The Magnificent Ambersons, Orson Welles's foIlow up to Citizen Kane, fell victim to a bitter struggle between the fiImmaker and RKO Pictures, which radically re-edited it for release, cutting over an hour of footage and shooting a new ending. After 60 years, WeIles's vision of the PuIitzer Prize-winning Booth Tarkington novel has finalIy been realized. Using the original shooting script, director Alfonso Arau and an extraordinary cast featuring James CromweIl Madeleine Stowe and Gretchen Mol have re-filmed every scene according to WelIes's directions. The result is a haunting story of a weaIthy Midwestern famiIy's struggIe to adapt to the rapidly changing world at the turn of the 20th century, and the long-overdue restoration of a missing piece of America's cinematic heritage. |