F for fantastic

A meditation on deception. A celebration of fakery. Genius auteur Orson Welles' final completed work, the pseudo-documentary "F for Fake," is both of these and so much more. \nOrson Welles, the same luminary who created "Citizen Kane," found himself fascinated by the lives of two of the last century's greatest liars: art forger Elmyr de Hory and author Clifford Irving. De Hory is the film's focal point for he was a man who amassed great wealth by duplicating the artwork of Picasso, Modigliani and countless others, and then proceeded to sell his copies to art museums all around Europe. Irving finds himself in the mix as he not only wrote a biography all about de Hory, he also wrote one of the greatest fake autobiographies about Hollywood's favorite eccentric, Howard Hughes. Throw in Welles himself along with collaborator Oja Kodar and even Pablo Picasso and then the lying truly begins.\nWelles' "F for Fake" is a tough film to crack. The lines of truth and falsehood become blurred as every minute passes leaving one to question: was all of this a lie or perhaps all of it was really true and Orson is just lying to us all? The performances themselves are quite amusing, especially the occasional appearance of Welles or the questionable gazes of Picasso from his bedroom window. The film itself though is a hard one to place in the great filmography of Welles. While it isn't on the same level as "Citizen Kane," "Touch of Evil" or even "The Lady from Shanghai," "F for Fake" is not intended to rival any previous efforts but instead create something entirely new and is accomplished quite well. \nWhile "F for Fake" is impressive, the content found on this Two-disc set is even more so. Disc one contains the film along with audio commentary by Oja Kodar and cinematographer Gary Graver, an introduction by film director Peter Bogdanovich and the nine-minute "Fake" trailer. Disc two is where this set really shines. The documentary, "Almost True: The Noble Art of Forgery," is an honest look at de Hory. Also, there is a "60 Minutes" interview with Irving about his Hughes hoax and then a 1972 press interview with Hughes discussing said hoax. Saving the best for last, the documentary "Orson Welles: One Man Band" is a supplemental gem. The entire documentary focuses on all of Welles' films that never reached completion and is full of exclusive footage, interviews, Welles performing magic tricks and many other treats. \nThe DVD release of "F for Fake" finally brings one of Welles' most mysterious endeavors to light. If you aren't familiar with Welles' films or have only seen "Citizen Kane," I highly recommend viewing some of his other films before taking on "Fake." When you know more about the man and his movies, the results of this set are much more rewarding in the end.