Fifty years after it was overlooked in the U.S., Orson Welles’ Chimes at Midnight is finally getting its due.
First, Cinefamily in Los Angeles extended its run through January 13.
Now, the Film Forum, which has been showing Welles’ masterpiece five times daily and four on Sunday since its release on January 1, announced it will screen Chimes at Midnight through January 19 at the New York City movie house.
“It’s turning into our biggest blockbuster in years,” Bruce Goldstein, repertory director for the Film Forum, said.
Deadline noted that Chimes at Midnight, in very limited release, technically had the highest per theater average of any film over the past weekend.
A January 7 showing of the Janus Films restoration of Chimes at Midnight was hosted by co-star Keith Baxter and another on January 9 by Welles’ youngest daughter, Beatrice. Podcasts of both of their Q&A sessions are being made available by the Film Forum at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/film-forum-podcasts/id121534994 or feed://filmforum.org/rss/podcast
The restored Chimes at Midnight, which is being distributed domestically by Janus, is an upgrade of the 2015 Filmoteca Española restoration. The Criterion Collection is expected to release the film on home video later this year as it continues work on an even grander restoration of Welles’ masterpiece in the years ahead.
Janus Films has made significant improvements to the Filmoteca Española restoration, including removal of scratches and stains and corrections to the contrast and black levels. It is light years ahead of the many inferior bootleg prints and questionable home video releases. Most striking on the Janus restoration is the sound, which is far clearer and consistent than past releases.
Chimes at Midnight is being rolled out nationwide in the weeks ahead with showings in more than a dozen cities.
_______
Post your comments on the Wellesnet Message Board.