Customer Reviews

Chimes At Midnight

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

FYI - Amazon combines reviews across different versions and sometimes this is unhelpful. This review is specific to the "Hollywood's Attic" (aka "Nostalgia Family Video") version (it has a pink/orange cover with a drawing of Welles as Falstaff) as opposed to the Brazilian/Portuguese version (close-up photo of Welles and a child on the cover).

I'm not going to argue quality of transfer or mastering as I'm really not a great judge of those things. I do want to warn people that the copies available here seem to all be DVD-R's and not commercially produced DVD's.

This, of course, means that they won't last as long and are more fragile. The film is perfectly watchable - I just thought people should know before they buy (and the sellers don't seem to be inclined to put this in their listings - which I find somewhat shady)

Hey! What's happened here? I purchased this modestly priced DVD to tide me over, having become increasingly frustrated at waiting for a restored version of this masterpiece to appear. Certainly, this print presents the movie at the best I have ever seen it. The print is of excellent quality, the sound clear and devoid of hiss. The notorious post synch problems have been almost eliminated. What's going on? Whatever, I am most grateful for the work done. Can anyone supply me with more information about who has undertaken this work. Bravo!

Peter Donnelly
West Hobart
Tasmania
Australia

Chimes at Midnight truly is Welles' best film. It's a visual delight--from the quiet, elegiac opening to the justly admired battle in the middle (among other things, this movie is the grandfather of the modern battle epic), to the haunting final scenes. It's a movie that has been hard to come by for a while. This is a good DVD of the film--good picture and no foreign subtitles. Hopefully this movie will get the deluxe treatment it deserves one of these days, but this is a serviceable copy.

Until Criterion hopefully does a deluxe job on this little-known-by-the-world-at-large unmitigated masterpiece, this DVD version must suffice. And having watched it with a touch of trepidation as to its ultimate quality, I must say that this transfer simply bowled me over! Sharp images and audible sound and letterbox format: a great transfer of a great film. And so economical in these trying times!

If one does not know the story, it is advisable to read the film script first which is available through the Rutgers Films-in-Print Series. I say this because Shakespeare spoken (in any film or play version) often comes at us so rapidly that whilst savoring the first line said we miss the full import and impact of the second and so on and so forth. Once a viewer knows even the gist of the film's story, then bask in the glory of Welles' answer to anyone who ever thought he'd lost the sand since KANE. This film is 100% the product of pure genius: every scene a picture, every actor perfect for their part, every scene rich with thorough atmosphere and ambience. The music score fits each scene to pure perfection and stands magnificently on its own - and is also available on CD! I can't say enough about this movie: you feel it in a way you feel so few movies. It takes you from your seat and into each scene. It will move you to laughter and tears. It is what movies should be! It is a triumph and a tragedy: a triumph because it is a complete masterwork - and a tragedy because so few in the world realize it or even care.

The only time I attended a screening of CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT was over 30 years ago. Despite its technical problems, I thought it was one of Welles' great achievements. Although it's been at the top of my DVD "want list" for years, I had about given up hope that a Region 1 disc would ever be released. So, suddenly seeing that such a DVD was available thru Amazon came as quite a surprise. I was amazed - and dubious. Could the quality be any good coming from some company I had never heard of before? It looked too good to be true.

After reading the mainly favorable customer comments, I decided to take a chance and placed an order. (After all, at the price there wasn't that much to lose.) Like others who have commented, I was amazed at what I saw after it arrived.

The disc was made from a fairly good copy of the film. The image is sharp throughout. The blacks are deep and I did not see the lines mentioned in another commentary. Dirt and scratches from normal wear and age are there, especially near the beginning, but during most of the film they are at a minimum. As mentioned by others, the main improvement is in the soundtrack. As I remember, it was even worse than in OTHELLO before that film was remastered. Now it is near perfect - a truly amazing change! Also, this is a widescreen presentation. The aspect ratio appears to be about 1.66. Whoever they are, Nostalgia Family Video has done an excellent job with this DVD. If you are a fan of Orson Welles and have waited for a DVD of CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT don't hesitate. This is the real deal!

I am an avid Shakespeare fan. I have read all his plays and seen many film productions. Overall, I have enjoyed reading the plays as much as seeing them. But I have always had trouble with Falstaff. I could never fathom his appeal and popularity. For me, Falstaff comes off as petty and vile; his humor, stale. But I realize now that my negative reaction was a result of reading Falstaff on the page.

What a change of opinion after watching this movie! I now feel that you cannot fully appreciate Falstaff until you see him personified in a great actor, such as Welles. Those mischievous darting eyes, that hearty smile, those wittily delivered punch lines, how all the other characters are captivated by him. Falstaff has charisma, and Welles brings that charisma to life.

Welles has also surrounded himself with great Shakespearean actors. Everyone is excellent (although Jeanne Moreau is a little too sultry, and Margaret Rutherford a little too schoolmarmish.)

