QUOTE(velocity @ Jan 21 2008, 01:10 PM) [snapback]557999[/snapback]
^^Seems natural to me.
I wonder what the story was behind casting Heston in that--most ludicrous Mexican EVAR.
From what I remember when the '98 cut came out, there was some story that Welles wanted a Mexican actor (most likely Ricardo Montelban), but the studio wanted Heston. However, I can't find any verification of this.
The Wikipedia entry cites interviews with Heston, who claims that he was approached by the studio to play the lead. When he learned that Welles was going to play Quinlan, Heston suggested to the studio that Welles should also direct. Since Welles was on the outs with Hollywood as a director, this does make some sense. Welles worked for actor's pay.
The bigger kerfuffle was over the story changes and re-cutting the studio did once Welles had delivered the rough cut. There are numerous versions of that story as well, but once Welles saw the final cut of the film, he sent a fifty-four page memo to the studio, outlining the problems with their changes is dialog and editing. (I think there's a copy of the memo on Wellesnet.com.)
The original rough cut was lost or destroyed. The subsequent "Directors Cuts" of the film didn't have Welles' input, although the '98 version was re-cut using as much available source material (interviews, notes, memos, etc) as was available. I like the '98 version best.
