F for Fake (1973)

85% of critics liked it
(26 reviews)
88% of users liked it
(6,533 ratings)

The final directorial project the legendary Orson Welles completed during his lifetime, F for Fake is less a documentary than an example of cinematic free association on the topic of trickery. Much of the film is in fact drawn from other sources, most notably an unfinished documentary by Francois… More The final directorial project the legendary Orson Welles completed during his lifetime, F for Fake is less a documentary than an example of cinematic free association on the topic of trickery. Much of the film is in fact drawn from other sources, most notably an unfinished documentary by Francois Reichenbach on the notorious Elmyr de Hory, whose extremely skillful forgeries of famous paintings caused scandals amongst art collectors and experts. In an additional bit of irony, de Hory's interviewer is author Clifford Irving, who became infamous due to a forgery of his own: a falsified autobiography of Howard Hughes. Welles openly re-edits and manipulates this footage, using it as a spine for his own commentary, arguing that there is an extremely close relationship between art and lying, and citing instances from his own career to prove the point. Through a combination of documentary and staged footage, Welles attempts to illustrate the artifice behind all filmmaking, even that of a supposedly non-fiction variety. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 25 min.
Directed By: Orson Welles
Written By: Orson Welles, Oja Kodar
Genres: Documentary, Television, Musical & Performing Arts, Special Interest

In Theaters: Sep 1, 1974 Limited
On DVD: Apr 26, 2005
Studio: Saguenay Films

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Alternately superficial and profound.
Vincent Canby, New York Times
A charming, witty meditation upon fakery, forgery, swindling and art, a movie that may itself be its own Exhibit A.
Glenn Abel, Hollywood Reporter
Welcome to the philosophical fun house that is F for Fake, stuffed full of questions about the nature of art and authorship, illusion and reality, lies and truth.
Adam Lippe, Examiner.com
Welles' assurance that you will be enthralled by his every word and oversized gesture is so arrogant, so refreshingly contemptuous, that you'd give him a round of applause, if you weren't sure he was doing that for himself every time he called, "cut."
Jay Antani, Cinema Writer
gives the viewer the feeling that he's in Welles's expansive company...while he considers and pontificates on a pet topic. That in itself is a privilege, and reason enough to check out F for Fake
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
...a digressive, playful and at times profound essay on the nature of authenticity and the fluid boundaries between art and decoration, between inspiration and imitation.
, Time Out
A triumphantly self-amused, self-aware reflection on the verities of art and creativity and the lies that sustain them.
Nathan Rabin, AV Club
A singular combination of documentary, essay, narrative, broad comedy, hoax, and cinematic vaudeville.
Martin Scribbs, Low IQ Canadian
A little gem, full of vintage Welles ruminations on the ephemeral nature of personal celebrity and the elusiveness of ultimate truth.
Todd Gilchrist, FilmStew.com
This may be the ultimate extension of Jean-Luc Godard's approach to moviemaking.
Brent Simon, Now Playing Magazine
Hardcore film lovers owe it to themselves to track down F for Fake; its charms and merits are quite real.
Doug Cummings, Filmjourney
An almost impossibly lively pastiche of images and ideas that never tires.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
After seeing this elusive film, I wonder how many pictures of the great artists in the museums are really by them and not by some forger.
Timothy Knight, Reel.com
As Welles points out, the line between truth and illusion is fuzzy, if not downright invisible.

Read all 14 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Graham J

A totally unique experience, master director/actor (etc.) Orson Welles creates his late masterpiece with his expose on trickery.
Tsubaki S

A documentary/essay about the art of trickery. Opening with a series of magic tricks, performed by Welles himself, the movie explores two characters who became famous for lying, for tricking others, and by doing it pretty damn well. Very engaging, fun, you can see this as the blue… More
A documentary/essay about the art of trickery. Opening with a series of magic tricks, performed by Welles himself, the movie explores two characters who became famous for lying, for tricking others, and by doing it pretty damn well. Very engaging, fun, you can see this as the blue print for many modern documentaries that use a similar style of "free" narrative/performance mode. Movies are a form of fakery after all, Welles is the first one to call himself a charlatan, and with great wit he takes us to this fantastic voyage of illusions, a house of mirrors. What matters is not things being "real" or "fake", but how interesting, appealing and well made they can be.
Drew S

