Welles's monochrome, organic, academic and evocative cinematic Holinshed/Shakespeare adaptation filmed in Spain in the mid-'60s. He plays Sir John Falstaff - a character representing 'Merrie Englande'. In his interview on the B. B. C.'s Arena programme Welles explained that Falstaff represented -'a better world, a Saxon world versus the Norman or beady-eyed Tudor world'. The gaunt, darkhaired, medieval-looking Newport-born actor, Keith Baxter is very good as Prince Hal. Some of the dubbing is atrocious although the beauty of Shakespeare's phrases is telling. The Battle of Shrewsbury is evocative - Welles hired soldiers from the Spanish army. Some of the violent imagery reminds me of New York new wave band Television's martial track 'Torn Curtain' from their landmark album Marquee Moon (1977). For me, this is Welles's most resonant film alongside his Dinesen adaptation for French television, 'The Immortal Story' (1968) and 'F for Fake' (1973).
Review of Chimes at Midnight
