F for Fake

A motley crew of creative liars, frauds and forgers is introduced in this film, with Orson Welles as the Master of Ceremonies. Examples are counterfeiter Elmyr de Hory and 'literary criminal' Clifford Irving. De Hory deceived the art-world with his fake Picassos and Braques. Irving put this down in a biography of De Hory. A few years later Irving published a biography of Howard Hughes, based on 'exclusive and secret' interviews. One month before the book was published Irving and two collaborators were exposed and imprisoned. Welles became fascinated by this scandal. He bought the rights of a documentary on De Hory made earlier by François Reichenbach. In F FOR FAKE Welles interweaves parts from that documentary with his personal ideas about De Hory and Irving. He also reminisces about his own work, like 'War of the Worlds' and CITIZEN KANE. At its first screening in 1978 F FOR FAKE was accompanied by a (fake) letter from Welles to the press, and the BBCF suggested that a new category should be created: M. for Masterpiece.