Blu-ray Review Chimes at Midnight Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

matt-hough

Chimes at Midnight Blu-ray Review

Orson Welles’ remarkable meshing and mangling of five Shakespearean plays to achieve the story of Sir John Falstaff makes Chimes at Midnight one of his most unusual and ambitious cinematic enterprises.

[review]
Click here to read the original article.

 

[Darby67]

Matt:

I cannot wait to purchase this title at the next 50% Off Criterion sale at Barnes and Noble. Thank you for yet another insightful and well-composed review.

Sean

 

[Angelo Colombus]

Orson said this was his favorite film he directed so very happy that Criterion released this great film on Blu-ray. Purchased this and The Immortal Story so I will have a nice double feature when I get them.

 

[KeithDA]

Oh that this was a region free release! Our recent region B Mr Bongo UK release has been widely panned.
With UHD discs being region free, why can't we have the same for Blu Ray.....?

 

[David_B_K]

Oh that this was a region free release! Our recent region B Mr Bongo UK release has been widely panned.With UHD discs being region free, why can't we have the same for Blu Ray…..?

I have that Mr. Bongo release as well. The main problem is that the contrast is too low, and everything is shades of gray and washed out. If you bump up the contrast on your monitor, it looks (and sounds) pretty good.

This is one of my favorite Welles and Shakespeare films. After decades of waiting for a quality release, I have already pre-ordered the Criterion. Can't wait for a sale for this one.

 

[titch]

Oh that this was a region free release! Our recent region B Mr Bongo UK release has been widely panned.
With UHD discs being region free, why can't we have the same for Blu Ray.....?

The region coding of DVDs and Blu-rays has always been really frustrating. A region-free player for blu-rays is - unfortunately - the only way to go for us over on this side of the pond - most classic and catalogue films on blu ray are released and region-locked by boutique companies now. Even way, way back in the bad ol' days of VHS, I went over to New York to purchase a US Panasonic Super-VHS player, in order to play US NTSC tapes that were unavailable in the UK (and during the video nasty era, there was a major incentive for a horror film fan to get hold of uncensored tapes from the US!). Even though quite a lot of the same films are published by different companies for region 'A' and 'B', there will usually be one region that has a better option - either the transfer or extras. The Criterion Collection's Kurosawa and Bergman blu-ray titles are far better than the BFI versions. The forthcoming region 'A' Shout! Factory's Midnight Run has a much better transfer than the region 'B' version. As Mr Bongo holds the region 'B' rights to Falstaff/Chimes Of Midnight, it is doubtful that Criterion will release a region 'B' version. StudioCanal, Masters Of Cinema and the BFI also have region 'B' titles that are superior to their region 'A' versions. Amazon.co.uk sell a multi region Sony BDP-S5500 for £189. The Oppo BDP 103D is much more expensive at £600, but it really is a fantastic player and has a Darbee processor built in to boot. I've had two Oppo players and have no complaints. In January, Oppo said that they were developing a 4K player

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/columns/my-two-cents/011216_1630

The fact that 4K discs are region free is a huge improvement. However, it remains to be seen how many classic and catalogue titles are released in 4K.

 

[KeithDA]

As Mr Bongo holds the region 'B' rights to Falstaff/Chimes Of Midnight, it is doubtful that Criterion will release a region 'B' version. StudioCanal, Masters Of Cinema and the BFI also have region 'B' titles that are superior to their region 'A' versions.

Having had my fingers burnt with the BFI 'Citizen Kane' recent-ish Blu Ray release, you are right that it is the quality of the transfer that is important. Now if Criterion were region free and all we had to do was import them...!
I don't want to change my Blu Ray player yet as I'm waiting for 4K to settle down a bit. Even here, I suspect that UHD players are region specific which will control the playing of backwards-compatible Blu Rays.....

And yes, I would be nice to have an Oppo!

 

[PMF]

I noticed in the Supplements the name of Simon Callow.
Would this be the very same Simon Callow who originated the role of Mozart in the stage version of "Amadeus" and also played a supporting role in the same said film?

