During the years from 1967 to 1969, Welles shot an adaptation of the novel Dead Calm by Charles Williams. It was set on the Dalmatian coast in the former Yugoslavia. A series of technical and financial problems caused the film to remain incomplete, despite the fact that Welles had worked on editing a work print in various different locations (Rome, Munich, Paris). That work print, discarded takes, the dubbing loops, the scripts, the story boards and the dialogue lists are the only surviving material from the project, given that the negative was most likely destroyed in customs. The Filmmuseum München has plans to digitally restore the film. The video Scenes from the Deep by Orson Welles presents the existing material: first off there is a 9 minute trailer, made by Welles for his American agent, where he explains the plot on the soundtrack. Unfortunately the trailer exists only in the form of a very bad black and white copy, but it contains a sound mix made and finished by Welles. In addition, the video shows a reel from the work print where the sound is added but not finished; the shades of the colors were digitally corrected.

Stefan Droessler, Filmmuseum München