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.

[Le Chiffre]

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

[AndersE]

My wife went to Madrid, Spain, last week and brought back a wonderful present. The Spanish DVD of Chimes at Midnight! It really is a marvelous film and a well produced DVD.

She picked it up at the El Corte Ingles department store (they have several branches) for the fantastic price of 5.50 euros!
If you have friends in Spain and don't already have it this is a great oportunity to get a truly magical film.

If not, they have a website where it can be ordered at the same price:

http://cine.elcorteingles.es/seccion....=Welles

Note that this page also lists a DVD of Ambersons, but as it says that it is in widescreen I think I will investigate a little further before ordering that one (it doesn't say anything about language or subtitling either).

Anders

[AndersE]

I did check on the Spanish Ambersons DVD.
It is issued by Manga Film S.L.
My Spannish is poor to say the least, but this is what their web site says:

Drama, Clásico

Idioma: Castellano.

Idioma VO: Inglés

Idioma subtítulos: Castellano

Duración: 88 min.

Nacionalidad: Estados Unidos

Formato: DVD

Contenido: dvd 5

Zona: 2

Duración extra: 25 min.

Contenido extra: Filmografías selectas, ficha artística, ficha técnica, Orson Welles, y textos de Jordi Batlle Caminal.

Formato pantalla: 1.33:1 4/3

So Jeff, maybe you should update the DVD availability on the Wellesnet site as there apparently now are two versions of Ambersons out on DVD in Europe.
Manga Films looks like a legit operation, and not a bootlegger, judging from other titles they distribute.

By the way, the film is a bit difficult to find as goes under the title "El cuarto mandamiento" in Spain.

Anders

[AndersE]

Well, this should teach me to do my research before reaching for the keyboard!!!
The Spanish Ambersons DVD is mentioned (and pretty much dismissed) on the site!
And I thought I had something new to report.

Oh, well...

Anders
(with face full of eggs)

[Lance Morrison]

wow, that's a much better price than some of the outlandish amounts I've seen it for....unfortunately since I play my dvd's in an xbox I dont have multiregion capabilites....thanks for reporting it though

[AndersE]

The disk is multiregion, so that shouldn't be a problem. It is in PAL though... I have no knowledge of the xbox, but most computers play both PAL and NTSC without a hitch (you should make sure though).

Anders

[colwood]

AndersE, thanks for the info and link. I just got a multi-region player (finally) and the Chimes DVD is one of the reasons why.

Lance, while I'm sure you can find a good premium multi-region player, one inexpensive option is the Sampo DVE-612(n). Relatively low cost, works great (though I've only had mine for a short time), and is region and code free with a built in NTSC-PAL converter (also plays burned CD's, DVD's, MP3's). I got mine from 220-electronics.com (they call it the International World-wide DVD player).

[Lance Morrison]

hey thanks for that link! I wonder how long this offer is going to last...because I have bought a lot of films and book and cd's lately way too many for my funds...

I researched an apparently in america the xbox does not support PAL....I had some hope since it really is similar to stock computer parts...but oh well!

Thanks a lot all