The Trial (1962)

The Trial (also known as Le Procès) is a 1962 film directed by Orson Welles, who also wrote the screenplay based on the novel of the same name by Franz Kafka. Welles stated in an interview with the BBC that "The Trial is the best film I have ever made." The film begins with Welles narrating Kafka's parable "Before the Law" to pinscreen scenes created by the artist Alexandre Alexeieff. Anthony Perkins stars as Josef K., a bureaucrat who is accused of a never-specified crime, and Jeanne Moreau, Romy Schneider, and Elsa Martinelli play women who become involved in various ways in Josef's trial and life. Welles plays the Advocate, Josef's lawyer and the film's principal antagonist. The Trial was filmed in Europe and has been praised for its creative set designs and cinematography, especially Welles's uses of unique angles and focus. The film is now in the public domain, and as such has never received an official home video release.