Orson Wells’ Final Film
The Other Side of the Wind debuts on Netflix
The making of Orson Well’s mockumentary, The Other Side of the Wind, is almost as interesting as the actual film, which had its debut at the 75th Venice International Film Festival. Shot between 1970 and 1976, when the Citizen Kane writer/director died, the footage remained in cinematic limbo until 2017 when Netflix decided to buy the rights and put the final cut together.
Wells initially wrote the treatment after the suicide of his good friend, Ernest Hemingway in 1961, basing his lead, aging Hollywood director, Jake Hannaford, on the troubled novelist. In a perfect example of art imitating life, the film is about the completion of Jake’s documentary after his death. Packed with notable actors and directors such as Peter Bogdonavich, Jack Nicholson, and Chinatown helmer John Huston as Jake, the movie is a virtual who’s who of the New Hollywood era of filmmaking.
Shot in black & white and color, the film-within-a-film is an often-hilarious insider look at the chaotic world of moviemaking, shot in a cinema verite, behind-the-scenes style. The response to the film’s screening in Venice was nothing short of rapturous, with reviewers rating it an 82 out of 100 on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating it’s a critical hit.
The Other Side of the Wind is being show at the fall film festivals with a final stop at the New York Film Festival before its debut on Netflix and in select theaters on November 2nd.