Movie Review: 'Henry V' (1989)
Pros: Great cast; good (if not perfect)
directing; gripping story
Cons: Score is sometimes intrusive; pacing can
be slow at times
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by from this day
until the ending of the world but we in it shall be remembered. We few, we
happy few, we band of brothers, for he today who sheds his blood with me
shall be my brother, Be he ne'er so vile, this day shall gentle his condition,
and gentlemen in England now abed shall think themselves accursed they were not
here, and hold their manhoods cheap whilst any speaks, that fought with us upon
St. Crispin's day!
Like millions of people in the United States (and, I suspect, the English-speaking world), my exposure to the works of William Shakespeare came about when I was taking the mandatory-for-graduation Language Arts course during my senior year.
Not counting West Side Story (a thinly-veiled modern version of Romeo and Juliet) and several Star Trek episodes with titles derived from the Bard of Avon's works ("The Conscience of the King," "All Our Yesterdays"), I had no knowledge about Shakespeare's plays.
That is, until my 12th grade English teacher, Ms. Sallie DeWitt, introduced us to Macbeth and The Taming of the Shrew and taught us the difference between literary tragedy and comedy.
Though we read the actual plays and discussed them in class, Ms. DeWitt also screened film adaptations of Macbeth (Roman Polanski's 1971 version) and Franco Zefirelli's 1967 take on The Taming of the Shrew. In addition, Ms. DeWitt - perhaps in a bid to show how Shakespeare's works are reinterpreted - showed us 1953's Kiss Me Kate, a musical based on The Taming of the Shrew.
But other than that and a live theatrical performance of Othello at the Miami Beach Theater of the Performing Arts which starred Christopher Plummer and James Earl Jones. that was as far as my exposure to Shakespeare until 1989, when I saw a stage-to-screen adaptation of a Shakespeare play - Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V.
To be honest, I have never seen Laurence Olivier's 1944 version of this same story. I don't know how accessible Olivier's version - filmed during the last year of World War II, at that - is, or if Branagh approached the story of young King Henry V as he simultaneously wages a romantic campaign to win the heart of Katherine (Emma Thompson) and a war against France.
Henry V begins on, perhaps appropriately, a film stage where we meet Chorus (Derek Jacobi), the onscreen narrator who sets up the story and introduces to Henry V's 15th Century world.
Now, English history of this period is not my strong suit, but the story involves the efforts of Henry (Branagh) to reclaim his late father's territories in France by any means possible. He would have preferred diplomacy, but the French are somewhat reluctant to acquiesce. Naturally, kings being the way they were back then, Henry V (who was 27 at the time) figures that war will achieve what peaceful negotiations have failed to.
Like millions of people in the United States (and, I suspect, the English-speaking world), my exposure to the works of William Shakespeare came about when I was taking the mandatory-for-graduation Language Arts course during my senior year.
Not counting West Side Story (a thinly-veiled modern version of Romeo and Juliet) and several Star Trek episodes with titles derived from the Bard of Avon's works ("The Conscience of the King," "All Our Yesterdays"), I had no knowledge about Shakespeare's plays.
That is, until my 12th grade English teacher, Ms. Sallie DeWitt, introduced us to Macbeth and The Taming of the Shrew and taught us the difference between literary tragedy and comedy.
Though we read the actual plays and discussed them in class, Ms. DeWitt also screened film adaptations of Macbeth (Roman Polanski's 1971 version) and Franco Zefirelli's 1967 take on The Taming of the Shrew. In addition, Ms. DeWitt - perhaps in a bid to show how Shakespeare's works are reinterpreted - showed us 1953's Kiss Me Kate, a musical based on The Taming of the Shrew.
But other than that and a live theatrical performance of Othello at the Miami Beach Theater of the Performing Arts which starred Christopher Plummer and James Earl Jones. that was as far as my exposure to Shakespeare until 1989, when I saw a stage-to-screen adaptation of a Shakespeare play - Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V.
To be honest, I have never seen Laurence Olivier's 1944 version of this same story. I don't know how accessible Olivier's version - filmed during the last year of World War II, at that - is, or if Branagh approached the story of young King Henry V as he simultaneously wages a romantic campaign to win the heart of Katherine (Emma Thompson) and a war against France.
Henry V begins on, perhaps appropriately, a film stage where we meet Chorus (Derek Jacobi), the onscreen narrator who sets up the story and introduces to Henry V's 15th Century world.
Now, English history of this period is not my strong suit, but the story involves the efforts of Henry (Branagh) to reclaim his late father's territories in France by any means possible. He would have preferred diplomacy, but the French are somewhat reluctant to acquiesce. Naturally, kings being the way they were back then, Henry V (who was 27 at the time) figures that war will achieve what peaceful negotiations have failed to.
