Chimes DVD

[Tony]

Just got my 'Chimes' DVD in the mail today; ordered it from some guy in Spain, who got it here pronto. I bought it on eBay for $25.00: better than ordering it from DVD web-sites who usually are asking $40.00.

The picture and sound are excellent! It's from Suevia Films, and has been reviwed by Jeff, I believe. I didn't get any extras, pamphlet-wise, but the disc has scene selections, interviews (all in Spanish, I think) and some never-before-seen-by-me photos on the set of 'Chimes' in a small gallery.

The disc is PAL Region 0, and it plays on my Apex AD1100W DVD player. My Apex plays PAL or NTSC, but it only plays region 1. Somebody in an old post mentioned that some Apex DVDs can play any region if you know the secret code, but I don't think mine is one of them.

As for 'Chimes' itself, the older I get, the more it means to me, and I've never felt the emotion that I did today. Previously I've only had an intellectual understanding, but now I'm old enough to begin to feel it. I used the English subtitles, and though they are approximations of what is said, and often inaccurate, they still helped me understand more that I ever have previously. Curiosly, Gilguid affected me enormously today; he was only on the set a few days, but is a strong presence, and plays a very difficult role, I think. I can't remember before feeling the clarity of his vision in his last conversation with Hal, when he acknowledges that he got the crown illigitamately, but that Hal will be on slightly firmer ground, even though the knives will still be drawn. The King seems very sympathetic to me now. Even Hal, when he banishes Falstaff, seems almost to have no choice, as Jack has just burst in on a very somber ceremony like a bull in a china shop, and Hal is trying to change his image. Still, the new King does make sure that Falstaff has a pension, and that he is let out of jail almost immediately. As usual with Welles (and Shakespeare) "everyone has their reasons".

I can highly reccommend the DVD, and encourage other Wellesians to get it before Beatrice does a "restoration"!

[Jeff Wilson]

It's a very nice disc, considering the difficulty in finding quality copies. On a side note, I found this in a newsgroup posting on Scorsese's Gangs of New York:

"...Scorsese has said that the fight scenes in the third act are influenced by a hard-to-find 1965 Orson Welles film, Chimes at Midnight. This movie is so obscure that if you can find it, it's in Spanish with English subtitles. Jeanne Moreau, John Gielgud and Margaret Rutherford are the stars. I
mentioned to Scorsese that a friend of mine, Bill Grantham, an entertainment lawyer in Hollywood who was once with Variety in Paris, found a VHS dub of it recently. Bill raved about it, and saw what Scorsese had done.

Scorsese was thrilled to hear it. "There's a book we did of the Gangs script for the Academy, and we listed all the films we screened while we were making it. Chimes was a tremendous influence. I love crediting the films that inspired me."

[Welles Fan]

It's definitely a must-have DVD. It is easily near the top of my Welles list.

I think the visual style of the battle scenes also inspired the opening battle scenes in Excalibur and Gladiator.

[mteal]

Branaugh's Henry V and the battle scenes in Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan and Mel Gibson's Braveheart also contain what look like direct steals from Chimes. I'm sure there are many others too.

[Fredric]

Tony, Jeff, et al.

Ok, here's my situation. Listening to Tony's rave about the DVD and learning that it was Region 0, I went to Ebay and got one for even cheaper: $22 with s&h. It arrived in less than a week, and . . . it won't play in my DVD player. The Ebay auction did state "all region" DVD. So, what do I need to do? Is this a PAL-only version that I need to complain to the seller about swapping for a region 0? Do I need to make an adjustment to my JVC player's (XV-523GD) code? Is my player one of those that won't even play region 0?

It does play in my brother-in-law's laptop. He's sixteen, and when I showed him the battle sequence, his eyes popped. I love impressing the youngsters! He was wondering about the "random fat guy running around" and I told him that it was the main character! He needed to watch the whole thing.

Anyway, if it's my disc, can I find someone to swap with me? And, if its my player, can I fix it or find someone to buy?

Thanks for listening!

[Jeff Wilson]

The Spanish disc is PAL only, but is R0, which is why it played on a computer DVD-player (computers being able to play both NTSC and PAL). Consequently, your options are either to watch it only on a computer, or find one of the DVD players out there that does conversions from PAL to NTSC. Such players have a special chip that makes the PAL signal viewable on NTSC televisions. It's nothing you can change at home.

If the seller didn't mention it was PAL, you should certainly bring it up with him. There is no NTSC version of the film available, legally, that I'm aware of on DVD.

[Fredric]

Thanks, Jeff. It does say PAL as well as ALL REGION on the auction page. No NTSC. So, it's not the seller's fault, just my misunderstanding of ALL REGION, Region 0, and NTSC. I'll evaluate my options and decide whether I want to settle with watching this on a computer each time or maybe sell it to someone here.

[Fredric]

I've decided I'll let the Chimes disc go for $20, which shaves a couple bucks off what I bought it for. It hasn't been viewed (in its entirety). If anyone wants it, please email me: fbarrett@netstrategies.com