Featured Audience Ratings

• Greg S

  
  Orson Welles' adaptation of Franz Kafka's absurdist story wherein Joseph K wakes up one day and finds he's being arrested, but no one will tell him what the charge is. Deeply layered, THE TRIAL is simultaneously an absurdist parody of legal bureaucracy, a prophetic… More
  Orson Welles' adaptation of Franz Kafka's absurdist story wherein Joseph K wakes up one day and finds he's being arrested, but no one will tell him what the charge is. Deeply layered, THE TRIAL is simultaneously an absurdist parody of legal bureaucracy, a prophetic warning of rising totalitarianism, and an existential allegory about a word whose Creator has condemned everyone to death. Welles proves the right man for the job, turning Kafka's labyrinths into a maze of shadows and light.

• Tim S

  
  A very strong and nightmarish piece from one of the masters of cinema, Orson Welles asks us to spend time with a man who is "put on trial" while on a road to self-recrimination and loss of sanity due to his own inner demons. It's a tough film to sort out and one must… More
  A very strong and nightmarish piece from one of the masters of cinema, Orson Welles asks us to spend time with a man who is "put on trial" while on a road to self-recrimination and loss of sanity due to his own inner demons. It's a tough film to sort out and one must pay close attention in order to understand what's going on. As a matter of fact, additional viewings may be required. Thankfully, the performances carry the film in its paranoiac downward spiral - making the dialogue really hop and move. Particularly from Perkins, who always seem to be rambling rather than speaking. With Welles' unorthodox camera angles and some extraordinary set design, the film is wonderfully engaging. It's obvious the influence it had on directors like David Lynch and Terry Gilliam (Brazil in particular).

• AJ V

  
  This movie is very confusing and strange, but also intellectual and compelling, I didn't know what to think of it. I loved Perkins, but the movie itself could be better, less confusing I mean.

• jay n

  
  Ponderous

• Stella D

  
  fantastic looking portrayal of josef k's nightmare but i'm not taken with perkins' performance. the rest of the cast is outstanding

• Pierluigi P

  
  Two geniuses, Kafka and Welles, give birth to the ultimate "individual vs. state" paranoid fantasy. A nightmarish and mesmerizing trip to the confines of human mind, in its desperate fight beyond hope, against the terrible and insatiable monster of totalitarianism. I, as a… More
  Two geniuses, Kafka and Welles, give birth to the ultimate "individual vs. state" paranoid fantasy. A nightmarish and mesmerizing trip to the confines of human mind, in its desperate fight beyond hope, against the terrible and insatiable monster of totalitarianism. I, as a law student, feel disgusted and yet fascinated by the bureaucratic chaos, so stylishly displayed by the baroque Orson Welles, and marvelously portrayed by Anthony Perkins. One of the highest points of cinema-literature marriage.

• Ken S

  
  One of the greatest achievements in film history. A dream like nightmare that has obviously influenced Scorsese, Terry Gilliam and David Lynch.

• Michael G

  
  Welles does an exemplory job of capturing the essence of Kafka's novel. A visual masterpiece.

• Daniel D

  
  Orson Welles, The Trial, is not at all a court room drama. It's a twisted dream like piece, in a poetic format. A film that's always on track, but that never makes sense. It's a study of human nature and us as a society. My favorite scene is when the protagonist Joseph,… More
  Orson Welles, The Trial, is not at all a court room drama. It's a twisted dream like piece, in a poetic format. A film that's always on track, but that never makes sense. It's a study of human nature and us as a society. My favorite scene is when the protagonist Joseph, is being interrogated and asked almost as it it's obvious if he's victim of society. He responds in his highest form of confidence "I am a member of society". I think this isn't said at all anymore, everyone must be an individual and no one ever admits of being a contributing member of society. The basic outline of the story is Joseph is "arrested" with not charge, he then goes through an insane legal process. Comparable to the U.S. justice system in a way. This is my second favorite Orson Welles piece, after Touch Of Evil. The director believed this was his most accomplished film despite the critics early hatred. I could certianly see why this would be viewed as his strongest. In adapting Franz Kafka, it always feels made for cinema. He once again uses shadows and beautiful cinematic shots. With bizarre imagery of elderly waiting for a court ruling that'' never come, or a group of what we can assume are prisoners standing in the cold with nothing but rags. I can't complain to say understood all the metaphors, but I connected with the drift of ideas. Oliver who's played by Anthony Peck, still has Norman Bates characteristics. The queer like awkward man always feels nervous and uncomfortable. He strokes his hands along walls when he walks, and runs away from an awkward situation. He starts standing up for himself later on but is always much so of a coward. He critiques the others who are hopelessly waiting for there court result shouting "you don't see me doing it" while sub consciously trapping himself. A scene that demonstrates a kind of serfdom to the lawyers, is when we see a elderly pathetic man pleading to his. On his knees and kissing his hands only to be shunned away. Oliver looks in disgust and pity, but the man will do anything to here a word about his case. It's a disturbing scene and the one that can describe the movie the best, other than prologue. In conclusion this film is mesmerizing. It's a nightmare, with no true logic, but actual ideas. Similar to Kubricks, Eyes Wide Shut, an exposure to the inside of the system. Orson Welles narrates the closing credits, almost as a dog pees on his land, I think this his way of separating from the Kafka novel and claiming as a personal piece.

