Unfinished Orson Welles Project Getting a Second Look

The Film Archive is set to reveal footage from Orson Welles’ long-incomplete project, which he labored over for many years.

Teams from Spain, France, Italy, and Germany have joined forces to help restore the work that Welles started back in 1957.

Welles’ passing in 1985 at the age of 70 prevented him from completing over three decades of effort.

Starting in Mexico during the 1950s, Welles continued to edit and rearrange scenes into the 1960s. Reportedly, this footage represents his attempt to bring to life the 17th-century classic, Don Quixote, a book that’s sold around 500 million copies.

Even with the loss of several key actors, Welles pushed on with the project in 1972, experimenting with color footage to create something quite unique.

While it’s believed that the film was mostly complete by 1982, Welles’ death effectively halted its finalization.

Now, reconstruction efforts are underway with support from various European film archives, guided by writer and director Esteve Liambault, who will edit and direct the release.

Additionally, there’s been a two-year campaign from Spanish advocates aimed at securing approval to access the footage.

A substantial film reel will be compiled, incorporating elements from Oja Kodar, Welles’ partner at his time of death. Notably, some negatives related to Don Quixote were obtained in 2017 and stretch up to 50,000 meters of film.

France’s Cinémathèque Française has stated it will provide 80 minutes of 35mm film that allegedly screened at the Cannes Film Festival during the mid-1980s.

In the meantime, Spain’s Filmoteca Española holds a considerable amount of 16mm film gathered in 1991 and has rights for cultural and research purposes.

It seems the plan is to create three versions of the film for non-commercial screenings at festivals and archives, though the exact details remain a bit unclear.