Chimes at midnight aka falstaff is a 1965 film directed by orson welles based around the character of sir john falstaff in shakespeare. Apr 21, 2017 falstaff give me life by harold bloom 158 pp. Orson welles on the radio war after war of the worldll make all your saneness go and these invaders from earthre twerkin on graves you know cant drill sergeant n. The fonts presented on this website are their authors property, and are either freeware, shareware, demo versions or public domain. The man who is said to have played shakespeares king lear at the age of 12 was fascinated by the old bard. The story of a spanish gentlemen gone mad and his dimwitted squire sancho panza, who set forth on a journey to right wrongs and accomplish good deeds in the name of chivalry.
Orson welles remembers a hilarious meeting with churchill. A movie by a film genius, in bluray version that is the best ive seen yet. Digitallyrestored version marks orson welles centenary and films 50th anniversary pg orson welles, 116 mins starring. Below is a list of orson welles films in total broken into films where orson welles served as director and as actor. I refer not to incomplete or abandoned projects that have gathered legends, but to chimes at midnight 1965, his film about falstaff, which has survived in acceptable prints and is ripe for restoration. I hope orson welles got used to seeing his name on toptenfilmsofalltime lists. George orson welles 1915 1985 was an actor, director and film producer. Home trending history get youtube premium get youtube tv best of youtube music. My lunches with orson puts you at the table with welles. There is also an interview with welles in the editing room working on chimes at midnight, originally seen on the merv griffin show in 1965.
Falstaff s girth is a running joke in shakespeare, but welles goes out of his way to elaborate on the theme. Working on location in spain and dubbing the voices of the extras he used in many roles, welles saved money but sometimes lost clarity. His humour, his wit and above all his humanity transpired in all his works. Chimes at midnight orson welles 1965 like most films by orson welles, chimes at midnight 1965 sits uncomfortably in the shadow of his debut film. Falstaff has since appeared in other media, notably in operas by giuseppe verdi, ralph vaughan williams, and otto nicolai, and in orson welles 1966 film chimes at midnight. Hes up there with winston churchill and benjamin franklin.
His best theatre role was in the 1937 broadway play caesar. Being an orson welles film, it was made in spain, with an unlikely eclectic cast from various countries, makes eloquent use of the means available to him, but displays a remarkably close fidelity to both the letter and spirit of the shakespeare plays welles has mined for the golden experience this film offers. George orson welles may 6, 1915 october 10, 1985, better known as orson welles, was an academy awardwinning american director, writer, actor and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television, and radio. Sep 01, 2016 another twenty years on, welles returned to falstaff with a theater production called chimes at midnight 1960, presented briefly in belfast and dublin. Falstaff 1965, in which he embodied the boisterous figure of sir john falstaff opposite jeanne moreau. His 1938 broadcast of the radio drama the war of the worlds had caused mass panic at the time and is now considered a legend. The war of the worlds is an episode of the american radio drama anthology series the mercury theatre on the air directed and narrated by actor and future filmmaker orson welles as an adaptation of h. Orson welles adapted several of shakespeares histories into chimes at midnight a. Pour comprendre et approcher orson welles, lentretien donne en 1982 a leslie megahey bbc, et dont les propos.
The films plot centres on william shakespeares recurring character sir john falstaff and the fatherson relationship he has with. This is a comprehensive listing of the theatre work of orson welles. However this is a view often dismissed by viewers that actually take the time out to watch the rest of the welles canon and a viewing of any number of his films will. Sir john falstaff is the hero in this compilation of extracts from shakespeares henry iv and other plays, made into a connected story of. Orson welles falstaff dean martin show by timpbears. Watch him transform himself into falstaff in this great performance. Falstaff shakespeare orson welles vostfr 14 youtube. This is orson welles is an edited series of interviews that director peter bogdanovich did with welles in the 1960s and 1970s. Aug 01, 2009 i have a great affection for orson welles. If a bell chimes at midnight, does it make a sound orson. Welles was also an accomplished magician, starring in troop variety spectacles in the war years. Orson welles, adaptation, sir john falstaff, mercury theatre, chestnut street opera house, philadelphia, orson. Facebook twitter instagram youtube podcasts snapchat.
