chimes at midnight/falstaff (1966)
“What is difficult about Falstaff is that he is the
greatest conception of a good man, the most completely good man, in
all drama. His faults are so small and he makes tremendous jokes out
of little faults. But his goodness is like bread, like
wine…”
(Orson Welles)
The last of Welles’ three Shakespeare adaptations
was made between 1964 and 1965, and it’s called “Falstaff” in the U.S.,
although its original title was “Chimes at Midnight.” It’s largely
comprised of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, with additional material from
Richard II, Henry V and The Merry Wives of Windsor. The purpose of
pulling scenes from the different plays is to tell, in one movie, the
story of Falstaff’s relationship to Prince Hal, to build up to the
heartbreaking final scene where the prince, now crowned King Henry V,
rejects his old companion.
The film stars Welles as Falstaff (of course), and I
believe this is his finest screen performance. The movie also
features Keith Baxter as Prince Hal, Norman Rodway as Hotspur (who is
particularly excellent), John Gielgud as Henry IV, Jeanne Moreau as
Doll Tearsheet and Margaret Rutherford as Mistress Quickly.
The most striking thing about the film, outside of
Welles’ performance, is the way the battle scenes are filmed. They
are shot from ground level, literally and figuratively, showing all
the mud and confusion and futility of war in a way I’d never seen
before. There is no chivalry or heroism in it, just brutality.
When I saw Mel Gibson’s
Braveheart, I thought the battle
scenes were strongly reminiscent of those in Chimes at Midnight. I
didn’t mention this in my review of that film, however, since I
thought it was just evidence that my Welles obsession was getting out
of control.
Then, somewhat later, I read an interview with Gibson
where he said he had deliberately modeled the battle scenes on the
ones in Welles’ Chimes at Midnight.
Chimes at Midnight was the last full-length narrative movie
Welles made.