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F for Fake

Name: F for Fake
Genre: Documentary
Released: 1973-09-01
Duration: 89 min
Rating: 7.409

★ 7,4 /10 (367 Votes)

1973 FR 89 min

Overview

Documents the lives of infamous fakers Elmyr de Hory and Clifford Irving. De Hory, who later committed suicide to avoid more prison time, made his name by selling forged works of art by painters like Picasso and Matisse. Irving was infamous for writing a fake autobiography of Howard Hughes. Welles moves between documentary and fiction as he examines the fundamental elements of fraud and the people who commit fraud at the expense of others.

Stream

Release date

01/09/1973

Votes

367

Popularity

2.5

A magician is just an actor playing the part of a magician.

Genres

Documentary

Status

Released

Original title

Vérités et Mensonges

Language

Runtime

89 min

Orson Welles

Self

Oja Kodar

The Girl

No photo

Elmyr de Hory

Self

Clifford Irving

Self

Laurence Harvey

Self

No photo

Edith Irving

Self

No photo

David Walsh

Self

Paul Stewart

Self

No photo

Richard Wilson

Self

Joseph Cotten

Self

Howard Hughes

Self (archive footage)

No photo

Richard Drewett

Self

No photo

Alexander Welles

Self

Gary Graver

Self

Andrés Vicente Gómez

Self

No photo

Julio Palinkas

Self

No photo

Christian Odasso

Self

Françoise Widhoff

Self

Peter Bogdanovich

Self

William Alland

Self

No photo

Mark Forgy

Self

Nina van Pallandt

Self

François Reichenbach

Self

Original Soundtrack

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This movie is a masterpiece -- it is equal parts an insightful essay, a magic trick and a prank. Welles considered it a new type of film -- its subject matter explores what is a forgery/counterfeit vs. what is authentic and the film wrestles with its subject by blurring those lines in a way that is both entertaining and fun. It's a masterclass in editing and a must for any student of filmmaking.

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