DVD Review: An abridged history of Orson Welles

Orson Welles would have celebrated his 100th birthday a few weeks ago, and — since he is not surprisingly not around to do so himself — his centennial is being marked by tributes from fans and filmmakers. Among these is “Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles,” a first-rate — if necessarily sketchy — 90-minute documentary from Chuck Workman, who is best known for the 20 or so historical compilations he has assembled for the Oscars broadcast.

Workman is a master of compression — each of his Oscar shorts is under 10 minutes — and he does as well as one can imagine in whipping through the story of a complex and eventful life. There have been numerous previous film surveys of Welles — Welles’ own “F for Fake” can be considered among them — so Workman gives less coverage to the best known episodes (like the making of “Citizen Kane”) than to unfinished projects and theater work.

The film includes interviews with critics (Jonathan Rosenbaum and Elvis Mitchell, among others), collaborators (including Norman Lloyd and Robert Wise), and indie film acolytes like Richard Linklater. More importantly, it includes tantalizing snippets from several unfinished projects — “Don Quixote,” “The Deep,” even the previously lost teenage work “Hearts of Age.”

Because of its focus, this may not be the best introduction to Welles — Workman even gives away the “punch line” to “F for Fake” — but it’s a delight for those who already know the basic outline of his life.

The only extras are a trailer and 10 minutes of historian Annette Insdorf interviewing Workman.
Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles (Cohen Media Group, Blu-ray, $34.98; DVD, $24.98)

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ANDY KLEIN is the film critic for Marquee. He can also be heard on “FilmWeek” on KPCC-FM (89.3).