My Take
Of course, had Branagh simply taken the themes of Shakespeare's play and transformed Henry V into a 15th Century version of The Longest Day, there would be far less dithering about in the rival courts of the young King "Hal" and French King Charles VI (Paul Scofield) and more about the events that led to the fight at Agincourt.
With a few bits of jiggering here and there (the film studio intro and epilogue; a cameo appearance by Falstaff), Branagh makes this movie a full-on adaptation of Shakespeare's play. It's a character study of a complex and still not-quite mature leader who is in turns fair, witty, brutal and not immune to manipulation by religious and political advisors.
This first film by Branagh as a director is one of the best adaptations of a play by Shakespeare, though it is not without some flaws.
To the film's credit, Branagh and his cast know the material so intimately that when they recite Shakespeare's sometimes overly poetic dialogue it doesn't sound like they are reciting some ancient dialect that modern audiences can't understand what's going on.
Branagh himself was then only two years older than Henry and was making only his second or third major film appearance, but he had a reputation as an up-and-coming star on the London stage.
The actor-screenwriter-director's knowledge and love for the material as an actor clearly shows in Henry V; he does not simplify the Bard's work for the masses. Rather, he and his fellow actors use their familiarity with the characters and Shakespeare's style to project their roles so well that almost any viewer can "get" the gist of the play.
Henry V also works well as a movie because it lacks the stagy look that other Shakespeare films have had. Though much of it was shot at Shepperton Studios in England, the battle scenes and other exteriors were "location shoots" in the English countryside. This "opens up" the story and makes Henry V less claustrophobic or "play-like" to viewers who like panoramic views and realistic renditions of battles and other historical events.
The score by first-time composer Patrick Doyle, though it's intrusive at times where it shouldn't be, is marvelous. Performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Simon Rattle, it is evocative of Medieval England and features a majestic choral piece (Non Nobis, Domine) which is played over the end credits.
Of course, the film is not perfect. Branagh’s endeavor not to dumb down the movie for a wider audience means that viewers are in for a lot of slow-paced exposition and mucking about in political intrigue and diplomatic shenanigans before the dramatic clash at Agincourt.
Even when Henry V leaves the courts of the English and French Kings for the battlefield, the pacing is somewhat plodding and uneven.
Nevertheless, Henry V is a memorable movie that is accessible to the viewer and a true labor of love by Branagh and his fellow actors.
Of course, had Branagh simply taken the themes of Shakespeare's play and transformed Henry V into a 15th Century version of The Longest Day, there would be far less dithering about in the rival courts of the young King "Hal" and French King Charles VI (Paul Scofield) and more about the events that led to the fight at Agincourt.
With a few bits of jiggering here and there (the film studio intro and epilogue; a cameo appearance by Falstaff), Branagh makes this movie a full-on adaptation of Shakespeare's play. It's a character study of a complex and still not-quite mature leader who is in turns fair, witty, brutal and not immune to manipulation by religious and political advisors.
This first film by Branagh as a director is one of the best adaptations of a play by Shakespeare, though it is not without some flaws.
To the film's credit, Branagh and his cast know the material so intimately that when they recite Shakespeare's sometimes overly poetic dialogue it doesn't sound like they are reciting some ancient dialect that modern audiences can't understand what's going on.
Branagh himself was then only two years older than Henry and was making only his second or third major film appearance, but he had a reputation as an up-and-coming star on the London stage.
The actor-screenwriter-director's knowledge and love for the material as an actor clearly shows in Henry V; he does not simplify the Bard's work for the masses. Rather, he and his fellow actors use their familiarity with the characters and Shakespeare's style to project their roles so well that almost any viewer can "get" the gist of the play.
Henry V also works well as a movie because it lacks the stagy look that other Shakespeare films have had. Though much of it was shot at Shepperton Studios in England, the battle scenes and other exteriors were "location shoots" in the English countryside. This "opens up" the story and makes Henry V less claustrophobic or "play-like" to viewers who like panoramic views and realistic renditions of battles and other historical events.
The score by first-time composer Patrick Doyle, though it's intrusive at times where it shouldn't be, is marvelous. Performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Simon Rattle, it is evocative of Medieval England and features a majestic choral piece (Non Nobis, Domine) which is played over the end credits.
Of course, the film is not perfect. Branagh’s endeavor not to dumb down the movie for a wider audience means that viewers are in for a lot of slow-paced exposition and mucking about in political intrigue and diplomatic shenanigans before the dramatic clash at Agincourt.
Even when Henry V leaves the courts of the English and French Kings for the battlefield, the pacing is somewhat plodding and uneven.
Nevertheless, Henry V is a memorable movie that is accessible to the viewer and a true labor of love by Branagh and his fellow actors.
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