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

I noticed in the Supplements the name of Simon Callow.
Would this be the very same Simon Callow who originated the role of Mozart in the stage version of "Amadeus" and also played a supporting role in the same said film?

Yes. He also wrote a multi-volume set of bios of Welles a few years ago.

 

[PMF]

A "multi-volume set"? Fantastic. Such extensive biographies are always intriguing to me.
Thanks for that information, as I will add it to a future list of purchases.
Simon Callow also is an acting coach.
From the little I've seen of him on film, I found it unfortunate that he has not garnered more work.
I thought he played a great supporting role in "Four Weddings and a Funeral".
Anyway, IMO, "Chimes at Midnight" is a no-brainer of a purchase and am looking forward to to.

 

[B-ROLL]

He's also one of the speakers on the commentary for the StudioCanal The Third Man bluray release

as Welles is apparently in the film (Though the commentary indicates not as much as it would appear ...)

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film4/blu-ray_reviews_61/the_third_man_blu-ray.htm

http://simoncallow.com/index.php?rel=home

 

[KeithDA]

A "multi-volume set"? Fantastic. Such extensive biographies are always intriguing to me.
Thanks for that information, as I will add it to a future list of purchases.

He's completed 3 volumes, the 4th (and final one) is still being written....

 

[PMF]

He's completed 3 volumes, the 4th (and final one) is still being written....

Ah-ha, so that's where Simon Callow has disappeared; to his study and desk.
3 Volumes in and of itself is an enormous undertaking; but a fourth is also on the way?
This must be the definitive of all the Welles biographies.
The last 4-Volume biography I delved into was Sir Michael Holroyd's "Bernard Shaw"
Even Peter Bogdanovich must be taking note.
Once the fourth is out, I'll purchase them all for an uninterrupted marathon experience.

 

[Angelo Colombus]

I have the first three volumes and all well written on Welles personal life and the movies he made and acted in. A great read and will buy the fourth one for sure.

 

[Ushabye]

I went to see him speak on Welles in Dublin last year. The fourth book isn't even the last one! Callow is a brilliant actor and speaker. He's never off the stage in England, writing his Welles' biographies mostly in the dressing rooms of theaters. My favourite role of his is Mr. Beebe in 'A Room With a View'.

 

[David_B_K]

I checked out a few scenes of the new Blu-ray last night. This is absolutely the best I have seen Chimes look. This really has a great picture. Sound level seems a bit low, but it is clear. There are still some scenes with overly sibilant 's' sounds around the time of the battle and its aftermath that are not unique to this version. Over all, this is the quality Blu-ray I never expected to see of this film.

 

[Capnvid]

First thing I watched was the Battle of Shrewsbury, which has had an influence on almost every battle scene filmed since, particularly "Braveheart" and "Gladiator." Then I watched the Keith Baxter interview where he talks about Wells and how wonderfully effective he was as Falstaff. Very moving. I saw "Chimes" in Chicago in the late '60s at the Clark theater. Wells' extraordinary images have never looked so grand as they do on this Blu. Turn it up and enjoy. Saint George and England!

 

[PMF]

I went to see him speak on Welles in Dublin last year. The fourth book isn't even the last one! Callow is a brilliant actor and speaker. He's never off the stage in England, writing his Welles' biographies mostly in the dressing rooms of theaters. My favourite role of his is Mr. Beebe in 'A Room With a View'.

A fifth book is in the wings? What an unbelievable undertaking. This surpasses Holroyd's four volumes on Shaw.
Guess I better start my readings, now; that is, after I first purchase "Chimes at Midnight".

 

[David_B_K]

Burt, I think John Boorman's Excalibur also borrowed heavily from the Shrewsbury battle. Even this past season's penultimate episode of Game of Thrones reminded me of it. Before Chimes at Midnight, I don't think anyone had ever realistically depicted the horror of medieval warfare.

 

[KeithDA]

No - I still think only 4 volumes are planned..
http://www.wellesnet.com/simon-callow-talks-about-orson-welles-volume-3-one-man-band/

As the third one, 'One man band' covers 'Chimes' - I suggest people don't hold off waiting for all 4 to be available. Volumes 1 (including Citizen Kane) and 3 are the most readable....