Chimes At Midnight
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DVD Cover Information
Primary Contributor: Orson WellesPrimary Contributor: Jeanne Moreau
DVD: Region Code 0
Format: Black & White, NTSC, Widescreen
Running Time: 115 minutes
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Hollywood's Attic
Product features:
- These DVD's are produced by Nostalgia Family Video and Come in a "No Frillz" set. DVD titles come in clear clamshell packaging with no DVD menu and no individual title artwork.
Movie Reviews of Chimes At Midnight
Movie Review: The Chimes of Midnight flashing
Summary: 5 Stars
I last saw this masterpiece 36 years ago in an art cinema in London,The Electric.Then I remember the print was shakey,the sound out of sync,but I got its essence.This is the film Welles really wanted to make above all others.The film has been out of circulation for 35 years,obtainable in only Brazilian and Spanish prints.The larger-than-life character that flits through various of his plays,Henry IV parts I and II and The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry V, based on the real Jack Oldcastle. Welles took the scenes from the different plays Falstaff is in and makes him the hero,he weaved multiple plays together to create a new narrative.Now its been released in this DVD February 2011 as Falstaff Chimes at Midnight.Richardson narrates the film from Holinshed's Chronicles.
The title comes in the elegiac opening.Originally Falstaff said it to his aging friend Justice Shallow. However, there is a degree of tragedy and sadness around this as well: Shallow and his ancient kinsman Silence represent the rural happiness and content with life that Falstaff can never really have, and when Falstaff tells him,"We have heard the chimes at midnight, Master Shallow" it becomes nostalgic and almost tragic to think at what all this man's been through and enjoyed.Welles exudes real warmth and humanity.
Henry IV(Gielgud) is a careworn King,troubled by his son's (Prince Hal's) waywardness and his usurper role as Bolingbroke.Unable to expiate his crime by the threat of civil war.Prince Hal beguiles the time in the company of Falstaff,drinking in taverns and plotting practical jokes.Falstaff carouses with his cronies and his mistress,Doll Tearsheet(JeanneMoreau),drinking, kissing, laughing, cavorting,play-acting,gambling,story-telling.The film re-edits the plays of Shakespeare,covering the period from the end of Richard II to the start of Henry V.Falstaff is centre stage with the story of the Kings setting the framework of the plot,relegated to the background.Yet the strength of Gielgud's performance is crucial,guilty,cold,with dignity,reflecting the high stone walls of his castle,which Prince Hal will one day inherit.
There are some soundtrack difficulties(ie either too low or too high and changing from one to the other too quickly),but this should not alter one's enjoyment of this incredible film.Working,due to budget deficits,in Spain and dubbing a lot of the extras.This film is a testament to Welles' genius in the character part he was born to play,Falsaff.He gives us the jolly giant in all his pagan bawdiness,tragic melancholy,part of merrie old England, a dream world of Paradise Lost before Puritanism descended like a swathe to gut its comic heart.Falstaff represents the very core of Shakespearean goodness,an intuitional,natural innocence,a golden time of joyous, anarchic abandon.A pity there is no subtitling, as this would have greatly aided the understanding.
There are deep-focus shots,low -angle close-ups,masterful editing,imbuing the B&W film with a rhythm that complements the narrative drive and organic unity,a masterful music score that keeps it all moving,like the camera work, eternally moving round Falstaff and the sharp cinematography.The tavern is a large low-slung barn,managed by Mistress Quickly(Rutherford).The quick pacing of the Battle of Shrewbury is so energetic it rates as one of the best battles in cinema history,with bodies falling into a sea of mud.Prince Hal saves the day killing Hotspur in single combat,for which Falstaff claims the credit.All the time his cowardly bulk hidden or darting through the trees.The fat vagabond tells a tall story.All the lines are from Shakespeare yet effortlessly flow.
The dying king advises Hal to busy giddy minds with foreign quarrels to unite England.Overjoyed to hear of Hal's succession,Falstaff boasts of his future under the new King,but the transformed Henry V spurns him-" I Know thee not old man!"-in public during the coronation procession.The changing relationship between Falstaff and Prince Hal is the heart of the drama.Falstaff is the vital link for the future king between the court and the submerged life of London's back streets.The camera captures the broken-hearted gaze of the cast-aside Falstaff,Shakespeare's most popular,magnificent creation.Keith Baxter is magnificent(Hal) as is Norman Rodway as the heroic Hotspur. Moreau is lively and expressive, Rutherford is affectionate,matronly.Welles's best film barring none.A good DVD.
Summary of Chimes At Midnight
Sir John Falstaff (Shakespearian character superbly portrayed by Orson Welles), is the charming although drunken and obese companion of young Henry V. At first Prince Hal and Falstaff lead a life of debauchery and idleness, but as the prince sees the import of his destiny as the future king of England, Falstaff fearfully believes their relationship might be heading for trouble. Welles' marvelous portrayal of this jovial but tragic character and strong acting throughout make Chimes at Midnight an exceptionally worthwhile film.These DVD's are produced by Nostalgia Family Video and Come in a "No Frillz" set. DVD titles come in clear clamshell packaging with no DVD menu and no individual title artwork.Similar DVD Movies
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