it on an Orson Welles web site. The audience apparently stayed away in droves. It is not surprising to learn that the film recaptured less than ten percent of its budget at the box office. The film's commercial failure it seems has ended Robbins career as a writer/director.
The film contains dozen of characters and numerous plot lines none of which generate any degree of sympathy for the audience to create an engaging story. Robbins' homage (or plagiarism) of Robert Altman's ensemble format fails badly as he tries to push his spin on historical fact. At least he posts a disclaimer, during the opening credits, that the film is mostly true. His message seems to be that those on the left are oppressed holders of the truth while those on the right are corrupt censors of artistic freedom.
Another weak spot of the film is that the musical play itself is of dubious quality in both words and music. Robbins, to his credit, shows very little of the play's weak content.
The cinematography in the film is very good as is the production design. But if Robbins ever gets the chance to write another film he should study up on screenplay structure and read Lajos Egri on character development.