F for Fake (1973)

Original title

Vérités et Mensonges

Directed by

Orson Welles

Genre

mockumentary

Country

Iran, Germany, France, United States

Runtime

1h 29m

Rated

PG

Rating

7.4 of 10 from 365 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Orson Welles hosts a documentary about art forger Elmyr de Hory and hoax biographer Clifford Irving. Welles examines what makes something authentic and how we assign value to art.

playfulintellectualskepticaltalkativemeanderingmetareflectivecasualclever

What happens

F for Fake (French: Vérités et mensonges, "Truths and lies") is a 1973 docudrama film co-written, directed by, and starring Orson Welles who worked on the film alongside François Reichenbach, Oja Kodar, and Gary Graver. The film focuses on Elmyr de Hory's recounting of his career as a professional art forger; de Hory's story serves as the backdrop for a meandering investigation of the natures of authorship and authenticity, as well as the basis of the value of art. Far from serving as a traditional documentary on de Hory, the film also incorporates Welles's companion Oja Kodar, hoax biographer Clifford Irving, and Orson Welles as himself. F for Fake is sometimes considered an example of a film essay. In addition to the 88-minute film, in 1976, Welles also shot and edited a self-contained nine-minute short film as a "trailer", almost entirely composed of original material not found in the main film itself. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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