MovieChat Forums > F for Fake (1975) Discussion > levitation scene and the whole point of ...

levitation scene and the whole point of this film


As Orson yanks the sheet off of Oja's levitating grandfather, you can see the wire framing that holds the shape of the body under the sheet. The wire blends in with the foliage behind it (I assume this is the "trick"), but for an instant the black wire is clearly seen against the white sheet. Here's the question- Did Welles intentionally keep this shot in the film? If I caught it even in the clip shown during the Bogdanovich introduction, surely he must have seen it during editing. With such careful craftmanship, I feel this must have been seen and purposely left in as one more statement about the "truth" behind what looks real. Someone help me articulate what I'm trying to say. Thanks to all you Orson Welles fans out there.

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I agree 100%. Welles edited this film meticulously, and he surely kept that shot in on purpose. I think it reinforces the themes of trickery and truth. What makes a trick a trick... knowing the secret or not knowing?

I love how layered this movie is.

Sometimes the only sane answer to an insane world is insanity.

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I don't think anyone ever accused Welles of being a speedy worker. I have to believe he saw that scene a dozen times during the editing. Nothing is to be believed, including that which we know is not true. So maybe the sheets are not really held up by wires, at least the ones we see.

Could anyone make a movie like this today? Not that it ever sold as many tickets as Jaws or Star Wars but at lease it was made and we can enjoy it today. How many small films like this never get made today because it doesn't have the potential of another King Kong?

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How many small films like this never get made today because it doesn't have the potential of another King Kong?

A very sad thing.

But I don't know what to do with these tossed salads and scrambled eggs - they're calling again.

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Aren't more small films made now than in any other time in movie history?

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It must've been intentional. Welles would not miss that. The whole movie is a zoom in and zoom out of the story he is telling. It travels deep into a point, then recedes all the way back to footage of Welles editing the movie.

I'm confident in saying that F For Fake, JFK, and The Departed are the Holy Trinity of editing in film.

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