I don't even know what to say about this week's Saturday Night Special, but I can tell you that it was written and directed by Orson Welles, based on a novel by Franz Kafka, and is called "Le Procès," or "The Trial." Other than that, you're mostly on your own!
I could sum it all up in one word, Orson Welles, but since that's two words, we'll just have to settle on weird!
"Le Procès" stars Anthony Perkins as Josef K. It was made two years after "Psycho," so Anthony was already used to acting strange!
This is where Josef K. works.
It's 1962, and you could have taken your girlfriend to see "The Brain That Wouldn't Die," or "Invasion Of The Star Creatures," but no, you had to choose "The Trial," and now she never wants to speak to you again! Nice job Chucko!
"Le Procès," is a very paranoid minute shy of being two hours long!
I think it's quite possible that a person could go insane trying to figure it all out!
Josef K. is on trial for something he doesn't even know about, but he's not taking it lying down!
He is determined to not get eaten up by the system!
There are a bevy of beauties to entice and enthrall Josef K, like Jeanne Moreau as Marika, Romy Schneider as Leni, and Elsa Martinelli as Hilda, and apparently, they are all crazier than Hell!
Josef finds some dusty old law books, and remarks about how dirty they are!
A quick peek inside reveals how really dirty they were!
Angles and bi-angles abound!
Persecution, prosecution, perversion, and paranoia! Josef K. is surrounded by it all!
Most of the film was shot in Zagreb, Croatia, but some of the scenery is from France and Italy, like this scene that was shot at the Palazzo di Giustizia, or The Palace of Justice in Rome. If you go to Zagreb today, don't forget to visit "The Museum Of Broken Relationships" which opened in 2006!
Orson Welles assigned himself the role of the useless but very powerful Advocate!
The artiste who paints portraits of the judges is named Titorelli, and he resides in possibly the strangest place you'll ever see. As Josef K. ascends the stairs to Titorelli's loft, he's pursed by a gaggle of presumably mad young ladies who want to get their hands on him oh so badly, but Titorelli has them all locked out!
Is any of this making any sense? I sure hope not!
Look at the composition of this room where Titorelli lives, it would be almost impossible to be any busier!
The safe exit that avoids the girls goes right back into Josef K.'s office!
Two hours of sheer madness and you don't know why it all started, and when it's over, you're not sure where you've been!
I'm not about to go toe to toe with Franz Kafka or Orson Welles, but I will suggest that when you watch "The Trial," do not be under the influence of anything, or you just might fall down the rabbit hole and never make it back!
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