Henry V

Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Simon Shepherd, James Larkin, Brian Blessed, Jame Simmons, Paul Gregory, Charles Kay, Alec McCowen, Jay Villiers, Edward Jewesbury, Ian Holm, Danny Webb, Christian Bale, Robbie Coltrane, Judi Dench, Paul Scofield, Richard Easton, Emma Thompson
Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
1989

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: King Henry (Kenneth Branagh) sets out to conquer France.

Review:

Tim: I am a big Shakespeare fan and I really loved his history plays. From the Henriad, Henry V is really the crowning achievement. While familiar with the play, I hadn't seen any movie adaptations. Kenneth Branagh does an effective job adapting this to the screen. This is a really good movie, a well made film, an entertaining look at one of Shakespeare's best (but too overlooked) plays.

The film (and the play) is a great dramatization of Henry V, specifically around his decisive, stunning victory over the French at Agincourt. This is a very pro-English work and it serves as an effective piece of propaganda. Henry is prone to making rousing speeches about the English. This all works well within the context of the film. We get to know these English nobility and other soldiers. We spend just enough time with the French to know we're supposed to hope they lose. It's all very entertaining.

One of the reasons Shakespeare is so inaccessible to modern audiences is his writing is so flowing, but archaic in some ways. It's easy to listen to people speaking English and come away without any understanding of what they said. It helped that I was familiar with the play and knew the general flow. Even still, there were certainly many moments where I lost what was being said. That's also one thing I enjoy about Shakespeare- when you watch his play (or a movie), you can kind of let it wash over you- you won't catch everything, but you'll get enough to mostly understand what is going on. If you wanted to dig deeper and go line-by-line, his true genius starts to emerge. For this film, I certainly had some trouble keeping the names and faces straight, but I mostly followed the drama.

Branagh is good in the titular role. He's an accomplished actor and he brings that to his performance. That being said, I wouldn't quite say I loved his work here. I'm familiar with much of his later work, where he brought more nuance and power to his performances. He's young here, raw, and prone to big movements and gestures. I think if he were to play this role again, he would have approached it with more subtlety. Still, it's a good performance. I loved seeing Ian Holm Here. Holm is such a great actor and he plays his supporting role so well. It was fun seeing a young Christian Bale in a role that made a much bigger impact than the screen time would suggest. Robbie Coltrane adds a great supporting performance. Emma Thompson was excellent. She only gets a few scenes, but the French/English language discussion about body parts was one of the highlights of the film. It might be the finest acting I've ever seen from Thompson. Derek Jacobi was fantastic as the Chorus. I could listen to Jacobi recite Shakespeare for hours. His role felt a little jarring at times, but it was forgivable because of his fantastic delivery. Brian Blessed added a fun supporting performance- he makes for a commanding, memorable presence. it was fun seeing Judi Dench in a role that was good, but felt far too small for her talent. There's a ton of other actors in this large cast, but honestly, mostly they blended together for me. So many older white guys, it was hard to keep them all straight.

I do want to highlight the St. Crispin's Day Speech. This was the highlight of the play for me, and it's a speech I've read for fun dozens and dozens of times. Shakespeare's genius leaps out from this rousing, beautiful speech. I was so excited to see it depicted here. It's good, absolutely- it really feels like the centerpiece of the entire film. The subsequent battle is exciting and well-filmed, but Henry's speech is what lasts. One thing that surprised me was that Branagh cut some of the speech. This felt like a big miss to me. I'll add these lines here because they're so incredible-

By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.

But if it be a sin to covet honour, I am the most offending soul alive. Are you kidding me? That's absolutely incredible writing. Apparently it wasn't good enough for Branagh, though. I do recognize this is an overly detailed, nerdy complaint, but it's how I felt. Fortunately, so many other great lines are here- "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers," "hold their manhoods cheap," "Then shall our names, Familiar in his mouth as household words," etc.

Outside of this, Henry V is absolutely a strong movie. I don't think it was quite great- Shakespeare's play was great and I think there could be a more definitive version for film. Still, you have to applaud Branagh and the cast for bringing this incredible story to life. The movie did win 1 Academy Award, for Best Costume Design. It was deserving of that. Branagh himself was nominated for Best Director and Best Actor. So, this is absolutely a film I would recommend. It's really good and a mostly faithful, effective adaptation of the one of the greatest history plays of all time.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet