David Farnor | On 29, Aug 2018

This week, Netflix unveils a piece of cinema history to the world, with the premiere of Orson Welles’ The Other Side of the Wind – almost half a century after it first started filming. Now, we have our first proper idea of what the famous unfinished movie looks, like with the debut of its trailer.

Surrounded by fans and skeptics, it sees grizzled director J.J. “Jake” Hannaford (John Huston) returns from years abroad in Europe to a changed Hollywood, where he attempts to make his comeback: a career summation that can only be the work of cinema’s most adventurous filmmaker.

The Other Side of the Wide will be released in US cinemas and on Netflix on 2nd November, following its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Here’s the traieler:

 

Netflix sets November release for The Other Side of the Wind

26th July 2018
Netflix will officially premiere Orson Welles’ The Other Side of the Wind on Friday 2nd November 2018 – 48 years after it first started filming.

The final film of the legendary director, the project boasted a cast of luminaries that included John Huston, Peter Bogdanovich, Susan Strasberg and Welles’s partner during his later years, Oja Kodar. Beset by financial issues, the production ultimately stretched to 1976 and soon gained industry-wide notoriety, never to be completed or released.

More than a thousand reels of film languished in a Paris vault until March 2017, when producers Frank Marshall (who served as a production manager on ​Wind​ during in its initial shooting) and Filip Jan Rymsza spearheaded efforts to have Welles’s vision completed more than 30 years after his death.

Featuring a new score by Oscar-winning composer Michel Legrand (​The Umbrellas of Cherbourg​) and assembled by a technical team including Oscar-winning editor Bob Murawski (​The Hurt Locker), ​The Other Side of the Wind ​tells the story of famed filmmaker J.J. “Jake” Hannaford (Huston), who returns to Hollywood after years in self-exile in Europe with plans to complete work on his own innovative comeback movie. A satire of the classic studio system as well as the new establishment who were shaking things up at the time, Welles’s final film is both a fascinating time capsule of a now-distant era in moviemaking as well as the long-awaited work from an indisputable master of his craft.

The movie will have its world premiere out of competition at the Venice Film Festival, before being released worldwide on Friday 2nd November. You can see a first look image of the movie above – or head this way to read more about the other films Netflix is debuting at Venice.

 

The Other Side of the Wind: Inside Netflix’s restoration of Orson Welles’ final film

17th March 2017

This week, one of the most exciting pieces of news in cinephile history was announced: that Netflix is restoring, completing and releasing Orson Welles’ final film.

You can get the full lowdown of the project below, but now, we’ve got a look inside the work that’s going into restoring The Other Side of the Wind, with this new behind-the-scenes video:

 

Netflix to complete and restore Orson Welles’ final film

15th March 2017

Netflix will finance the completion and restoration of the legendary filmmaker Orson Welles’ last film, The Other Side of the Wind.

The film, which has remained unfinished for decades, was shot by Welles beginning in 1970. It features a screenplay by Welles and Oja Kodar, and stars John Huston, Peter Bogdanovich, Oja Kodar, Robert Random, Lilli Palmer, Edmond O’Brien, Cameron Mitchell, Mercedes McCambridge, Susan Strasberg, Norman Foster, Paul Stewart and Dennis Hopper.

A satire of Hollywood, it focuses on the last days of a legendary film director named Jake Hannaford (played by Huston), who is struggling to forge his last great comeback as a major filmmaker. Hannaford is hard at work on his final masterpiece, The Other Side of The Wind.

Decades after its production, Filip Jan Rymsza, founder of Royal Road Entertainment, launched a crowd-funding campaign to finance the restoration and completion of the project. Now, the campaign has got its biggest backer yet.

“We could not ask for better partners or a better home. I’m immensely grateful to the whole Netflix team for their tireless effort and unwavering support. With Netflix’s global reach, this will undoubtedly be the widest release of any Orson Welles film, if not all of them combined,” says Filip.

Indeed, Netflix has acquired the worldwide rights to the movie. The completed film will be a Royal Road Entertainment production, continuing the work from Welles and Les Films de L’Astrophore, the original producers of the movie.

Producer Frank Marshall, who served as a Production Manager on the first production and has led efforts to complete this film for over 40 years, will oversee the completion of the film, working closely with Rymsza.

“I can’t quite believe it, but after 40 years of trying, I am so very grateful for the passion and perseverance from Netflix that has enabled us to, at long last, finally get into the cutting room to finish Orson’s last picture,” says Marshall.

“Like so many others who grew up worshipping the craft and vision of Orson Welles, this is a dream come true,” adds Ted Sarandos, Netflix Chief Content Officer. “The promise of being able to bring to the world this unfinished work of Welles with his true artistic intention intact, is a point of pride for me and for Netflix. Cinephiles and film enthusiasts around the world will experience the magic of Orson Welles once again or for the very first time.”

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