The Other Side of the Wind is the
lost last film of Orson Welles, a reputed
unseen masterpiece, that may
finally see the light of day in late 2008. The film tells the story of Jake Hannaford (played by
John Huston), an aging movie director who has to film a low budget sex-and-symbolism flick to avoid getting overtaken by the
Movie Brats of the Spielberg/Coppola generation. After providing voiceovers to two documentaries on the
Persepolis ceremonies of 1971 and an intimate portrait of
the Shah of Iran, Welles obtained
Iranian financing to finish The Other Side of the Wind. Unfortunately, after
the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the bank accounts of his Iranian financier were seized, which led to the negatives for the film getting locked in a French vault. After Orson Welles died in 1985, his lover/collaborator
Oja Kodar had to settle his estate with Orson's estranged (but never divorced) wife
Paola Mori. There the matter might have rested, if not for an unfortunate coincidence. (More inside.)
posted by jonp72
on Apr 15, 2007 -
50 comments