Neil from raredvds4sale has sent me a new list of dvds for sale and 2 of them are orson welles over europe 2009 simon callow looks back over welles film and stage career in europe and orson welles. And yet, unless youre a welles or shakespeare buff, youve probably not heard of chimes at midnight. I listened to a recording of his war of the worlds broadcast in the 1930s on youtube recently this really put the cat. Orson welles acteur, realisateur, keith baxter acteur classe. Arkadin by orson welles, a movie to download, on vod and legal streaming lacinetek. Perhaps the most radical of all shakespeare adaptations, the film condenses shakespears henriad cycle into a single focused narrative.
Campanadas a medianoche, is a 1965 period comedydrama film directed by and starring orson welles. Watch the film trailer for chimes at midnight, starring orson welles, jeanne moreau and margaret rutherford. Full list of orson welles films classic movie favorites. As with five kings, henry iv, part i, provided the structure, with scenes from part ii and lines from other plays richard ii, henry v, the merry wives of windsor incorporated as well. How can it be that there is an orson welles masterpiece that remains all but unseen. Orson welles considered chimes at midnight his personal favorite of all his films. Orson welles is one of the better fat, drunk, pretentious wiseasses of history. Aug 31, 2003 from faust to falstaff orson welles, the cinematic genius who ended his days selling lager, was both noble and feeble, titanic and pathetic, sacred monster and profane clown, says peter conrad.
Orson welles was an american actor, director, writer, and producer who is best remembered for his innovative work in theatre, radio, and film. With anthony perkins, arnoldo foa, jess hahn, billy kearns. With francisco reiguera, akim tamiroff, pepe mediavilla, juan carlos ordonez. With orson welles, jeanne moreau, margaret rutherford, john gielgud. Orson welles falstaff has some sound track difficulties, but they hardly affect the greatness of his film.
The many documentaries on orson welles wellesnet message board. The licence mentioned above the download button is just an indication. Jul 24, 20 welles shared kanes knack for selfdramatization and selfcommentary, and my lunches with orson is charged with the drama of grand failure. Jan 08, 2016 its early in the year, but its already the year of chimes at midnight, orson welless mighty adaptation, from 1965, of shakespeares plays featuring the colossal character of falstaff. Orson welles direction and his performance as shakespeares legendary falstaff are at the center of this conversation. George orson welles was born may 6, 1915, in kenosha, wisconsin, a son of richard head welles 18721930.
Orson wells being interviewed by the bbc here talking about falstaff. He became a mainstay as soon as critical consensus declared his debut citizen kane probably the most important motion picture ever made, and some cinephiles give special notice to his subsequent works, such as the lady from shanghai, touch of evil, f for fake, and for true contrarians only the trial. The sketchbook show 1955 orson welles five episodes of the rarely seen sketchbook show that welles recorded for the bbcboth on the same disc. Jan 06, 20 orson wells being interviewed by the bbc here talking about falstaff. Margaret rutherford, norman rodway, marina vlady, alan webb, walter chiari, michael aldridge, tony beckley, fernando rey, andrew faulds, jose nieto, jeremy rowe, beatrice welles. The career of shakespeares sir john falstaff orson welles as a roistering companion to young prince hal keith baxter, circa 1400 to 14. Orson welles stars as the tragicomic sir john in this newly restored version of his 1965 film.
In his biography of welles, frank brady writes that shortly after the films release, charlton heston, in an act of utter obliviousness, sent welles a script for another falstaff film because it was the one part that heston said he had. Criterion has included some weighty additional commentaries, including one from beatrice welles, orson s daughter, who also appears in the film as falstaff s page boy. I have never seen a more rounded pun intended falstaff as that of welles. The spanishswiss coproduction was released in the united states as chimes at midnight and in most of europe as falstaff. Jun 28, 2015 welles thought falstaff shakespeares greatest creation, considered this his own best film and saw its theme as the betrayal of friendship, though it is much more than that. Orson welles several times adapted shakespeares second tetralogy, the later collection of shakespeares plays about english history richard ii, 1 henry iv, 2 henry iv, henry v as a single production. Its international cast features jeanne moreau, margaret rutherford and ralph richardson as the narrator, in addition to welles. Falstaff leads the apparently wayward prince hal into trouble, and is ultimately repudiated after hal becomes king. Le roi richard ii, henry iv dangleterre, henry v, et les joyeuses.
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