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Article: The battle over Orson Welles. (conflicting views in Welles biblography)
- Article from:
- Cineaste
- Article date:
- June 22, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Cineaste Publishers, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Two prevailing and diametrically opposed attitudes seem to dictate the way most people currently think about Orson Welles. One attitude, predominantly American, sees his life and career chiefly in terms of failure and regards the key question to be why he never lived up to his promise - "his promise" almost invariably being tied up with the achievement of Citizen Kane. Broadly speaking, this position can be compared to that of the investigative reporter Thompson's editor in Citizen Kane, bent on finding a single formula for explaining a man's life. The other attitude - less monolithic and less tied to any particular nationality, or to the expectations aroused by any single ...