The read
A Balasaur Score of 81 out of 100, drawn from IMDb 7.7/10, Rotten Tomatoes 88%, Metacritic 87/100. Scores higher than 79% of the 87 1970s documentary movies in this catalog. It runs a compact 1h 29m. Streaming on Max.
Synopsis
Documents the lives of infamous fakers Elmyr de Hory and Clifford Irving. De Hory, who later committed suicide to avoid more prison time, made his name by selling forged works of art by painters like Picasso and Matisse. Irving was infamous for writing a fake autobiography of Howard Hughes. Welles moves between documentary and fiction as he examines the fundamental elements of fraud and the people who commit fraud at the expense of others.
Ratings
IMDb7.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes88%
Metacritic87/100
376 audience votes
Key crew
- Orson WellesDirector
- Orson WellesWriter
- Michel LegrandOriginal Music Composer
- François ReichenbachWriter
- François ReichenbachDirector
Cast
- Orson WellesSelf
- Oja KodarThe Girl
- Elmyr de HorySelf
- Clifford IrvingSelf
- Laurence HarveySelf
- Edith IrvingSelf
- David WalshSelf
- Paul StewartSelf
- Richard WilsonSelf
- Joseph CottenSelf
- Howard HughesSelf (archive footage)
- Richard DrewettSelf
Stills
Themes
artistmanipulationillusiondeceptionibizaessay filmforgeryforgertrickery
The Best Movies of 1973
F for Fake is #14 of 60
