F for Fake

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

Mar 12 1975 PG 1h 29m
Documentary

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.

Plot

Orson Welles' free-form documentary about fakery focusses on the notorious art forger Elmyr de Hory and Elmyr's biographer, Clifford Irving, who also wrote the celebrated fraudulent Howard Hughes autobiography, then touches on the reclusive Hughes and Welles' own career (which started with a faked resume and a phony Martian invasion). On the way, Welles plays a few tricks of his own on the audience.

Written by

Orson Welles, Oja Kodar

Directed by

Orson Welles, Gary Graver, Oja Kodar

Cast

Orson Welles, Oja Kodar, François Reichenbach

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

Iran, Germany, France

Production Companies

Janus Film und Fernsehen, Les Films de l'Astrophore, SACI

Languages

Español, Français, English

Awards

3 wins total

Trailers
F for Fake (1974) Trailer
F For Fake ? 1973 ? Trailer
Featurettes
Peter Bogdanovich on F for Fake
Scores
# of Votes
18,939
Average Rating
7.7 out of 10
Metascore
87
Popularity
NA