Review of Chimes at Midnight (1965) by Ben S — 13 Nov 2009
Featuring arguably Welles' finest performance (as Shakespeare's Falstaff--and isn't it perverse that he would make of the Bard's greatest comic creation a tragic figure?), plus the only battle sequence he ever filmed--incidentally, one of the greatest ever made.
Branagh attempted to match it in his Henry V; Gibson tried to emulate it in Braveheart; Jackson staged a dryer version in Fellowship of the Rings; all threw a combined effort of hundreds of millions of dollars, far more than Welles ever spent in his entire career, and all failed--mainly because none had even a fraction of his Brobdingnagian talent.
A great film, one of the greatest ever made.
This review of Chimes at Midnight (1965) was written by Ben S on 13 Nov 2009.
Chimes at Midnight has generally received very positive reviews.
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