Scenes from a Marriage is amazing throughout, but i don’t know how many times i could watch the 5 hour series, so i would at least recommend renting it.
Mr. Arkadin is one of Welles’ most engaging works, if viewed on its own terms, outside the stories that prevail about it. All 3 versions (even the “butchered” Confidential Report) are among the most “Wellesian” pictures of his career. Highly recommended.
Mr. Arkadin is one of Welles’ most engaging works, if viewed on its own terms, outside the stories that prevail about it. All 3 versions (even the “butchered” Confidential Report) are among the most “Wellesian” pictures of his career. Highly recommended.
Mr. Arkadin is one of Welles’ most engaging works, if viewed on its own terms, outside the stories that prevail about it. All 3 versions (even the “butchered” Confidential Report) are among the most “Wellesian” pictures of his career. Highly recommended.
Mr. Arkadin suffers from one of the worst leading performances of all time, especially considering the rest of the film which is relatively compelling. It’s a good picture, just not up to Welles’ standards thanks to the loathsome Bob Arden.
I own both of these and while I’m a huge fan of Mr. Arkadin (being a huge fan of Welles’ in general), I’m not a big defender of Scenes of a Marriage (even though I regard Bergman as one of the most important filmmakers who’ve ever lived). But yes, as others have mentioned, the Mr. Arkadin box set contains three versions (of which there are 5 or 6 in existence somewhere). When I first saw the film it was I think the “Corinth version”, which is a much inferior foreign (foreign to y’all Americans at least – before Dimitris beats me to it) version. Even owning the box set, I don’t watch that version and don’t see a reason why I ever would because the newer, comprehensive version is much more accurate to Welles’ original vision (as much as we know at least) and is indeed a better edited film in general.
But getting back to the question at hand: it depends on how much you enjoy the respective filmmakers. Mr. Arkadin is certainly one of Welles’ strongest works (though The Trial and Touch of Evil would rank higher in my book – they do have similarities to Mr. Arkadin, most prevalent of all is the noir aspect) and it also has ties with The Third Man, so there’s similarities in tone between both of those.
Scenes from a Marriage (I realize I’ve practically ignored this one throughout my post) is highly regarded by everyone it seems as one of Bergman’s best. And indeed it isn’t a bad film at all, nor is it one of Bergman’s lesser films. It’s a strong, solid film with a very simple stage-like setup written in the typical Bergman style. It’s a work very consistent with his later work (reminding me of a smaller scope version of Fanny and Alexander), but it’s also extremely long. It really depends on your watching moods.
If you’re one to bask in the light of a “new” Bergman film (as I was when I first saw it some years ago) then you probably won’t mind the apparent lack of an editor. There are scenes that go on for extended periods of time unnecessarily throughout the film (and even more so in the TV version – which is not a preferred version of mine), but the actors are of course entirely capable of carrying it. The script is well-written (as one would expect from Bergman) and really probes into the relationship of the couple as only Bergman can. So, it’s not a film that I would’ve bought before seeing it, but it is a worthy addition if you’re a fan of Bergman. For instance, it’s not one that I recommend to someone new to Bergman (in fact it would severely put them off as an introduction), but for those used to Bergman’s style, it is an excessive (by Bergman’s standards – there’s no explosions or orgies of death, it’s more emotionally excessive) but worthwhile film.
Jay, both films are worth owning. I would lean towards SfaM for now.
While Scenes from a Marriage might not be as Bermanesque as one would expect, it is a great film.
Ramin Bahrani has this to say about the film, also find it here on his top 10 list
A great first-date movie! Well . . . perhaps not. I have never seen a more truthful and honest account of human relationships. Shockingly simple in its creation, once again proving how hard it is to be simple and how it is usually much more profound. Bergman keeps cutting away to reveal more, not less. He has done the difficult and dirty work for us. Watch and accept the truth about our relationships, and then, like all of mankind, try to avoid your fate.
“Scenes From a Marriage” has not aged one bit. Seriously. I was shocked that I could be so compelled and interested off of pretty much 99% dialogue. It’s honestly my #2 favorite thing Bergman has ever done. To me, it’s one of his most emotionally raw projects. IMO, it’s more akin to Cassavetes “Faces” than “The Seventh Seal”. Definitely recommended.
“Mr. Arkadin” was pretty good. It’s not Welle’s best but I was entertained throughout the whole movie. I would try to get it for cheap though, if you buy it brand new you might be underwhelmed from the price (since it’s a pretty big box set)
>>Mr. Arkadin suffers from one of the worst leading performances of all time, especially considering the rest of the film which is relatively compelling. It’s a good picture, just not up to Welles’ standards thanks to the loathsome Bob Arden.<<
I just watch ARKADIN with the assumption that the charcter is supposed to be loathsome & Arden works OK for me. Not inspired, but OK.
I’ve been taken with ARKADIN for a long time, even from when I first saw it in the butchered version, watching it bleary-eyed on TV in the wee hours of the morning (back in the days when one was at the mercy of whatever the TV stations decided to play). It doesn’t strike me as minor Welles – but then I’m of the opinion that there is probably no such thing.
Jay Leighty
Scenes from a Marriage, Mr. Arkadin. I love Bergman but I’m wondering, does this 5 hour miniseries remain gripping throughout? I love Welles but I’m wondering where this ranks with some of his other work. Is it comparable to The Stranger or The Trial if not to Kane and Touch of Evil? Any thoughts on either film would be appreciated.