Danish author Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen to anyone who has seen either OUT OF AFRICA or read her English translated books) THE IMMORTAL STORY was first published in the 1958 short story collection Anecdotes of Destiny. Then as now, it was an exploration of stark gender imbalance, something that Blixen was very interested in. She was also interested in how we construct, produce and then tell stories. Something also that Orson Welles was very interested in. This communication via a narrative shaping. Welles used this frame for many of his greatest films. From CITIZEN KANE story of a life of a magnate, wanting a singular perfect to the MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS tale of a family, reflective of the whole America. THE IMMORTAL STORY is again about riches, hubris and the power of imperial capitalism. The story begins in the Portuguese colony of Macao. Its 1858 and the dubious Mr. Clay is an rich merchant, with time not on his side and a taste for the diabolical. Locally the town is rather hostile to him. The only person on his side is his clerk Levinsky, a European Jew who is ostrazied by the many. One night, after a sleepless shift through the accounts by the two, Clay recites a story. A simple one, well told about a sailor, a man desperate for an aire and his loving wife. Levinsky questions its validity. So Clay suggest that the best way to resolve this, is for the events to actually take place. He knows a woman that he wants to be the wife. His vile taste makes him the ideal for the wilful husband and so now they must find a willing man to be the sailor to do the story justice and sower a child for his money.
Orson Welles’ second-to-last feature, was first shown jointly on French Television and in her cinema screens. It came off of the backs of a myriad of failed projects and a serious drought of creative work for the brilliant Welles. He might have been seen on screens in bigger and bolder films as an actor and started to be acknowledged as a master of the art form but it still must have wrankled him. His creative juices worked best when he had total control. The sense of some of this creeps into Welles later work and in particular THE IMMORTAL STORY. His use of frame. Often canted and always big and bold, like his voice and figure. His choice of cast stars Jeanne Moreau, who is a depicted as a faded, yet tragic beauty. He was alike to god in his control and in his use of form as strokes of a paint brush. This Gaumont produced Restoration is very good indeed. Though again the lack of any extras jars slightly. But at the reasonable proce on offer and the great work of a faded, yet bold behomoth in your grasp, I would say you were foolish to miss it!
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