Best Orson Welles Movies — His 13 Directed Films Ranked

The Lady From Shanghai is most well-known for its elaborate “funhouse mirrors” scene at the end. But is that iconic scene all that’s good about it? Well, yes and no. If you’ve ever wanted to see Orson Welles give his best shot at an Irish accent, then The Lady From Shanghai is your chance.

Welles co-starred in the film with his second wife Rita Hayworth and both gave excellent performances — but if you’re looking for Welles at the top of his directorial game, you won’t find it consistently in The Lady From Shanghai.

Orson Welles’ The Immortal Story is a strange feature film — the original cut was only 48 minutes long and it was produced for French television. It wasn’t until 2016 that the film was refined and expanded with the Criterion edit.

The middle part of Welles’ career was dogged by production hurdles and lack of financing, which was certainly evident by The Immortal Story — which was supposed to be the first part of a double feature based on Karen Blixen stories — but the second part never came to fruition.

Orson Welles Movie List

11. Chimes at Midnight (1965)

“Shakespeare said everything. Brain to belly; every mood and minute of a man’s season. His language is starlight and fireflies and the sun and moon. He wrote it with tears and blood and beer, and his words march like heartbeats,” Orson Welles said in the foreword to Everybody’s Shakespeare.

Much has been said about Welles love of Shakespeare — and there’s no denying that the two men share considerable similarities. With Chimes at Midnight, Welles built a story based on the classic Shakespeare character Sir John Falstaff, and succeeded due to some sharp writing, great performances, and an unforgettable soundtrack.

Over the course of his career on Broadway and in Hollywood, Welles played the leading man in just about every Shakespeare play. But as a director, Welles only made two feature-length “direct” Shakespeare adaptations: Othello and Macbeth.

Othello had an arduous shoot that lasted more than three years. The Producers ran out of money, which forced Welles to fund the project through to its completion. Although the film isn’t regarded as one of Welles’ best, it’s considered a treatise on how to use chiaroscuro lighting.

Full List Orson Welles Movies

8. F for Fake (1973)

Is it possible to be original? How do we determine whether something is good or bad? Why do we attribute value by “expert” opinion? These are the questions at the heart of F for Fake — a 90 minute essay film that explores forgers of the most clinical kind.

F for Fake simultaneously finds Welles at his most unrestrained and self-indulgent. I’d argue that Welles was nearly more infatuated with star Oja Kodar than he was with the film itself.

Orson Welles adaptation of Booth Tarkington’s novel The Magnificent Ambersons is a brilliant film. I’d venture to say that if the film’s production hadn’t been so mired in controversy, it would probably be considered a classic.

Over the course of shooting The Magnificent Ambersons, Welles fell out of favor with RKO. When the film went to Post-Production, he struggled to retain control of the editing process. Tragically, Welles' cut of the movie was destroyed and it’s widely believed that all additional footage beyond the released version is lost to history. Still, the RKO cut is very good, even if it does shy away from a more sinister ending.

Orson Welles had a penchant for appearing larger than life. This created a shadow that he could never escape. With Mr. Arkadin (1955), Welles found himself engulfed in this shadow more than ever.

There are more than four cuts of Mr. Arkadin because a ton of footage was lost/destroyed at various points in Post-Production. Just recently, the film was restored by Criterion with editing supervision done by Welles’ friend Peter Bogdanovich.

Best Orson Welles Movies of All-Time

4. Touch of Evil (1958)

Franz Kanfka was a writer who had a style so distinctive that his imposters and replicators — as well as the works they made — became known as “Kafkaesque.” At first glance, Welles may not seem like a Kafkaesque director, but upon further investigation, the similarities are definitely there.

Welles adapted Kafka’s iconic novel The Trial into a film in 1962, and although it didn’t receive widespread acclaim upon release, it has become more well-regarded in the decades since.

Orson Welles First Feature Film

1. Citizen Kane (1941)