Updated to include review of same-day release of The Immortal Story.
_____
Criterion Collection’s upcoming Chimes as Midnight release has been hailed as “one of the more desirable Blu-ray releases of the year for Welles fans, Shakespeare fans and all cinephiles. ”
DVD Beaver gave its highest recommendation to the August 30 release, calling the 1080P image “superb – looking consistent, rich, and detailed.” The site has also given a thumbs up to The Immortal Story release.
Screen grabs from the Criterion release of Chimes as Midnight were compared to images taken from the Suevia Films PAL DVD and can be seen here. The new release has an aspect ration of 1.66:1.
“Criterion use(s) their typical linear PCM – original mono track – at 1152 kbps (24-bit). The dialogue sync always seems slightly off to me, at times, but the film’s music credited to Angelo Francesco Lavagnino… is clean and clear. There are optional English subtitles on the region ‘A’-locked Blu-ray disc,” reviewer Gary Tooze noted.
DVD Beaver also provided a more detailed look at the bonus features:
“Criterion include an important audio commentary featuring film scholar James Naremore, author of The Magic World of Orson Welles and it is quit educational and informative. There are new interviews recorded by Criterion in 2016. The first is with actor Keith Baxter – for 1/2 an hour – who reminisces about playing Prince Hal on stage and screen and his close relationship with Orson Welles. We also hear, about 15-minutes, from director Orson Welles’s daughter Beatrice Welles, who appeared in the film at age nine and recalls the atmosphere on set and her reluctance to play Falstaff’s young page. We also get 1/2 an hour with Welles biographer Simon Callow who played Falstaff to Keith Baxter’s King Henry IV in a 1998 production of Orson Welles stage version of Chimes at Midnight. As an author, he has published three volumes of a Welles biography. In this interview, Callow discusses Welles’s nimble adaptation of several Shakespeare plays into one coherent work of cinema. There is also a new, 27-minute, interview with film historian Joseph McBride, author of What Ever Happened to Orson Welles? discussing Welles late career and approach to adapting Shakespeare. Included is an 11-minute interview with Welles while at work editing the film, from a 1965 episode of The Merv Griffin Show and a trailer. The package contains a liner notes booklet with an essay by film scholar Michael Anderegg.”
The full DVD Beaver review can be found here.
DVD Beaver has also reviewed Criterion’s The Immortal Story, set for release on August 30.
Reviewer Tooze wrote, “The Immortal Story is essential fodder for Welles fans. The film’s enigmatic reputation is deserved but you can sense multiple layers within the narrative even upon first viewing. I’ll avoid saying ‘brilliant’ but the film construction is, as always with Welles, absolutely fascinating. This Criterion Blu-ray package is an easy endorsement. The commentary and supplements add further value and we give it a very strong recommendation!”
He described the audio as clean and video as exceeding his expectations.
Of the extras, DVD Beaver wrote, “Criterion add(ed) the audio commentary from 2005 featuring film scholar Adrian Martin expanding on the theory of The Immortal Story as something of an obscurity. It’s excellent and informative – and only found on the English version. We get a 1968 documentary directed by François Reichenbach and Frédéric Rossif entitled Portrait: Orson Welles that runs 3/4 of an hour. It has excerpts and fragments from different interviews with Orson Welles making a statement to journalists in fluent French about his career and his conception of life. It has optional English subtitles. There is a new, 15-minute, interview with actor Norman Eshley whose appearance in The Immortal Story came very early in his long television career. In this May 2016 piece he discusses playing the sailor in Orson Welles’ film. In an interview from 2004 with cinematographer Willy Kurant he discusses shooting The Immortal Story for 15-minutes. There is also a new, 25-minute, interview with Welles scholar François Thomas discussing the production as well as Welles’s love for author Karen Blixen, who wrote under the pen name Isak Dinesen, on whose story the film is based. The package has a liner notes booklet with an essay by film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum.”
Check out DVD Beaver’s full review on their website.
__________
Post your comments on the Wellesnet Message Board.