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Oct 11, 2020 · We ranked the best Orson Welles movies based on three criteria: acting, story, and direction. Each of the films on this list was directed by Welles — and many star him in the leading role.
- CITIZEN KANE (1941) Directed by Orson Welles. Screenplay by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles. Starring Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Domingore, Everett Sloane, Ray Collins, George Coulouris, Agnes Moorehead, Paul Stewart, Ruth Warrick, Erskine Sanford, William Alland.
- TOUCH OF EVIL (1958) Written for the screen and directed by Orson Welles, based on the novel ‘Badge of Evil’ by Whit Masterson. Starring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Welles, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff, Marlene Dietrich, Zsa Zsa Gabor.
- THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS (1942) Written and directed by Orson Welles, based on the novel by Booth Tarkington. Starring Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Tim Holt, Agnes Moorehead, Ray Collins, Erskine Sanford, Richard Bennett, narrated by Orson Welles.
- CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT (1965) Written and directed by Orson Welles, based on the character Falstaff created by William Shakespeare. Starring Orson Welles, Keith Baxter, Margaret Rutherford, John Gielgud, Jeanne Moreau, Norman Rodway, Marina Vlady, Fernando Rey, narrated by Ralph Richardson.
- Greg Macarthur
- Senior Staff Writer
- Citizen Kane (1941) Often regarded as a top contender for the greatest film of all time, Welles' first-ever movie Citizen Kane is the best movie of his illustrious career.
- Touch Of Evil (1958) Welles' Touch of Evil is one of the best film noir movies ever made for its masterful cinematography and lighting elements. Welles is at an all-time high in virtually every creative department with Touch of Evil, ranging from a tightly paced script, captivating performances, and slightly surrealistic yet modern tone.
- Chimes At Midnight (1965) Chimes at Midnight is undeniably one of Welles' best films that is on par with his most famous cinematic installments. The film is another Welles adaptation of Shakespeare in which he plays the recurring character Sir John Falstaff.
- The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) The Magnificent Ambersons only features Welles onscreen as a narrator alongside an ensemble cast that combines to produce one of his best works.
- 8 Mr. Arkadin
- 7 The Lady from Shanghai
- 6 The Trial
- 5 The Magnificent Ambersons
- 4 F For Fake
- 3 Chimes at Midnight
- 2 Touch of Evil
- 1 Citizen Kane
In Mr. Arkadin, Guy Van Stratten, an American smuggler working in Europe, finds Munich resident Jakob Zouk and warns him of a plot against his life. Zouk is terminally ill, so he doesn’t care about the news, but Stratten reveals his past through a series of flashbacks depicting why he wants Zouk to live. Stratten had previously been given a tip abo...
The Lady From Shanghai is a noir film based on the book If I Die Before I Wake by Sherwood King. In New York City, sailor Michael O’Hara saves Elsa from an attack on the coach she was riding in, escorting her home and discovering that she and her husband Arthur Bannister, a criminal defense attorney, recently arrived from Shanghai and are on their ...
Based on the Franz Kafka book of the same name, The Trialis about Josef K., who finds himself in trouble with the law when he doesn’t remember committing a crime. What’s even worse is that no one will tell him what he’s even been accused of, so he doesn’t know how he’s supposed to stand for himself in trial. It begins when several detectives enter ...
The Magnificent Ambersons is one of many Welles films that was heavily edited by the film studio. Recovered notes show what Welles had intended, but the lost footage remains lost, including the original ending that the studio re-shot. Nonetheless, the picture we have remains a masterpiece beloved by many. The movie chronicles The Ambersons, the wea...
The docudrama F for Fake is a wonderful example of Welles' experimental late career, where he played around with cinematic form and the medium of documentary. The film is about chicanery, fakery, magic, and illusions, something Welles is personally interested in as a filmmaker. Much of the picture follows the life of Elmyr de Hory, a famous art for...
The comedy drama Chimes at Midnight is based on some works of Shakespeare, most explicitly influenced by Henry IV. However, Welles made it to take a closer look at one of Shakespeare’s recurring characters, Sir John Falstaff. In the film, Falstaff has taken on a fatherly role in Prince Hal’s life, the son of King Henry IV. They spend a lot of time ...
The film noir piece Touch of Evil starts with a bomb exploding on the U.S.-Mexico border, destroying a car and killing the two people who were inside, in what remains one of the greatest single-take tracking shotsin movie history. Prosecutor Miguel Vargas (played wonderfully by Charlton Heston), who was on his honeymoon with his wife, takes an inte...
Arguably the best of Welles' films, Citizen Kane happens to be his first. The film has a biographical feel despite the main character, Charles Foster Kane, being entirely fictional. He was based on several people, including media barons like Joseph Pulitzer, Chicago tycoons like Harold McCormic, and parts of the screenwriters’ lives as well. Upon t...
May 31, 2024 · Over 400 filmgoers have voted on the 90+ films on Best Orson Welles Movies. Current Top 3: Touch of Evil, Citizen Kane, The Third Man
The best Orson Welles movies prove that he was one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. After his incredible debut in Citizen Kane, Welles continued to push the boundaries of film by making bold political statements and redefining the way stories were told on screen.
#1. Critics Consensus: Orson Welles's epic tale of a publishing tycoon's rise and fall is entertaining, poignant, and inventive in its storytelling, earning its reputation as a landmark...
