They'll Love Me When I'm Dead

I’ll watch anything with fat Orson talking.

It offers some interesting trivia here and there, but ultimately it doesn't amount to much more than a bunch of relatively pointless fits and starts.

Competent documentary about the making of The Other Side of The Wind is not particularly insightful or revealing, especially for Welles' fans, but some amusing anecdotes are given by various creative participants, and the archival footage is not without interest. The idea that Welles believed that a film as fragmentary and inaccessible as T.O.S.O.T.W would be his big comeback is unfortunately never addressed. It also treats his genius as matter-of-fact rather than something worth exploring.

Contextual addendum to THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND is an interesting overview of the production, as well as a broad overview of Welles' life, but never rises above a well-produced DVD extra. Extensive archival footage of Welles and John Huston are the chief attractions, as well as Bogdanovich's touching reminiscences of Welles.

good

More coherent--and ultimately, interesting--than the movie this doc is about, though it would absolutely be improved by cutting all of Alan Cumming's commentary. One does feel sympathy, and ultimately, pity, for the visionary, beleaguered, sometimes deluded, and frequently impossible Welles.

Gary Graver, Oja Kodar and Peter Bogdanovich are all worth watching and listening to as regards 'The Other Side of the Wind' and Welles the maverick. The rest of this documentary, apart from the various snippets of Orson of course, does not offer much. Alan Cumming is particularly annoying as the 'host' and narrator.

As an aspiring filmmaker, this documentary very influenced me. I will watch more Orson Welles pictures.

For me, outside of the archival footage, the best thing about this was it made me want to see TOSOTW again. I remain unconvinced by the offhand way the film dealt with the question of whether Welles wanted to finish it, Cumming's nod to failure at the end notwithstanding. There's also a melancholy here that suits the subject--not just the unfinished film, but the genius filmmaker and his struggle to live in a world that demanded things so different from his visions, or tricks, as he might say.

It's like Other Side of the Wind but real and a lot sadder. I never thought I'd feel genuinely bad about Orson Welles

A somewhat continuation of the writing style from the film itself, as Welles speaks like he writes. As dedicated as he is to the film's production, there's also the feeling that it's so unorthodox, he's feeling his way through the shadows and perhaps only making a semblance of a film than an entire one. It clearly shows the historical production issues and woes, though the doco A Final Cut for Orson expands on the film-geeky technical details.

Mostly just makes me want to watch The Other Side of the Wind. I thought there would be more about finishing the film.

hangover documentary

Get rid off each insert Alan Cumming commentary scene, and voilà, it's perfect!