It has been almost 60 years since Orson Welles completed CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT (1965) which was more frequently known as FALSTAFF until its recent restoration. It had been available off and on over the years in various versions most of which suffered from a poorly synchronized soundtrack which first happened when the movie was in post-production,
All of Welles’ European films had this basic problem as the European sound laboratories at that time were not as sophisticated as those in America. This was especially true of Spain (where CHIMES was mostly photographed) whose technical facilities were not ideally equipped to handle post-synchronizing complicated Shakespearean dialogue.
Part of the fault lies with Welles himself as he visualized the film’s scenes as he shot them and then worried about recording the soundtrack later. This was also true of his earlier Shakespearean effort, OTHELLO (1952), which was shot in bits and pieces over a period of 3 years before the soundtrack was recorded. That issue has been corrected with OTHELLO and now finally with CHIMES.
This new Criterion release comes equipped with subtitles which is essential with any Shakespearean movie but especially this one as it consists of several plays put together. Welles dominates the film as Falstaff (he was actually padded to make himself that large) but is matched in his performance by John Gielgud’s King Henry IV and by Keith Baxter’s Prince Hal.
The black and white photography is gorgeous and the editing in the Battle of Shrewsbury sequence has become the stuff of legend among film buffs and Welles aficionados. The musical portions of the soundtrack are very evocative and now that the latest restoration techniques have been used, CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT can finally be seen the way Orson Welles envisioned it.
The Capsule Critic 