Exit Through the Gift Shop's grandpappy in the fields of cinematic subversion and grappling with "art." I found it sort of dry, as a matter of personal taste, but in terms of objective craftsmanship it's thoughtful and academic and a brilliant note for Orson Welles… More
Exit Through the Gift Shop's grandpappy in the fields of cinematic subversion and grappling with "art." I found it sort of dry, as a matter of personal taste, but in terms of objective craftsmanship it's thoughtful and academic and a brilliant note for Orson Welles to close his career on. Hugely valuable.
Stella D

a wry meditation on art and illusion. a very unconventional documentary and the last film orson welles completed before his death.
Ken S

Amazing free form documentary by the master Orson Welles. Examining the story of a famous art forger and his biographer (the now infamous Cliford Irving who was featured in the film "The Hoax") Welles asks what is real and what is fake? Absolutly facinating, a must see… More
Amazing free form documentary by the master Orson Welles. Examining the story of a famous art forger and his biographer (the now infamous Cliford Irving who was featured in the film "The Hoax") Welles asks what is real and what is fake? Absolutly facinating, a must see for any cinephile!
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"F for Fake" is a highly entertaining and rambling cinematic essay compiled by and featuring Orson Welles(this was his last completed film) on the nature of fiction and reality.(Sometimes it does not matter if a story is true, just that it is a great… More
[font=Century Gothic]"F for Fake" is a highly entertaining and rambling cinematic essay compiled by and featuring Orson Welles(this was his last completed film) on the nature of fiction and reality.(Sometimes it does not matter if a story is true, just that it is a great story.) The movie focuses on a couple of real-life hoaxers - Clifford Irving and Elmyr de Hory on the resort island of Ibiza. De Hory was one of the great art forgers of the 20th century(many experts made an indirect living off of his work) who Irving was writing a biography of. Irving was also a hoaxer in his own right, having forged an autobiography of Howard Hughes.(In discussing Hughes, Welles mentions that his original idea for "Citizen Kane" was a fictional version of Howard Hughes. But he does not bring up the fictional version of Howard Hughes in "Diamonds Are Forever.") Welles introduces his own credentials as a hoaxer by mentioning his role in the accidental hoax of his 1938 broadcast of "War of the Worlds."[/font]
Alec B

I wasn't fooled by the trick and the film is pretty damn pretentious but I think that's the point. And while I was rolling my eyes from time to time, there are some truly fascinating observations made by Welles about the nature of forgeries and their relationship to art.
Mike T

This is a wholly entertaining, absorbing exercise in innovative storytelling. Again, Orson Welles illustrates his seemingly endless capabilities as a filmmaker. The editing is superb, and the concept is ingenious. He plays with a sometimes challenging but always fascinating form,… More
This is a wholly entertaining, absorbing exercise in innovative storytelling. Again, Orson Welles illustrates his seemingly endless capabilities as a filmmaker. The editing is superb, and the concept is ingenious. He plays with a sometimes challenging but always fascinating form, bringing out his insightful ideas in a new way.
Bill C

Orson Wells delves into Gonzo Journalism. More of a self-effacing journey through several great fakes of the 50's-70's. Wells thrust himself into their world and as a greater faker (War of the Worlds) The concepts are interesting and enlightening, although a little bit… More
Orson Wells delves into Gonzo Journalism. More of a self-effacing journey through several great fakes of the 50's-70's. Wells thrust himself into their world and as a greater faker (War of the Worlds) The concepts are interesting and enlightening, although a little bit circular wordy in parts. There is a pretty good gotcha at the end of the film and even if you catch-on its still allot of fun.
Tom S

Welles oversells it a little bit, but still pretty fun.
Emily B

The last film from Orson Welles and a great one it is too. It started off as just a made for TV documentary filmed by François Reichenbach about the art forger Elmyr de Hory. But when it was discovered that de Hory's biographer, Clifford Irving, was doing some faking off his… More
The last film from Orson Welles and a great one it is too. It started off as just a made for TV documentary filmed by François Reichenbach about the art forger Elmyr de Hory. But when it was discovered that de Hory's biographer, Clifford Irving, was doing some faking off his own Welles completed some more filming of his own and made F for Fake what it is today. The editing in it is a joy to watch. Overall, entertaining and intriguing.