Mr. Arkadin (1955)
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Synopsis: A dying man's final words send two people to Gregory Arkadin (Orson Welles), a mysterious and much-feared billionaire who lives on a Xanadu-like castle. In Welles's noirish MR. ARKADIN, Robert Arden stars as Guy Van Stratten, an adventurer and fortune hunter who is interested in Arkadin's... A dying man's final words send two people to Gregory Arkadin (Orson Welles), a mysterious and much-feared billionaire who lives on a Xanadu-like castle. In Welles's noirish MR. ARKADIN, Robert Arden stars as Guy Van Stratten, an adventurer and fortune hunter who is interested in Arkadin's money--and his daughter, Raina (Paolo Mori). Arkadin, overprotective of his daughter, has his "secretaries" prepare a damaging dossier on Van Stratten--entitled "Confidential Report." But Arkadin then makes a deal with Van Stratten--he will pay the young man for preparing a similar file on him, for Mr. Arkadin says he remembers nothing about his past and does not know where he came from. Even his name is a mystery. Van Stratten's search for the truth about Arkadin's past--which takes him throughout Europe and to Mexico and features encounters with a variety of fabulously colorful characters--is highly reminiscent of Thompson's search for Rosebud in CITIZEN KANE. Shot in black and white, filled with elegant, cosmopolitan party scenes, and extraordinary close-ups, MR. ARKADIN is a visually stunning film. The camera angles and movement, the exotic sets, the playful music, and the quick cuts--as well as the extremely entertaining and metaphorical stories that Arkadin tells--all help make MR. ARKADIN a sublime treat. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Orson Welles, Robert Arden, Michael Redgrave, Patricia Medina, Paola Mori
DVD Info
Release:
Apr 18, 2006
DVD Features:
- 3-Disc Set
- Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
- Dolby Digital Mono - English
Additional Release Material:
- Bonus Feature - 1. 3 Different Versions of MR. ARKADIN
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Reviews
Arkadin is a rotter from the start; we couldn't care less about his life or death.
While the plot sometimes seems too fragmented for its own good, Welles' consistently inventive imagery nevertheless ensures that the action remains thoroughly engrossing.
This is a brilliant disaster... some of the highest class trash you'll ever get to see.
the film suffers not from Welles' absence but rather from any reason for us to care about Arkadin
A film, which, for all its strangeness, is seldom less than brilliant.
A spectacular film, a complete and total Orson Welles film with his unique fingerprints all over it. I wouldn't swap it for a dozen other films.
This is a sprawling complex mystery that, while it's sometimes too tangled for its own good, has an absorbing central story.
For all of the film's perversity, there is greatness in it -- a greatness harshly criticizing itself.


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