Arts & Culture
F is for Fake: Welles Explores Truth in Deception
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By NICK SWAN
Orson Welles’ documentary F is for Fake is as much an exploration of one filmmaker’s idiosyncratic technique, as it is a philosophical debate about authenticity and expertise. Released in 1974, F is for Fake is Orson Welles’ last completed film — the culmination of an extensive and acclaimed career in artistic media.The beginning of Welles’ work actually existed not in film, but rather in theatre and radio. In 1937, Welles wrote a modern adaptation of and starred in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Although it premiered in an independent theatre, Caesar was soon moved to Broadway, where it ran until 1941. Welles burst onto the radio platform when, in 1938, he delivered the infamous “War of the Worlds” broadcast.