 Welles 's adaptation of five Shakespeare plays was not a chronological transcription of the original texts . Shakespearean scholar Kenneth S. Rothwell said that Welles " goes beyond mere tinkering with Shakespeare 's scenes ; [ he ] massively reworks , transposes , revises and deletes , indeed reconstructs them . " These changes included taking lines of dialogue from one play and inserting them into scenes from another . Specific changes include a scene near the end of the film in which Hal pardons an imprisoned street rabble @-@ <unk> just before his expedition to invade France ; Welles slightly altered this scene from Henry V , Act 2 , Scene 2 . In the film it is stated that this man is Falstaff , and that the incident he is pardoning is Falstaff 's disturbance of Hal 's coronation . Although both the pardoned prisoner and Falstaff are said to drink wine , Shakespeare does not imply that the pardoned prisoner is Falstaff . In both Chimes at Midnight and in Henry V , this scene is followed by Falstaff 's death . The film contains no true soliloquies , since characters are never alone and do not speak directly to the audience during their speeches . Henry IV is usually shown standing or sitting with very little action involved — this , says Anderegg , makes it appear that he speaks only to himself even when others are present . Gielgud was known for his classical interpretation of Shakespeare , and his performance consists almost entirely of words , which are unable to defeat either Northumberland 's rebels or Hal 's wild behavior . Throughout the film , Falstaff , Hal and Hotspur imitate Gielgud , mocking the words of Henry IV . 
