My first time with this film. I watched the Criterion cut.

It is now known how difficult it was for Welles to retain control of his films. This one is a classic example of how his ambition clashed with the harsh realities of his reputation and the studios and executives who reluctantly worked with him.

There are ate least 8 cuts of this film in existence. You see, Welles missed an editing date and the producers took control of the film and edited it without his input. This led to many "cut" of the films for different markets.

This "Criterion cut" was created thanks to Peter Bogdanovich who had first hand knowledge because of his friendship with Welles and his obsession with the film.

Even with this interpretation this film is a mess plot wise, and it does not help that it's lead is not a really good actor. A pity because I think everybody else is on point here.

A movie about deceptions an a sort of spiritual follow up to The Third Man (it is based on some Harry Lime stories Welles made for radio) this movie was expanding on the themes of truth and honor that Reed's The Third Man did so well. But it's ambition of being a globe-trotting affair hurts it's goal.

The Third Man really benefited from it's setting in Vienna. The city becomes a protagonist and grounds the story. We don't get that here at all, the globe trotting is erratic and definitely does not help the plot gel at all.

There is one moment where we get a moment on this film that really works almost as good as the Third Man did. There is a segment of the film that was filmed in Segovia, Spain. Welle's uses that small city on a very effective way. He even films a religious procession that works as a nice foreshadowing of Mr. Arkadin's motivations. The Alcazar castle and it's surrounding areas become a looming presence truly setting up Arkadin's first appearance.

In that respect this movie is a triumph in all it's technical aspects that were there to clearly amplify the plot. Beautiful shots, outstanding use of depth of field and some ingenious camera movements in two pivotal scenes. (One involves the jerky movement of a luxury yacht and the other a tense moment inside an apartment during a packed Christmas party). Truly Welles was a the top of his game and had much to do and say.

We will never truly know if it was the producers intervention that spoiled this movie or Welle's ambition that doomed this project from the start, but as a Welles enthusiast I really enjoyed this and encourage it's viewing at least once.