Orson Welles - Mr. Bongo Blu-rays Coming....

[IanSchultz23]

I just got a press release which made me ****ed my pants so hard...

Falstaff Chimes At Midnight, Too Much Johnson/The Immortal Story and a another version of The Stranger is coming out 29th of June. Special features not official yet.

Except for The Stranger

Original Theatrical Trailer,
• Image Gallery
• Orson Welles Wartime radio. Four complete programmes exemplify Welles’ blending of
propaganda and entertainment: Alameda (Nazi eyes on Canada 1942), War workers: (Ceiling Unlimited 1942), Brazil (Hello Americans 1942), Bikini Atomic test (Orson Welles Commentaries 1946).

[mattyl149]

It'll be interesting to see how their version of The Stranger compares

It's been ages since they last released something. I thought at one point they were having a competition with Shameless to see who could go longest without putting a release out

[Yami]

Fantastic news! Mr Bongo had a decidedly spotty record on DVD, but the few Blu-Rays that they've released have been fine. I've been begging them for a long time to release Chimes at Midnight on Blu-Ray. To get Too Much Johnson and The Immortal Story alongside that is also fantastic news and, as for The Stranger, it will be interesting to see what print they use.

[rapta]

Great news! I hope they use decent masters...heard mixed things about some of their DVD releases. However if their Blu-ray release of Jodorowsky's Santa Sangre is anything to go by, we're in for a treat...

[Yami]

When I asked them about releasing the Filmoteca Española restoration of Chimes at Midnight on Blu-Ray a while back, they said that they would look into it. That's been playing at quite a few places recently, such as the TCM Classic Film Festival and the Film Forum. It certainly seems to be the most likely source, unless Mr Bongo revert to their old ways as I don't think their DVD came from an HD master.

The source for The Stranger will be interesting too, seeing as Odeon are releasing the Library of Congress master. There's nothing to say that Odeon have exclusive rights (and the film is in the public domain), so it may well be the same - but I'll continue to hope that someone licences the better quality MGM transfer.

[Chad Plainview]

Hell yeah!!!!!

[Yami]

UPDATE: The Immortal Story might be DVD-only?

From Mr. Bongo:

We are extremely proud to announce that we will be releasing a restored, 50th anniversary edition of Orson Welles masterpiece ‘Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight' ('Campanadas a medianoche' in Spanish) on Blu-ray and DVD this summer. This will be accompanied by 'Too Much Johnson', on Blu-ray and DVD, and 'The Immortal Story' on DVD.

For the 50th anniversary edition of ‘Chimes At Midnight’, we have worked with Luciano Berriatúa at Filmoteca in Madrid. The restoration has been undertaken with upmost respect for Welle’s original vision of the movie, and is not based on providing a quality of picture and sound according to the standard of current technologies (attempting to better what Welles filmed in the sixties), but to recover the film so that the viewer can experience the movie the same way they could watch it at the time.

Berriatúa says of his restoration; “For me the most important aspect of this restoration is to make a copy as accurate as possible to the original, with original photography. The most important thing is to play the grading, shadows and contrast selected by Welles. It is not a digital restoration in which the image is absolutely clean and no grains or problems. There is a no stereo 5.1, but mono sound, as of the time."

2015 see's both the centenary of Welles, and the 50th anniversary of 'Chimes at Midnight'.

Please subscribe to our dedicated Orson Welles mailing list to stay up to date on all proceedings.

Cinema screening dates for 'Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight' are available here.

More news soon!

[IanSchultz23]

The Immortal Story is suppose be on the Blu-Ray of Too Much Johnson, look like it be released separately on dvd as well.

[Yami]

Originally Posted by IanSchultz23

The Immortal Story is suppose be on the Blu-Ray of Too Much Johnson, look like it be released separately on dvd as well.

That would certainly make more sense than releasing a 40 minute short on its own, but Mr. Bongo aren't making this clear that's for sure!

[noirjunkie]

Does Mr. Bongo actually have the rights to release Chimes at Midnight?

[Yami]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

Does Mr. Bongo actually have the rights to release Chimes at Midnight?

They released it on DVD 3 years ago, and look to have officially sourced this from the Cineteca Espanola restoration that's been touring the US and will be touring the UK. So it looks like it. With confirmation that Chimes at Midnight will also be released in the US this year, it looks like the rights have finally been sorted out.

[IanSchultz23]

Originally Posted by Yami

That would certainly make more sense than releasing a 40 minute short on its own, but Mr. Bongo aren't making this clear that's for sure!

Nope i'm wrong just double checked the press release and The Immortal Story is DVD (Cat No: DVD: MRBDVD063) and Too Much Johnson (Cat No: Blu-ray: MRBBLU007) is Blu-Ray, there probably isn't a HD version of The Immortal Story available.

[Yami]

Originally Posted by IanSchultz23

Nope i'm wrong just double checked the press release and The Immortal Story is DVD (Cat No: DVD: MRBDVD063) and Too Much Johnson (Cat No: Blu-ray: MRBBLU007) is Blu-Ray, there probably isn't a HD version of The Immortal Story available.

Thanks for confirming. Gaumont have a Blu-Ray scheduled for October, so I'd be surprised if there isn't an HD master ready for June. I'll just have to get that when it's released.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by IanSchultz23

Nope i'm wrong just double checked the press release and The Immortal Story is DVD (Cat No: DVD: MRBDVD063) and Too Much Johnson (Cat No: Blu-ray: MRBBLU007) is Blu-Ray, there probably isn't a HD version of The Immortal Story available.

Strange...what about The Stranger? No mention of it on the news post on their own site. I emailed them earlier but no reply yet.

[Dougling]

Originally Posted by rapta

Strange...what about The Stranger? No mention of it on the news post on their own site. I emailed them earlier but no reply yet.

Isn't the region free Kino release of The Stranger supposed to be very good? Or have there been rumours of a better one through Mr Bongo?

[Yami]

Originally Posted by Dougling

Isn't the region free Kino release of The Stranger supposed to be very good? Or have there been rumours of a better one through Mr Bongo?

It's the best release currently out there, but there's room for improvement. It has print damage that the MGM DVD doesn't have, and it's also missing about 25 seconds of footage that isn't mentioned in most reviews. More info here.

Odeon are releasing the Kino transfer in the UK in a few weeks.

[Dougling]

Originally Posted by Yami

It's the best release currently out there, but there's room for improvement. It has print damage that the MGM DVD doesn't have, and it's also missing about 25 seconds of footage that isn't mentioned in most reviews. More info here.

Odeon are releasing the Kino transfer in the UK in a few weeks.

I had no idea about the missing footage, odd that's not been mentioned more.

[rapta]

So, are Mr Bongo releasing The Stranger at all? I don't see it mentioned anywhere else...I wonder if they would use the MGM master.

[Yami]

Cover art:

[rapta]

I uploaded the cover art for the other two from their respective Amazon listings, but had to get the lower-res image from Mr Bongo's own site for Falstaff, as there's still no Amazon listing for it on Blu-ray!

PS: The Stranger only £9.99 and Too Much Johnson only £10.49 to pre-order over at Base. I've pre-ordered The Stranger, and will cancel unless we're assured it's a better transfer than the Kino one. Too Much Johnson I'm a little skeptical about too. Falstaff not listed on Blu-ray on Base either yet.