It's All True (1993)
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81% of critics liked it
(21 reviews) -
56% of users liked it
(759 ratings)
Both a documentary and a unique exercise in film restoration, It's All True tells the complex story of Orson Welles' ill-fated attempts to make an anthology film about the life and culture of South America and concludes with a reconstruction of one of Welles' unfinished segments, edited… More Both a documentary and a unique exercise in film restoration, It's All True tells the complex story of Orson Welles' ill-fated attempts to make an anthology film about the life and culture of South America and concludes with a reconstruction of one of Welles' unfinished segments, edited together from rediscovered original footage. The idea for Welles' South American project was conceived by the American government as a sort of cultural exchange to improve relations with Latin America. Using interviews and period footage, the filmmakers relate how the project quickly turned sour, as both the Brazilian government and RKO studio executives objected to Welles early footage; indeed, thanks to a local witch doctor, the film could literally be said to be cursed. Although Welles persevered, RKO eventually withdrew support from the project. The failures of It's All True and The Magnificent Ambersons, which was damaged by studio cuts made while Welles was overseas, are thought by many to have irreparably damaged the director's Hollywood career. It's All True concludes with a partial reconstruction of the "Four Men on a Raft" segment, in which Welles tells the true story of a dramatic, thousand-mile raft journey by four Brazilian peasants. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
- Directed By
- Bill Krohn, Myron Meisel
- Genres
- Documentary, Television, Special Interest
G,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1993 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Anthony Lane, New Yorker
It would never have been one of [Welles'] major works, but the swiftness and urgency with which the tale is told, and the potent composition of even the most simple scenes, reveal the touch of the master.
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Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Welles had intended to narrate the section himself, but the writers and directors of this documentary have wisely opted not to second-guess Welles, simply presenting the material as it stands and adding music and sound effects.
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Geoff Andrew, Time Out
What little there was (some Rio carnival footage, scenes from the fishing story Four Men on a Raft) looked stunning. In this documentary, happily, there's much more to show.
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Vincent Canby, New York Times
This documentary is a long, seductive footnote to a cinema legend.
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Desson Thomson, Washington Post
The late Welles obviously had nothing to do with this new project. But you can feel his ambitious, quixotic intentions lurking in there somewhere.
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Cast
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Miguel Ferrer
as Narrator
- Joseph Biroc
- Orson Welles
- Richard Wilson
- Edmar Morel
- Elizabeth Wilson
- Grande Othelo
- Pery Ribeiro
- Joachim Olimpio Meira
- Maria do Carlo de Souza
- Francisca Moreira da Silva
- Jeronimo André De Souza
- Jose Sobrinho
- Manuel 'Jacare' Olimpio Meira
- Manuel 'Preto' Pereira Da Silva
- Raimundo 'Tata' Correia Lima
