Criterion’s exhaustive The Complete Mr. Arkadin includes not two but three versions of Orson Welles’ disputed mystery for critical comparison. Sort of a freak-show spin on Welles’ own Citizen Kane, Mr. Arkadin follows a con man (Robert Arden) on an investigation into the past of the shady title character (Welles), an eccentric billionaire whose business success may be built on sordid dealings. By this point in his career, Welles mostly saw people as grotesques, including himself. His Arkadin is a heavily bearded madman with bulging eyes who presides over creepy masquerade balls. The Criterion package includes a 99-minute version that was broadcast on American television; the theatrically released, 98-minute cut, which was taken away from Welles by his producers, reedited and retitled Confidential Report; and a new, 105-minute Comprehensive Version, which restorers have pieced together largely based on material provided by Welles’ estate. Comparing the latter two, it becomes fairly clear that Arkadin isn’t a great enough film to justify all the fuss. The differences are minimal rather than crucial and certainly secondary to the movie itself, which is entertaining in terms of Welles’ baroque, theatrical style but hardly a misunderstood masterpiece.
