The Merchant of Venice (partially found Orson Welles film; 1969)
Orson Welles in a still from the film.
Status: Partially Lost
The Merchant of Venice is an unreleased 1969 made-for-TV adaptation of the Shakespeare play of the same name produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles.[1] It co-starred Charles Gray and Irina Maleeva. The project was filmed in Italy and Yugoslavia during a break from another unfinished project, The Deep.
It was intended to have been aired as part of a 90-minute special called Orson's Bag. However, as the project was close to completion, CBS withdrew their funding due to Welles' tax disputes, forcing him to complete the project with his own money. After a screening of the film, the second and third reels of his workprint were stolen, leaving only the original negatives, which were silent.
The film has never been given a public release. All that has seen a public release are several clips from the documentary, Orson Welles: One Man Band. In 2015, Stefan Roessler made the announcement that a restoration of the film, running approximately 36 minutes, was being reconstructed through salvaged footage.[2]
Surviving Footage
References
- ↑ Wikipedia article. Retrieved 28 Mar '16.
- ↑ 2015 WellesNet article about the restoration. Retrieved 28 Mar '16.