Orson Welles :: essays research papers

Orson Welles 	Orson Welles was an actor, producer, director, writer, and columnist who revolutionized the film industry by directing movies that depicted men and woman as real human beings. Throughout his writing career, Welles’ characters reflected his own personality and inspired others to write about human struggles, both good and bad. An innovative, dynamic individual, Welles spent his entire life experimenting with different mediums and bringing to the world his vision of man’s never ending struggle to conquer his own inner demons. Welles was a man whose life was one of paradox. His films reflected his inner conflicts and his attempt to assuage the two extremes of his own existence. 	"For thirty years people have been asking me how I reconcile X with Y! 		The truthful answer is that I don't. Everything about me is a 			contradiction and so is everything about everybody else. We are made 		out of oppositions; we live between two poles. There is a philistine and 		an aesthete in all of us, and a murderer and a saint. You don't reconcile 	the poles. You just recognize them." [To Kennety Tynan, 1967] 	Orson Welles is often referred to as a "Renaissance man", an individual who’s ambitious and concerned with revolutionizing multiple aspects of life. He was a prolific writer and talented actor who often appeared in his own productions. A gifted artist, Welles, coupled his abundant energy with an enthusiasm for life. He tried everything and was not afraid to take risks and to suffer the consequences of failures as well as the acclaims of success. 	While, some critics say that Welles could never top "Citizen Kane", such movies as "The Trial", "Touch of Evil", and "The Lady from Shanghai" are considered classics and monumental feats in cinema production. However, movies like "The Stranger", "Chimes at Midnights", and "Mr. Arkadin" were criticized as being "One-Man Band" shows where Welles glorified and engrandized himself. 	Welles’ films reflect his ambivalent vision of life. He organized the Mercury Theater as the result of a feud with the Federal Theater Project after its attempt to sensor his work. Welles refused to bow to their demands to make his pro-labor play, The Cradle Will Rock, less political. Throughout the rest of his life, he preferred ostracism to compromise and often endured ridicule and condemnation rather than give in to the demands of those in authority. 	Welles utilizes very distinctive images that are extravagant and dynamic to convey his unique prospective.