Chimes at Midnight (1965)
Chimes at Midnight (1965)
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently Chimes at Midnight is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Amazon Video, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Fandango At Home
Streaming in:🇺🇸 United States
Cast & Crew.
Orson Welles
Falstaff / Director / Screenplay / Costume Design
Keith Baxter
Prince Hal
John Gielgud
Henry IV
Jeanne Moreau
Doll Tearsheet
Margaret Rutherford
Mistress Quickly
Marina Vlady
Kate Percy
Walter Chiari
Mr. Silence
Michael Aldridge
Pistol
Tony Beckley
Ned Poins
Julio Peña
Vassall
Jeremy Rowe
Prince John
Andrés Mejuto
Woman's Tailor
Norman Rodway
Henry 'Hotspur' Percy
Alan Webb
Justice Shallow
Fernando Rey
Worcester
José Nieto
Northumberland
Andrew Faulds
Westmoreland
Patrick Bedford
Bardolph (as Paddy Bedford)
Ralph Richardson
Narrator (voice)
Ingrid Pitt
(uncredited)
Beatrice Welles
Falstaff's Page
Harry Saltzman
Producer
Raphael Holinshed
Novel
Mariano Erdoiza
ProductionDesigner
Edmond Richard
Director of Photography
Angelo Francesco Lavagnino
Original Music Composer
Elena Jaumandreu
Editor
José Antonio de la Guerra
Set Decoration / Art Direction
Francisco Puyol
Makeup Artist
Emiliano Piedra
Producer
Alessandro Tasca
Executive Producer
Ángel Escolano
Producer
Media.
Details.
Release DateDecember 22, 1965
Original NameCampanadas a medianoche
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 55m
Content RatingNR
Budget$800,000
Filming LocationsCardona · Madrid · Barcelona, Spain
Genres
Last updated:
This Movie Is About.
Wiki.
Chimes at Midnight (Spanish: Campanadas a medianoche, released in most of Europe as Falstaff) is a 1966 period comedy-drama film written, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. Its plot centers on William Shakespeare's recurring character Sir John Falstaff and his fatherly relationship with Prince Hal, who must choose loyalty to Falstaff or to his father, King Henry IV. The English-language film was an international co-production of Spain, France, and Switzerland.
Welles said that the core of the film's story was "betrayal of friendship". It stars Welles as Falstaff, Keith Baxter as Prince Hal, John Gielgud as Henry IV, Jeanne Moreau as Doll Tearsheet, and Margaret Rutherford as Mistress Quickly. The script contains text from five of Shakespeare's plays, primarily Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2, but also Richard II, Henry V, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Ralph Richardson's narration is taken from the works of chronicler Raphael Holinshed.
Welles had produced a Broadway stage adaptation of nine Shakespeare plays, Five Kings, in 1939. In 1960, he revived this project in Ireland as Chimes at Midnight, which was his final stage performance. Neither of these plays was successful, but Welles considered portraying Falstaff his life's ambition and turned the project into a film. To get financing, he lied to producer Emiliano Piedra that he intended to make a version of Treasure Island, and keeping the film funded during its production was a constant struggle. Welles shot Chimes at Midnight in Spain between 1964 and 1965; it premiered at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival, winning two awards there.
Initially dismissed by most film critics, Chimes at Midnight is now regarded as one of Welles's highest achievements, and Welles called it his best work. Welles felt a strong connection to the character of Falstaff and called him "Shakespeare's greatest creation". Some film scholars and Welles's collaborators have made comparisons between Falstaff and Welles, while others see a resemblance between Falstaff and Welles's father. Disputes over the ownership of Chimes at Midnight made it difficult to view the film legally until recently. It was released in the UK on DVD and Blu-ray in 2015. A new restoration by Janus Films and The Criterion Collection screened at Film Forum in New York on January 1–12, 2016. The Criterion Collection released the film on Blu-ray and DVD on August 30, 2016.