F for Fake (1974)
90%RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins
F for Fake playfully poses intriguing questions while proving that even Orson Welles’ minor works contain their share of masterful moments.
F For Fake is like a magician’s trick – you’re not quite sure how it’s done, but you’re thoroughly entertained nonetheless. Orson Welles weaves together documentary footage and his own musings on art, truth, and illusion to create a film that’s both thought-provoking and fun. It’s a testament to Welles’ creativity and wit that he can take seemingly disparate elements and turn them into a cohesive whole. Whether you’re a fan of Welles or just looking for something a little different, F For Fake is definitely worth a watch.
Production Company(ies)
Jalem Productions,
Distributor
Criterion Collection
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Paris, France
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1975
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.66 : 1
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Runtime:1h 28m
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Language(s):English, French, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jan 30, 1976 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 26, 2005
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
F for Fake, Orson Welles, documentary, fraud, art, Picasso, Matisse, Howard Hughes, autobiography, Elmyr de Hory, Clifford Irving, truth, illusion, creativity, authenticity, value, film essay, French director, François Reichenbach, cinematographer, hoax, trailer, box office, budget, PG rating, reviewed by Roger Ebert, Gary Arnold, Wendy Ide, Tom Huddleston, Richard Brody, Kevin Thomas, Gérard Legrand, A.S Hamrah, Clancy Sigel, Kevin Harley, Emma Simmonds, Simon Foster, directed by Orson Welles, written by Orson Welles, Oja Kodar, produced by Dominique Antoine, starring Orson Welles, Oja Kodar, Joseph Cotten, Francois Reichenbach, Richard Wilson, Paul Stewart, Criterion Collection
Worldwide gross: $10,206
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $61,410
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 3,071
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 6,697
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Oja Kodar – The Girl
Joseph Cotten – Special Participant
Francois Reichenbach – Special Participant
Richard Wilson – Special Participant
Paul Stewart – Special Participant
Director(s)
Orson Welles
Writer(s)
Orson Welles, Oja Kodar
Producer(s)
Dominique Antoine
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 wins
Academy Awards
All Critics (51) | Top Critics (19) | Fresh (45) | Rotten (6)
F For Fake is minor Welles, the master idly tuning his instrument while the concert seems never to start again. But it’s engaging and fun, and it’s astonishing how easily Welles spins a movie out of next to nothing.
October 11, 2015 | Rating: 3/4
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
TOP CRITIC
The result is a curious, unsatisfactory pastiche of documentary tidbits acquired from Reichenbach and speculative filler supplied by Welles himself.
October 11, 2015
Gary Arnold
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
The last film to be completed by Orson Welles is also probably his most challenging. A tricksy combination of documentary, discourse and sleight of hand, F for Fake is as elusive as it is playful.
October 11, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
Wendy Ide
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
For all its nods, winks and witty asides, it’s a richly personal work, picking over the questions every creative artist must eventually ask: Am I ‘for real’? Does it matter? And what is all this work worth, anyway?
October 11, 2015 | Rating: 5/5
Tom Huddleston
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
F for Fake is as grand, multitudinous, and original as Welles himself.
October 11, 2015
Richard Brody
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
Welles stretches his material and his legend just about as thin as possible in this tedious treatise on truth and illusion.
October 11, 2015
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
In F for Fake, the creation of illusion completely overtakes the craving for power. Hence the exceptional euphoria generated by the film.
May 4, 2022
Gérard Legrand
Positif
Did Welles write those marvelous lines about reality himself? He must have.
November 29, 2018
A.S. Hamrah
n+1
I enjoyed every dubious minute of this bit of hanky-panky.
October 11, 2015
Clancy Sigel
The Spectator
A mischievous mash of mock-doc, magic show, lecture and comedy.
October 11, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
Kevin Harley
Total Film
If Citizen Kane is testament to a young man’s genius then F For Fake is testament to a veteran’s rebellious spirit and wicked sense of humour.
October 11, 2015 | Rating: 5/5
Emma Simmonds
The Arts Desk
A buoyant, delightfully playful Orson Welles exposes the artifice of film in his 1975 head scratcher, F For Fake.
October 11, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
Simon Foster
sbs.com.au…
Plot
Orson Welles’ final film explores the lives of infamous fakers Elmyr de Hory and Clifford Irving, examining the fundamental elements of fraud and the people who commit fraud at the expense of others.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Orson Welles not only directed and co-wrote F for Fake, but also starred in it as the film’s host.
Orson-Welles.jpg
