Apparently Welles' narration seemed too ponderous and impersonal, so Ivens and the producers asked Hemingway to speak the narration that he had written. Although I've never heard Welles' version, I find Hemingway's narration, delivered in his untrained Midwestern voice, direct and to the point. Indeed, I wonder whether we'd be watching this film 60-something years later if Welles' narration was the only one extant:) --
@BobForehead Nope, not yet, but am still digging around:). Don't mean to denigrate Welles. His best work endures. But Papa's narration is spot-on. This material seems to call for a non-professional narrator, although not sure I could explain that:).. This film is VERY frank in depicting the atrocities of war. Nearly 20 years earlier, "The Somme" took significant strides in this direction. But "The Spanish Earth" went farther, for it shows the impact of war on non-combatants --
@stevevandien no idea- comments on the other vids led me to looking into it last year, and i came to the conclusion that it was likely sequestered away and may still surface; although i found no proof (might wanna cheque the internetarchive tho... a new year is a new opportunity for SourceOpenings! it may be available as soundtrack...)
Apparently Welles' narration seemed too ponderous and impersonal, so Ivens and the producers asked Hemingway to speak the narration that he had written. Although I've never heard Welles' version, I find Hemingway's narration, delivered in his untrained Midwestern voice, direct and to the point. Indeed, I wonder whether we'd be watching this film 60-something years later if Welles' narration was the only one extant:) --
stevevandien 1 year ago
@stevevandien i like Papa's vox too- it's not snobby. so did you come across anything that hinted of the Welles' tracks' availability?
BobForehead 1 year ago
@BobForehead Nope, not yet, but am still digging around:). Don't mean to denigrate Welles. His best work endures. But Papa's narration is spot-on. This material seems to call for a non-professional narrator, although not sure I could explain that:).. This film is VERY frank in depicting the atrocities of war. Nearly 20 years earlier, "The Somme" took significant strides in this direction. But "The Spanish Earth" went farther, for it shows the impact of war on non-combatants --
stevevandien 1 year ago
Does the original version with Orson Welles' narration still exist? Just curious:) --
stevevandien 1 year ago
@stevevandien no idea- comments on the other vids led me to looking into it last year, and i came to the conclusion that it was likely sequestered away and may still surface; although i found no proof (might wanna cheque the internetarchive tho... a new year is a new opportunity for SourceOpenings! it may be available as soundtrack...)
BobForehead 1 year ago
@BobForehead Thanks very much for the information:).
stevevandien 1 year ago