Howard Orr
11Feb12
They didn't lose it -they destroyed it. :(
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Kian Ross
18Mar12
I think that the running time on this page is a little hopeful rather than accurate.
Harry Rossi and Ian like this
cinepheel
17Mar12
This would have been perfect if it wasn't for the last scene which seemed falsely propitiative. Despite RKO's unforgiving editing it remains a masterpiece. One can't even imagine how great the Welles cut must have been.
Ian likes this
Hector Camero
29Jan12
As Quinton said, Style over substance. The good thing about Welles is the way he knows how to substitute the literary stuff with the cinematographic one. I knowWelles disliked to shot "easy" elements, such as deaths, accidents, sex; so I didn't actually felt bad when George had an accident and we didn't "saw" it, since the peaceful yet conclusive scene next, at the hospital fit pretty well.
Ross Patterson
8Jan12
Wanted to watch again straight after it finished. Will never forgive RKO for losing all the lost footage.
AKFilmFan
26Oct11
A hundred years from now or in an alternate reality the original version will be found. Until then we have a pretty good movie that, like The Leopard, shows the downfall of aristocracy in a sad sort of way.
Howard Orr and Black Irish like this
Mark_Med
20Oct11
I think I enjoy this movie more than Citizen Kane. The visuals are baroque and the sequences featuring Joseph Cotton and Agnes Moorehead are amazing. I would love to see the unedited version if it still existed....too bad the studio chopped it to pieces.
Howard Orr likes this
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Howard Orr
25Dec11
Selznick offered to buy the original print from RKO and put it in the MoMA. RKO refused and destroyed the negative. Fuckers.
Knut Morte
11Oct11
"They promised me when I went to South America, they would send a movieola and cutters to me and that I would finish the cutting of Ambersons there, they never did, they cut it themselves, so they destroyed Ambersons, and the picture itself destroyed me"
Robin Whenary
1Oct11
If only Welles' version still existed - it's an incredible enough film as it is, but his cut must have been even better.
Bobby Wise
21Sep11
What a beautiful presentation in this new DVD release. Did anyone notice the hilarious intertextual reference to "Citizen Kane"? Watch very closely and pay attention to Joseph Cotten...
Matthew_Lucas
10Sep11
A tingle runs down the spine when one is in the presence of great cinema. THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, Orson Welles' follow-up to CITIZEN KANE, is filled with such moments, even in its truncated studio version. A grim portrait of an aristocratic family in decline at the turn of the century, Welles uses his arsenal of whip smart writing and innovative cinematography to deliver something of a lost masterpiece.
Ryan M.
8Sep11
I saw the 88 minute cut and thought that thematically it was sort of a mess. On the other hand, it was very sound from a technical standpoint. Some wonderfully shot dialog sequences with long takes contrasted by lengthy static shots come to mind. This film explores very creative methods in lighting each scene, helping alter mood and establish an aesthetic footprint in the cinematic world.
Lefteris Becerra
1Jul11
realmente para lamentar que la rko destruyera la película de welles. un capítulo mayor del martirologio cinematográfico
Bobby Wise and 2 others like this
David Huxley
10Jun11
Firmly in my Top Five All-Time Favorite Movies. RKO destroyed Orson Welles' original version, a loss for which I mourn, but what remains is truly a wonder. Not as innovative as "Citizen Kane", but twice as enjoyable to watch. The Amberson mansion is as much a character as the human actors, especially as seen through the extraordinary B&W cinematography of Stanley Cortez.
Vahid Mortazavi
26Aug10
Anybody knows why there isn't any DVD release of " The Magnificent Ambersons" (1942) in USA? Isn't it weird that one of the important features of Orson Welles has been encountered with such a situation?
John Chiafos
13Jul10
My favorite Welles. I liked it better than Citizen Kane--I can't say why, it just hit me.
Jorge Negrete
28Apr10
"EJERCICIOS EN TÉCNICA CINEMATOGRÁFICA" LECCIONES EN "PROFUNDIDAD DE CAMPO".- CLASE 1. IMPARTE: WELLES, ORSON. fuera de eso, ni le busquen. quiza se salva el score de Bernard Herrmann. Pero las actuaciones, así como la película, es bastante olvidable.
Josef K.
22Apr10
At times i was a bit underwhelmed although i really didn't know what to expect, this film as very up and down. it always seemed like, just as the film was hitting a stride, it's feet were cut from under it. Which, after reading about the history of this film, makes perfect sense. regardless...it is a Welles' film, and really, can it be bad? i have been wanting to see this film for close to 10 years and thankfully i was able to record it on TCM. unfortunately and stupidly i deleted this after watching, not sure why. well, at least once in my life i was able to see The Magnificent Ambersons
David Churbuck
9Mar10
Agnes Moorehead is amazing as the spinster aunt, but as with any Orson Welles film, Orson Welles is the star here, lighting and setting interiors like no other, establishing shot set ups using mirrors, profiles, and sharp shadowed angles. As a period piece, and taken with the flashbacks of Citizen Kane, it reveals Welles' sentimentality for a pre-auto America. A great one based on the Booth Tarkington Novel.
Neil Bahadur
2Aug09
Astonishing how it was re-cut against Welles wishes AND given a rediculous ending and its still an absolute masterpiece.
DT likes this
Eric Osborn
15Jun09
It's ridiculous to think that a year after being given full control over Citizen Kane (and creating a masterpiece), the studio restricted Welles with this film. And yet there's still a lot of brilliant scenes and moments here, due in large part to the tone Welles used. Cotten is as good (and Baxter as beautiful) as ever, and the closing credits are a great touch.