The Other Side of the Wind
| The Other Side of the Wind | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Orson Welles |
| Produced by |
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| Written by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Gary Graver |
| Country | United States / Iran |
| Language | English |
| Budget | c. $2 million |
The Other Side of the Wind is an unfinished film directed by Orson Welles, shot between 1970 and 1976.
Starring John Huston, Bob Random, Peter Bogdanovich, Susan Strasberg and Oja Kodar, it is a satire of both the passing of Classic Hollywood and the avant-garde filmmakers of the New Hollywood of the 1970s. The film was shot in an unconventional mockumentary style in both color and black-and-white, and it incorporated a film-within-a-film that spoofed the work of Michelangelo Antonioni.
The film is particularly known for its troubled production schedule. The six-year shoot was plagued by difficulties with production, finance and casting, as well as complex legal problems that led to the negative being impounded and the film left unfinished for over 40 years. Welles had intended the film to serve as his comeback picture, heralding his return to the United States after a quarter of a century of working mainly in Europe, but the film's legal problems meant that it remained unfinished at the time of his death in 1985.
In October 2014, it was announced that the film would be completed and screened to coincide with the centenary of Welles's birth in 2015. Post-production was delayed when some potential distributors asked to see edited footage from the original negative before committing funds to finish the film. On May 7, 2015, producers launched a two-month crowdfunding campaign that raised more than $400,000 to help complete the film.
The film covers the 70th birthday party of movie director Jake Hannaford, who is struggling to make a commercial comeback. It opens with Hannaford's death just after the party, and mostly focuses on the night before his death. We also see extracts of Hannaford's daring new film-within-a-film, The Other Side of the Wind. As we learn more about Hannaford at his party, the audience realises that he is a far more complex character than he seems, and harbors several big secrets.
The film presents a cynical portrait of Hollywood in the 1970s, parodying the passing of the studio system, and the experimental new film-makers of the new Hollywood, as well as mocking successful European directors such as Antonioni. It was shot in a variety of different styles—color, black-and-white, still photography, 8mm, 16mm and 35mm film, all rapidly intercut together, and was planned as a collage of these different styles.
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