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There's the upcoming french disc, mentioned in this thread - Welles: Falstaff [Chimes at Midnight] - below.

flixyflox wrote:Anyone else ordered the French Studio Canal disc? I have (assuming they'll do a good job on the transfer) but I had to be picked up off the floor when I saw the postage!!! (Disc 16.40 EU postage 30!!!!!) Unfortunaely Amazon.fr doesn't list the title individually (only part of the box.) Are these etailers always so expensive?

Which site is charging €30 for postage, Flixy?

That's what stopped me from ordering from the Spanish site, 15 euro postage to the US. That's more than half the price of the disc. That's just ridiculous!

Flix
pour your self a stiff brandy and enjoy that (last) cigarette!

FWIW -- I have never had any problems with FNAC or Alapage when ordering online from France.

david, I hope you've got your refund by now, but just to explain the relationship between dvdfr, devedenaute & cinesolutions (as I understand it)...

dvdfr is a database of French DVD releases, not a shopping site. devedenaute is a French DVD shopping site that's partnered with dvdfr. And cinesolutions is a sort of umbrella site that provides the technology and sales backup for a number of French shopping sites, including devedenaute.

Your problem may be that you are using your devedenaute login at dvdfr, or vice versa. I've used devedenaute.fr several times and I've always been able to track my order using the "Vous identifier" link at the bottom right of each page.

By the way, I have the new French Orson Welles set that includes Chimes at Midnight currently en route from alapage.

Got the 5-disc 3-movie Welles set today from amazon.fr. The transfers of Trial and Chimes look, on first inspection, like improvements over the Milestone and Spanish discs, but I can't seem to get rid of those pesky French subs when I select the "version originale" (i.e. the English audio track).

davidhare wrote: I am no longer posting on this forum.

I do hope this is not the case, you're certainly one of the more entertaining and informative members.

david, you awroight there, mate?! You bin on the grog again or summit?! 8-[

My Welles set arrived today. I don't have any other copy of this film to make a proper comparison, but to judge from DVDBeaver's review of the Spanish disc, the French StudioCanal edition is a great improvement, with a cleaner, sharper image with good contrast and no significant damage.

Here is a screenshot from the StudioCanal disc, which corresponds approximately to the first screen capture in DVDBeaver's review of the Spanish disc.

As yoshimori remarked, the yellow French subtitles are fixed if you select English audio. I was only able to remove them by ripping.

WOW! That's a heck of an improvement over all previous tapes and even most prints! Is it 1.66:1 anamorphic?

What are the chances of Canal releasing/licensing this in the UK/USA? Obviously, a Criterion release would be divine.

The full description on the box is:

"DVD 9 - noir et blanc - 16/9 compatible 4/3 - 1:66 - Durée 111 min - Remasterisation haute definition et restauration - Audio: Anglais et Francais en mono restauré - Sous-titres: Francais."

Bonuses: "Documentaires: Un chateau en Espagne - Orson Welles, metteur en scène Shakespearien - Bande annonce."

The restored English audio is also very clear and crisp. The only downside really are those fixed yellow subtitles.

They are as clear as they can be (being shot in fog).

Here's another screen capture, which again roughly corresponds to the capture in the DVD Beaver review of the Spanish disc. (The slight jaggedness on the spears only appeared when I resized the image for posting, by the way.)

This doesn't work on all player. But it works on most Pioneer players. As far as locked-in subs go, try this:

- Start disc in French/German, etc

- Press STOP

- Go into your player's MENU

- In the subtitle option, select OFF

- Exit the MENU

- Press PLAY once and return to the film

Thanks. This worked for me with the Chimes disc on one of my DVD players (a Thomson model).

Kinsayder wrote:Thanks. This worked for me with the Chimes disc on one of my DVD players (a Thomson model).

Nice one!

After watching Orson Welles' version of Othello, which I absolutely loved, I remembered that apparently his FALSTAFF was the highlight of this year's Cannes festival and shown in a pristine, restored version.

Any news on whether we'll ever get this one on DVD, and who owns the rights?

Anyone know what's happened to the French Studio Canal Chimes at Midnight? The five-disc boxed set (w/The Trial and The Third Man) - only issued last year - is OOP and unavailable seemingly everywhere. I've tried Amazon.fr, Alapage, FNAC, etc. Nobody has it any longer.

I wonder if we'll get that stand-alone release soon?

I also have a query: are the English subtitles on the Spanish edition adequate? With dodgy sound, Shakespearean dialogue (and me being slightly hearing impaired) I would very much welcome reading an opinion from someone who already owns this disc.

Ste wrote:Anyone know what's happened to the French Studio Canal Chimes at Midnight? The five-disc boxed set (w/The Trial and The Third Man) - only issued last year - is OOP and unavailable seemingly everywhere. I've tried Amazon.fr, Alapage, FNAC, etc. Nobody has it any longer.

The Belgian edition of the set, which appears to be identical, is listed as available here.

I'd advise checking with them first about availability, as I've had problems with DVDFolies in the past due to their no-refund policy. They take payment immediately and if an item is unavailable, you don't get your money back, just a time-limited credit voucher. In fact, when I argued with them about it they wouldn't even give me the voucher!

Kinsayder wrote:I'd advise checking with them first about availability, as I've had problems with DVDFolies in the past due to their no-refund policy. They take payment immediately and if an item is unavailable, you don't get your money back, just a time-limited credit voucher. In fact, when I argued with them about it they wouldn't even give me the voucher!

Thanks for the advice, Kinsayder. Very useful!

I've been battling with my credit card company of late, who seem to want to block every international transaction I make. Quite a problem when you are trying to rebuild an Orson Welles collection. Once all of these problematic orders resolve themselves, I'll contact DVDFolies and create some more

So is this the great battle movie they say inspired the rest?

Depends what you mean - it's muddy and bloody, more guts spilled than glory gained, a brilliantly realised unblinkered view of armed combat with Welles/Falstaff bobbing about like a supersized can of beans on legs...... Shows the futility of war...

Alas, I'll never find out from DVDFolies:

Dear costumer,

Sorry but we don't send any product in united states for the moment,

We only send dvds in Europe,

Best regards,

www.dvdoflies.be

Wonder how they know I'm a costumer?

Maybe they want adress?...