[January 5, 1963] The Trial on Trial

by Victoria Lucas



Have you been following the talk about Orson Welles’s latest movie, one he personally wrote and edited? While not precisely science fiction, it does overlap thematically, enough so that I'm certain you'll enjoy a summary.

I was fortunate enough to catch the interview with him by Huw Wheldon on the BBC, or “The Beeb” as people across the Pond say. First off, Welles talks about changes he made from the novel by Franz Kafka. He says the main character (Josef K.) “doesn’t really deteriorate, certainly doesn’t surrender at the end” like the character in the novel. That’s true, more or less, but listen carefully to Anthony Perkins playing K. at the very end and ask yourself why he doesn’t throw what he is reaching for.



I know, I know, what am I doing writing a review for a movie that hasn’t been released in the States yet. Well, it was released in Paris, and quite a lot of people had something to do with the production and showing. I hate to tell you this, but a copy somehow found its way into the hands of a friend of mine. I can’t tell you any names, and I know no more than the name of my friend. The copy is a bit, all right, under par, not like seeing it in a movie house, but it’s exciting to see the film many months before I possibly could have otherwise. The earliest premiere in the US is in NYC, and I stand a snowball’s chance in hell of making that or any showing not in Tucson or Phoenix. I would prefer to watch a non-bootleg copy and probably will sooner or later, but beggars can’t be choosers.

(see the rest at Galactic Journey!)