Orson Welles

George Orson Welles (6 Mei 1915 – 10 Oktober 1985) adalah seorang sutradara, aktor, sutradara teater, penulis skenario, dan produser Amerika, yang banyak bekerja di film, teater, televisi, dan radio. Terkenal karena produksi dramatisnya yang inovatif serta suara dan kepribadiannya yang khas, Welles diakui secara luas sebagai salah satu seniman drama paling berprestasi di abad ke-20, terutama karena karya awalnya yang signifikan dan berpengaruh—walaupun hubungannya dengan Hollywood terkenal kontroversial. Gaya penyutradaraannya yang khas menampilkan bentuk narasi nonlinier yang berlapis, penggunaan pencahayaan yang inovatif seperti chiaroscuro, sudut kamera yang unik, teknik suara yang dipinjam dari radio, pengambilan gambar dengan fokus yang dalam, dan pengambilan gambar yang lama. Karir panjang Welles di dunia film terkenal karena perjuangannya untuk mendapatkan kendali artistik dalam menghadapi tekanan dari studio. Banyak filmnya yang banyak diedit dan ada pula yang belum dirilis. Dia telah dipuji sebagai kekuatan kreatif utama dan sebagai "penulis terhebat". Setelah mengarahkan sejumlah produksi teater terkenal di awal usia dua puluhan, termasuk adaptasi inovatif dari Macbeth dan The Cradle Will Rock, Welles mendapatkan ketenaran nasional dan internasional sebagai sutradara dan narator dari adaptasi radio tahun 1938 dari novel H. G. Wells The War of the Worlds yang ditampilkan untuk serial antologi drama radio Mercury Theatre on the Air. Dilaporkan telah menyebabkan kepanikan yang meluas ketika pendengar mengira sedang terjadi invasi makhluk luar angkasa. Meskipun laporan kepanikan ini sebagian besar salah dan dibesar-besarkan, laporan tersebut membuat Welles langsung terkenal. Citizen Kane (1941), film pertamanya dengan RKO, di mana ia berperan sebagai Charles Foster Kane, sering dianggap sebagai film terhebat yang pernah dibuat. Beberapa filmnya yang lain, termasuk The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), The Lady from Shanghai (1947), Touch of Evil (1958), Chimes at Midnight (1965), dan F for Fake (1974), juga banyak dianggap sebagai mahakarya. Pada tahun 2002, ia terpilih sebagai sutradara film terhebat sepanjang masa dalam dua jajak pendapat British Film Institute yang terpisah antara sutradara dan kritikus, dan survei luas atas konsensus kritis, daftar terbaik, dan retrospektif sejarah menyebutnya sebagai sutradara paling terkenal sepanjang masa. Andrew Sarris dalam buku kritik filmnya yang berpengaruh The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1968 memasukkannya ke dalam "pantheon" dari 14 sutradara film terhebat yang pernah bekerja di Amerika Serikat. Terkenal karena suara baritonnya, Welles juga merupakan aktor yang sangat dihormati dan terpilih sebagai nomor 16 dalam daftar 100 Tahun... 100 Bintang AFI dari aktor film Amerika terhebat sepanjang masa. Dia juga seorang aktor panggung Shakespeare terkenal dan pesulap ulung, membintangi variety show pasukan di tahun-tahun perang.

George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio. Noted for his innovative dramatic productions as well as his distinctive voice and personality, Welles is widely acknowledged as one of the most accomplished dramatic artists of the twentieth century, especially for his significant and influential early work—despite his notoriously contentious relationship with Hollywood. His distinctive directorial style featured layered, nonlinear narrative forms, innovative uses of lighting such as chiaroscuro, unique camera angles, sound techniques borrowed from radio, deep focus shots, and long takes. Welles's long career in film is noted for his struggle for artistic control in the face of pressure from studios. Many of his films were heavily edited and others left unreleased. He has been praised as a major creative force and as "the ultimate auteur." After directing a number of high-profile theatrical productions in his early twenties, including an innovative adaptation of Macbeth and The Cradle Will Rock, Welles found national and international fame as the director and narrator of a 1938 radio adaptation of H. G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds performed for the radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was reported to have caused widespread panic when listeners thought that an invasion by extraterrestrial beings was occurring. Although these reports of panic were mostly false and overstated, they rocketed Welles to instant notoriety. Citizen Kane (1941), his first film with RKO, in which he starred in the role of Charles Foster Kane, is often considered the greatest film ever made. Several of his other films, including The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), The Lady from Shanghai (1947), Touch of Evil (1958), Chimes at Midnight (1965), and F for Fake (1974), are also widely considered to be masterpieces. In 2002, he was voted the greatest film director of all time in two separate British Film Institute polls among directors and critics, and a wide survey of critical consensus, best-of lists, and historical retrospectives calls him the most acclaimed director of all time. Andrew Sarris in his influential book of film criticism The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1968 included him in the "pantheon" of the 14 greatest film directors who had worked in the United States. Well known for his baritone voice, Welles was also an extremely well regarded actor and was voted number 16 in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars list of the greatest American film actors of all time. He was also a celebrated Shakespearean stage actor and an accomplished magician, starring in troop variety shows in the war years.