The Trial

Josef K. will wake up one morning to find the police in his room. They will announce that his trial is about to begin, but no one will say what he’ll be tried for. While he attempts to find out what crime he’s been charged with, he’s being tormented by a continuous trial and wanders hopelessly in the intricate universe of a bureaucratic power mechanism. The film noir goes hand in hand with German expressionism in this black-and-white, post-apocalyptic adaptation of Kafka’s “The Trial” and Orson Welles captures on celluloid the images that readers all over the world had formed in their minds while reading the famed book. Anthony Perkins in the least commercial role of his life, shows his great acting talent in a film that’s a tribute to man’s weakness before the faceless authoritative systems. “Citizen Kane” may be the best Welles film for many, but Welles himself thought the same for “The Trial”.

Original Title: The Trial

Director: Orson Welles

Screenwriter: Orson Welles

DoP: Edmond Richard

Music: Jean Ledrut

Editors: Yvonne Martin, Fritz H. Muller

Principal Cast: Anthony Perkins, Jeanne Moreau, Orson Welles, Romy Schneider, Elsa Martinelli, Suzanne Flon

Country: France, West Germany, Italy

Year: 1962

Running Time: 118'

Language: English