• Gevvy S

  
  Mesmerizing film by Welles. A great example of storytelling visually. The cinematography is excellent in it's claustrophobic effect and its experimentation. Never a dull moment, but definitely a hard film to pin down, it all depends on how it translates as an adaptation of Kafka… More
  Mesmerizing film by Welles. A great example of storytelling visually. The cinematography is excellent in it's claustrophobic effect and its experimentation. Never a dull moment, but definitely a hard film to pin down, it all depends on how it translates as an adaptation of Kafka (who I haven't read) and of it's impact on the viewer. Definitely worth a watch.

• Mike T

  
  Possibly the strangest work that Orson Welles ever did as a director, The Trial also boasts some of the most awe-striking sets and memorable images in his filmography. A jagged, dizzying portrait of a nightmare, it glows with Welles' brilliance in every scene. This film is an… More
  Possibly the strangest work that Orson Welles ever did as a director, The Trial also boasts some of the most awe-striking sets and memorable images in his filmography. A jagged, dizzying portrait of a nightmare, it glows with Welles' brilliance in every scene. This film is an ideal canvas for his dramatic, stylish sensibility. A well-cast Anthony Perkins turns in a very good performance; he appears to constantly be on the edge, twitching and babbling like someone whose sanity might be slipping. Jeanne Moreau, Romy Schneider and Elsa Martinelli are all great, playing beautiful seductresses who are somehow both ominous and magnetic.

• Edward S

  
  Orson Welles's "Le Proces" is simply baffling. Visually it is beyond exceptional; it's as if a Felliniesque dream has been twisted and turned into a baroque, austere, industrial, bureaucratic neonoir nightmare. This film's mise-en-scene is, dare I say, some of… More
  Orson Welles's "Le Proces" is simply baffling. Visually it is beyond exceptional; it's as if a Felliniesque dream has been twisted and turned into a baroque, austere, industrial, bureaucratic neonoir nightmare. This film's mise-en-scene is, dare I say, some of the finest and most daunting in cinema. Welles creates spatial magic with his exuberant sets, character placement (he even seems to play with their shadows,) and endlessly impressive cinematography. Therefore, I was shocked when I found, somewhere along the end of the 2nd to the whole 3rd act, myself to be terribly, aggravatingly bored. As the film progresses and Perkins, who's excellent in this film, aimlessly navigates the labyrinth sets, the dialogue increases in both inanity and quantity. Eventually every word of dialogue spoken is as interesting as a 86-hour debate on C-Span. As another femme fatale or minor character is introduced, you eventually stop caring as Perkins interrogates yet another heavily accented man, whose voice sounds like a book recording to the echoing, about.... something. The sets themselves also get claustrophobic and convoluted, to a point where even the steady camera gives the droll feeling of a play. Occasionally the confusion and chaos is interrupted by another fantastically surreal set piece or by first-rate editing, but by then the only feeling produced is frustration. On the other hand, perhaps this is where the genius of the film comes from. As the viewer hopelessly tries to piece together a sense of meaning or direction from the screenplay and whatnot, only more paranoia, anger, and confusion is provoked. Perhaps the Kafkaesque film has done its job so well that, instead of us observing and being entertained by the events onscreen, we have literally been sucked into the film itself. Usually I can tell when I've seen a great, enriching movie. "The Trial" may be one of them. A multiple viewing, where one can feel less overwhelmed by the layers and layers of innovative visuals and dense screenplay hammering their senses, is imperative for appreciating this existentialist, anti-authoritarian, thriller comedy mystery.... thing.

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