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The Trial

The Most Remarkable Motion Picture Ever Made!

1962 · 1h 59m · Not Rated Crime, Drama, Mystery
Directed by Orson Welles

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Overview

The surreal tale of an unassuming man who is accused of a never-specified crime and shambles through bizarre encounters to escape this nightmare.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
84%
Tomatometer
Fresh

Though debatable as an adaptation of the Franz Kafka novel, Orson Welles's nightmarish, labyrinthine comedy of 1962 remains his creepiest and most disturbing work; it's also a lot more influential than people usually admit.

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Fresh

The blackest of Welles' comedies.

Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Rotten

At best, it is another demonstration of the camera vers atility of Mr. Welles; at worse, a further Kafka demonstration extending to the demanding medium of the screen.

Bosley Crowther, New York Times
Fresh

The Trial is splendid to look at and teeming with ideas about the individual, society, and of course, film itself.

Amy Taubin, Village Voice
Fresh

Above all a visual achievement, an exuberant use of camera placement and movement and inventive lighting.

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

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