Orson Welles’ “The Trial”

February 4, 2025 4:58 PM

“When it comes to film adaptations of very famous works of literature, there’s always a lot of pressure on the artist to produce something worth its background. In this case, Welles created a technically grandiose movie loyal to Kafka’s story, but enhanced by the infusion of Welles’ own vision. The Trial stands as one of the most accomplished book-to-film adaptations, and in Welles’ rich career, it’s a film that ranks among the very best.” - Sven Miculek

Jonathan Rosenbaum:

“What made it possible for me to make the picture," Orson Welles told Peter Bogdanovich of his most troubling film, "is that I’ve had recurring nightmares of guilt all my life: I’m in prison and I don’t know why –- going to be tried and I don’t know why. It’s very personal for me. A very personal expression, and it’s not all true that I’m off in some foreign world that has no application to myself; it’s the most autobiographical movie that I’ve ever made, the only one that’s really close to me. And just because it doesn’t speak in a Middle Western accent doesn’t mean a damn thing. It’s much closer to my own feelings about everything than any other picture I’ve ever made."

The film was in the public domain for many years due to the lack of a copyright notice. The Internet Archive has a fairly good print.

posted by Lemkin (11 comments total)

That internet archive print is yummy.
posted by RandlePatrickMcMurphy at 5:38 PM on February 4 [3 favorites]

Watched it on Tubi the other night.
posted by flamk at 7:01 PM on February 4 [1 favorite]

Saw it in a theater 50 years ago. The stark aesthetic is still with me.
posted by kozad at 7:14 PM on February 4 [3 favorites]

Orson Welles told Peter Bogdanovich of his most troubling film, "is that I’ve had recurring nightmares of guilt all my life: I’m in prison and I don’t know why –- going to be tried and I don’t know why. It’s very personal for me. A very personal expression, and it’s not all true that I’m off in some foreign world that has no application to myself; it’s the most autobiographical movie that I’ve ever made, the only one that’s really close to me.

Welles' mother, who was raising him by herself (his parents separated when he was 4), and supporting them by playing the piano at a lecture series, died of hepatitis right after his 9th birthday. His older brother 'Dickie' had already been institutionalized because of 'learning difficulties'.

Welles' father died when Welles was 15, right after Welles refused to see him until his father quit drinking.

Take your choice or all of the above, I guess.
posted by jamjam at 8:08 PM on February 4 [2 favorites]

FanFare post.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:23 PM on February 4 [1 favorite]

Never heard of this one.

Not a huge OW fan. Though The Third Man is one of my favorite movies of all time.
thanks for the post
posted by Windopaene at 8:52 PM on February 4 [1 favorite]

So good.
posted by rmmcclay at 5:29 PM on February 5 [1 favorite]

Wow, I saw that in 1967 at the Montreal Expo. In retrospect, I wonder why it was shown there, what entity sponsored the showing. And yes it's definitely stuck with me, surreal and scarily realistic, timely then and timely now.
posted by mareli at 5:57 PM on February 5 [1 favorite]

Splendid film. Tony Perkins is perfect.
posted by doctornemo at 7:24 PM on February 5 [1 favorite]

I love The Trial. It really stuck with me as a cinematic experience. I saw it in a film class, though if memory serves it was projected. But perhaps it’s such a cinematic film that it felt projected, even if it was only played off a DVD.

I think that in many ways it doesn’t feel particularly kafkaesque as a film. It’s way too striking as an experience. Everything feels heightened and laden with emotion, as opposed to the quotidian terror of Kafka’s writing (the 1993 adaptation starring Kyle MacLachlan, with a screenplay by Harold Pinter, captures that much better, though in most other ways it’s a lesser film).

So I’m not surprised to find out that Welles used the source as a way to explore his own fears, rather than thinking of it as an adaptation. I do think that the end doesn’t quite work, but the Kafka had a difficult time with the end too. There’s something almost perfunctory, but not satisfyingly anticlimactic, about where Josef K ends up, and I wonder if Welles identification with the source material made it difficult for him to conceive of a satisfying ending, because in his psyche the process hadn’t ended.
posted by Kattullus at 6:46 AM on February 6 [2 favorites]

There's a version with Kyle MacLachlan and Harold Pinter? Somehow I missed it.

(And now am imaging very weird ways that could play out.)
posted by doctornemo at 2:58 PM on February 6 [1 favorite]