The movie's essential qualities can be split in two: the visual, stunning; the audio, disappointing. Welles is a master at framing beautiful, entrancing scenes. The shots of the towering gallows with the dead men hanging below are unforgettable. But the audio is, in a word, poor. All the dialogue was dubbed, and the dubbing is obvious. But the problem is worse than that: words and whole phrases are sometimes inaudible, and noise is a regular problem. Other reviewers have expressed the wish for a Criterion version, and improvement could best be made on the audio track. If that were done (and closed captioning added), Chimes at Midnight would become one of the great movies for teaching Shakespeare.

It is often said that a great actor can make Shakespeare understandable to an audience. I agree--but not in this movie. Because of the poor audio, this is one movie for which you need to read the plays first. Reading both parts of Henry IV should cover 95% of the movie. Reading just the scenes with Falstaff should cover well over 50%. There is also a book available with a "complete continuity script" of the movie.

I watched a DVD version marked "Nostalgia Family Video" on the back, and the audio seemed in synch to me. Although other reviewers have commented on the poor quality of the disc itself, there are unfortunately no other good options available. My understanding is that the audio is out of synch in the VHS version.

Near the end of the movie are some lines taken from Henry V. The King says,

"Enlarge the man committed yesterday,
That rail'd against our person: we consider
It was excess of wine that set him on."

The film version expressly adds that the man is "Falstaff" (which is not in the original text). My first reaction was that Welles was taking too large a liberty here. But then I went back and looked at Henry V again. In the written version, the prior scene had ended with Falstaff's being "shaked of a burning quotidian tertian"; and in the next scene (following the enlargement) Falstaff is dead. Welles is right: the King's lines are an allusion to Falstaff, especially given the wine. The King's act can be seen as a final parting, enlarging Falstaff from the bands of life.

What a great movie! In an interview done in 1982, Welles commented: "If I wanted to get into heaven on the basis of one movie, that's the one I'd offer up." In my opinion, he'd get in.

I concur with Mr. Donnelly: this is a remarkable release (though my copy indicates that the company is not Hollywood's Attic but Nostalgia Family Video in Baker City, OR, from which address it was shipped). I'm presuming it's the same release (its cover is the one shown here). The sound quality is astounding: mono, certainly, but cleared of the many problems it has always had (and I have been seeing this film since not long after the release date). And an excellent print: no frames missing (the normal previous state) and generally a clear, unspotted copy (though blacks throughout have light vertical bars -- something I've never seen). The source of the print is impossible to identify, but someone has done a fine job with it, and I would expect only minimal improvement even in Criterion's hands. Highly recommended indeed! And -- not incidentally -- one of the most satisfying films ever made: exemplary adaptation of Shakespeare, marvelous acting (Welles, Baxter, Gielgud, Rutherford, Rodway, Moreau, Webb, Chiari, all remarkable), and certainly the most brilliantly filmed and brutal battle scene ever.

You can go to Amazon.fr from any Amazon page, and search for "Chimes at Midnight." You'll find a perfectly good Spanish edition for under $20. Aside from the nuisance of having Spanish as the default language, this DVD is identical to the one some jerk is trying to rip you off with.

Welles again demonstrates his consummate creativity, merging a number of scenes from Shakespeare's plays to carve the finest portraits of both the young Henry IV and his muse and drinking companion, Falstaff. It is a timeless relationship between rebellious youth - so in need of a break from the burden of responsibility that presses on him - and his antithesis, an old drunkard merrymaker who bumbles through life with wit, laughter, and in the worst disorder. In a grainy production that makes no shortcuts in language, It is acted to perfection by the unbeatable ensemble of Wells, Baxter, Gielgud, and Moreau, to mention only a few.

At the center is prince Hal, whose father disapproves of his adolescent partying. He needs the corpulent Falstaff, who loves him and hopes to use him once he gains power, as a courtier. Gielgud (the perpetual old man) is the King, defending himself and Hal from a series of deadly challengers from family and friends. All of these relationships evolve, so close to life that only Shakespeare could write it. It make me weep at the mystery of life.

The film is extremely ambitious, a hallmark of Welles. The sets are wonderfully realistic, including the horrific civil war battle between the Henries, when Henry IV must at last prove his mettle to his father. Nothing romantic and glorious, just mud, mayhem, and fear. It is one of the best portrayals of organized violence on film. But there is the wider milieu as well, from the court to brothels and pubs. It is beautiful and raw.

I saw this 30 years ago in English with subtitles on French television and remembered it so vividly that I have looked for a good version of it ever since. This version is good, but the sound is primitive and somewhat low. The formatting is also inset rather than full screen, hence the print somewhat inferior. But these are minor gripes. This is a great film that can be viewed over and over. Now I will watch it with my children, for whom I am nurturing an interest in SHakespeare - this is the perfect vehicle.

Warmly recommended.

Fifty minutes into the film, the image becomes scrambled. This happens on every device I have tried it on. Is this a homemade copy or something? It is a cheap copy, at any rate.