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Rating: 8.5 stars

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All movies seen on 09/23/2025

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F for Fake (1973)

Directed by Orson Welles

Crime | Documentary | History

Most recently watched by sleestakk

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.

Length 89 minutes

Actors

Orson Welles | Oja Kodar | Elmyr de Hory | Clifford Irving | Laurence Harvey | Edith Irving | David Walsh | Paul Stewart | Richard Wilson | Joseph Cotten | Howard Hughes | Richard Drewitt | Alexander Welles | Gary Graver | Andrés Vicente Gómez | Julio Palinkas | Christian Odasso | Françoise Widhoff | Peter Bogdanovich | William Alland | Mark Forgy | Nina van Pallandt

Viewing History (seen 1 time)

Viewing Notes

“This is a film about trickery and fraud, about lies.” Orson Welles’ brilliant look at art, art forgery, a literary hoax, and his own career as a “professional liar”. He even cons the audience at the end.

Welles makes the point that all artists, to some extent, are liars hoping to serve the truth. “Art is a lie, a lie that makes us realize the truth.”

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