GLH+P4+2014-15+The+Trial+movie+directed+by+Orson+Welles

// The Trial // movie directed by Orson Welles Mikaila Bantugan: Historical The historical and political events influence the relationship between the director, Orson Welles, and the audience by resembling differences held in a time of hardships as it did in the time of the author. During the 1960’s, the United States was at war in Vietnam while fighting within the country in the Civil Rights Movement. The nation was in a period of disagreement and understanding was limited. An article states, “Like a nightmare, little makes sense, and little is explained … It's the people who infest these rooms that are most disturbing, most unforgettable” (Chick 1). The individuals impacted by the events then alter society by their reactions. Many saw no purpose of the violence and wanted the war to end while others held a different opinion. An article states, “The Trial is a parable about the existential notion of taking responsibility for one’s life” (Philosophical Films 1). Similar to the book, which was written between the years 1914 and 1915, war had a significant impression on society. Overall, viewpoints and judgement as to who or what was to blame for the current events were spread across the board. Thus, influencing the production of the film as to which history has repeated itself to show that society’s reactions are similar to the two different time periods.

Works Cited Chick, Stevie. "The Quietus | Film | Film Features | 50 Years On: The Trial Revisited." The Quietus. N.p., 24 Sept. 2012. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.

"The Trial (Philosophical Films)." The Trial (Philosophical Films). N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.

Racquel James: Cultural Through The Trial movie, modern society was forced to either realize or deny the faults in society during the 60’s. Professor Jeffrey Adams states,“by emphasizing the sense of disorientation, paranoia, and alienation that the noir worldview shares with Kafka's unique rendering of German Expressionism, Welles was able to create the cinematic equivalent of that strange blend of nightmare absurdity and theatrical farce that now goes by the name of Kafkaesque” (Phillips 1). Many reviews of the movie alter in extremes, either praising Welles or criticizing him. This occurred due to the intense and passionate opinions expressed through the unpleasant feelings commonly avoided by society. Feelings such as “escalating disillusionment” support the “critiques of societal hierachies’” that most of society either denied or ignored (Phillips 1). Those who ultimately could understand the hidden assaults to the government’s systems, woke up to realize the injustice, irony, corruption, and lack of reason in the world’s upperclass and government. Especially in a time when Germany was developing into a totalitarian state, post world war 2, Welles really wanted to point out the flaws in the newfound systems as well as the systems that have always existed. The Trial movie alters modern society’s vision on the assumed characteristics that go along with the roles of the government, genders, system (law), and even society during the sixties. Not to mention the artistic features of the film, challenge the way modern society -and all audiences ever exposed to The Trial- will think. Orson Welles created a mind blowing, in depth truth of society during the sixties that people have either rejected or accepted since the movie had released.

Works Cited: Phipps, Grant. "The Trial." No Ripcord. N.p., 13 Jan. 2010. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.

Muir, John. "John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV." : CULT MOVIE REVIEW: The Trial (1962). N.p., 13 Mar. 2011. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.

Reed Neuser: Audience The Trial, a movie directed by Orson Welles, tells the story of a classic work by Franz Kafka, about a man who must go on trial without awareness of his charges. Although based off of Kafka’s work in 1925, the movie was created and premiered in 1962. Welles’s “movie magic” presented a chaotic setting via a visual interpretation of the story. As one article states, “ The world of the movie is like a nightmare, with its hero popping from one surrealistic situation to another” (Ebert 1). The dramatic tactics in the film brings Kafka’s story to life. According to the article, “Kafka published his novel in Prague in 1925; it reflected his own paranoia, but it was prophetic, foreseeing Stalin's gulag and Hitler's Holocaust, in which innocent people wake up one morning to discover they are guilty of being themselves” (Ebert 1). This reality based novel seemingly appeals to those fascinated with the era, or relatable to the dilemma of the protagonist. According to one article, “Kafka’s actual relationship to Zionism and Jewish culture was, like his relationship to most things, highly ambivalent” (Batuman 1). Kafka’s equivocal mindset in terms of the events and setting of the novel, reveals a primary appeal of is the movie to those who are interested in the complications of the early 1900s. Welles’s perception of Kafka’s work displayed struggles in the time era, much like what is illustrated in the novel.

Work Cited Batuman, Elif. "Kafka’s Last Trial." The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Sept. 2010. Web. 05 Oct. 2014.

Ebert, Roger. "The Trial Movie Review & Film Summary (1963) | Roger Ebert." All Content. N.p., 25 Feb. 2000. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.

Elizabeth Ramirez: AIM



The Trial movie, directed by Orson Welles, focuses heavily on ideas of Democracy through the practice and effect of Mccarthyism. In an article that dissects the meaning of The Trial movie and its components, the author mentions, “The Trial pictures a bland, ordinary man, Joseph K., suddenly heaved into the mechanism of a killing bureaucracy” (Hagopian 1). The movie directly explores the negative sides of the justice system in which Mccarthyism comes into play, when innocents are put on trial for accusations made by others. This is done through the plot, its characters, and even the setting, which centers around a man arrested for unknown reasons. For The Trial, this called into question how legal matters were really dealt with and executed by the authorities. There is not a complete amount of factual evidence to arrest or prosecute the main character, and yet he is still put on trial. The Trial was made specifically to represent how Mccarthyism is followed by people in society, as well as people in authority, so easily. Also, to show his audiences that Mccarthyism does exist within court trials, and how absurd those accusations actually were.

Works Cited

Hagopian, Kevin. "Film Notes -The Trial." Film Notes -The Trial. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.

"The Trial (Philosophical Films)." The Trial (Philosophical Films). N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.