Ctrl+K
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio. Noted for his innovative dramatic productions as well as his distinctive voice and personality, Welles is widely acknowledged as one of the most accomplished dramatic artists of the twentieth century, especially for his significant and influential early work—despite his notoriously contentious relationship with Hollywood. His distinctive directorial style featured layered, nonlinear narrative forms, innovative uses of lighting such as chiaroscuro, unique camera angles, sound techniques borrowed from radio, deep focus shots, and long takes. Welles's long career in film is noted for his struggle for artistic control in the face of pressure from studios. Many of his films were heavily edited and others left unreleased. He has been praised as a major creative force and as "the ultimate auteur." After directing a number of high-profile theatrical productions in his early twenties, including an innovative adaptation of Macbeth and The Cradle Will Rock, Welles found national and international fame as the director and narrator of a 1938 radio adaptation of H. G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds performed for the radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was reported to have caused widespread panic when listeners thought that an invasion by extraterrestrial beings was occurring. Although these reports of panic were mostly false and overstated, they rocketed Welles to instant notoriety. Citizen Kane (1941), his first film with RKO, in which he starred in the role of Charles Foster Kane, is often considered the greatest film ever made. Several of his other films, including The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), The Lady from Shanghai (1947), Touch of Evil (1958), Chimes at Midnight (1965), and F for Fake (1974), are also widely considered to be masterpieces. In 2002, he was voted the greatest film director of all time in two separate British Film Institute polls among directors and critics, and a wide survey of critical consensus, best-of lists, and historical retrospectives calls him the most acclaimed director of all time. Andrew Sarris in his influential book of film criticism The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1968 included him in the "pantheon" of the 14 greatest film directors who had worked in the United States. Well known for his baritone voice, Welles was also an extremely well regarded actor and was voted number 16 in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars list of the greatest American film actors of all time. He was also a celebrated Shakespearean stage actor and an accomplished magician, starring in troop variety shows in the war years.
as Self (archive footage)
as narrator
as Self (archival)
as Self / The Director / Sir John Falstaff (archive footage) (uncredited)
as Troy2000 (Archive footage)
as Narrator "The Scorpion and the Frog" (archive footage)
as Narrator (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Radio Host (voice) (archival footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self (voiceover)
as General Zaroff (voice)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Himself (Archive Footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self
as Self (archive footage)
as (archive footage)
as Journalist (uncredited)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self - Filmmaker / Various Roles (archive footage)
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
as Professor Richard Pierson / Self (voice) (archive sound)
as Self (archive footage) (voice)
as Self
as Self - Filmmaker / Various Roles (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Keystone Kop (uncredited)
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as (archive footage)
as Elephant Lamp (archive sound)
as Genghis Khan / Bayan (archive footage)
as Himself
as (archive footage 1982)
as Self (archive)
as Russ Brewer
as Self (archive footage)
as (Self)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Ronald Adams
as Self (archive sound)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self
as Self (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
as Self (Archive footage)
as Narrator
as Self (Archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Captain Ahab / Starbuck / Ishmael (archive footage)
as Presenter / Various
as Self - Roaster (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self
as Himself (Archive Footage)
as Self
as Self (archive footage)
as Self - Professor in War of the Worlds Broadcast (archive sound)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Orson Welles
as Danny's Friend
as Himself
as Himself (archive footage)
as Unicron (voice)
as Self (archive footage)
as Marcus Kleek
as Self
as Narrator
as Self
as Himself
as himself
as Klingsor
as Mr. Cato
as Magician (uncredited)
as Narrator
as Self - Narrator
as Sheriff Paisley
as Aliens' Father (voice) (uncredited)
as Richard Wagner (voice)
as Self
as Self - Narrator
as Narrator (voice)
as Self
as Self - Special Guest
as Judge Rauch
as Self
as Self - Host
as Narrator
as Narrator
as Self (archive footage)
as Self - Host
as Narrator (voice)
as Presenter / Narrator (voice)
as Narrator
as J.P. Morgan
as English Narrator
as Narrator (voice)
as Narrator
as Narrator (voice)
as Host
as Lew Lord
as Narrator (voice)
as Self
as Narratore
as Self
as Narrator
as Henry F. Potter
as Narrator
as Himself (archive footage)
as Himself - Host
as Parklawn Mortuary (voice)
as Narrator
as Narrator
as José Estedes
as Self / Narrator
as Narrator (voice)
as Narrator (voice)
as Narrator
as Self (archive footage)
as Narrator
as Narrator / Nag / Chuchundra (voice)
as Host
as Narrator
as Voice on Tape
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
as Himself
as Host
as Narrator
as Self
as Winston Churchill
as Narrator
as Sheridan Whiteside
as Long John Silver
as Mr. Cato
as Mr. Delasandro
as Cassavius
as Narrator
as Théo Van Horn
as The Magician
as Narrator (voice)
as Narrator
as Narrator
as Narrator
as Louis XVIII
as Narrator
as Brigadier General Dreedle
as The Narrator
as Bresnavitch
as Michelangelo (voice)
as Narrator
as Shylock
as Narrator (voice)
as Shylock
as Markan
as Četnik
as Plankett
as Justinian
as Colonel Cascorro
as Narrator (voice)
as Justinian
as Charles Clay
as Leschenhaut
as Self - Narrator
as Self
as Tiresias
as Himself
as Jonathan Lute
as Narrator
as Self
as Le Chiffre
as Louis de Mozambique
as Narrator
as Cardinal Wolsey
as Konsul Nordling
as Himself
as Falstaff
as Self - Narrator (voice)
as Narrator- Self
as Akerman, Marco's Teacher
as Narrator
as Narrator (voice)
as Max Buda
as The 'Director' (segment "La ricotta")
as Narrator (English)
as Albert Hastler
as Benjamin Franklin
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
as Burundai
as Robert Fulton
as Storyteller
as Hagolin / Lamerciere
as Self (narrator)
as King Saul
as Narrator
as Captain Hart
as Jonathan Wilk
as Narrator (voice)
as Cy Sedgewick
as the narrator
as Self - Host
as Supplemental Narrator (voice)
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
as Will Varner
as Police Captain Hank Quinlan
as Virgil Renchler
as Self - Narrator
as Father Mapple
as Self - Narrator (voice)
as Himself
as Gregory Arkadin
as An Actor Manager /Father Mapple /Ahab
as Sir Hudson Lowe
as Lord Mountdrago ("Lord Mountdrago" segment)
as Sanin Cejador y Mengues
as Benjamin Franklin
as King Lear
as Captain Perella, the Beast
as Narrator
as Sigsbee Manderson
as Othello
as Self
as Bayan
as The Director
as Cesare Borgia
as Harry Lime
as Joseph Balsamo aka Count Cagliostro
as Macbeth
as Michael O'Hara
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
as Narrator
as Prof. Charles Rankin
as John Andrew MacDonald
as Narrator
as Orson Welles (uncredited)
as Narrator/Bob (helpful taxi passenger)
as Edward Rochester
as Self
as Colonel Haki
as Narrator (voice)
as Charles Foster Kane
as Opening Narrator (uncredited)
as Rajah/Narrator
as Narrator (voice)
as Death
as Narrator
as Narrator
