Henry V Reviews

• One of the All-Time Greats

  
  By A2TGFURT008O0A on 2000-07-18
  This is a sweeping statement, but true nonetheless: I believe that Kenneth Branagh's HENRY V is the greatest screen adaption ever done of Shakespeare. Period. Better than Olivier (although he was great in a very diferent way). Better than any version of Hamlet (even Branagh's, which is the best of the Hamlets). Better than anything else.

  Why do I say this? Simply because no other film adaptation of Shakespeare has captured the essence of what the Bard was trying to say while adding a modern perspective in the process, all in a manner that is readily accessible to a mass audience. Yet that is precisely what this film does.

  By sheer genius, Branagh was able to present HENRY V in all of its nationalistic glory, just as Shakespeare wrote it, while at the same time adding an anti-war footnote that serves both as counterpoint and commentary on the Bard's message. The contrast betwen the St. Crispin's Day speech as presented here (in which we are made to feel the real power behind Shakespeare's words) and the gritty, realistic presentation of the battle itself which follows is proof of my assertion.

  It's all here: Lessons on history, loyalty, and the qualities of leadership, all wrapped in a fiercely entertaining package. Branagh's great accomplishment is to bring the piece to life without the slightest bit of stuffiness or anachronism, and even to add his own touch to an unapproachable masterpiece. This, his first film, remains his crowning achievement. I think the Bard would approve.
  
  

• "O for a muse of fire ... "

  
  By AP3VHIZBRGO9X on 2000-06-12
  I couldn't agree more with a reviewer below who suggested that high school English teachers would do well to put away the Shakespeare books and get their students to watch films like this. How can ninth graders possibly appreciate The Bard by poring over blocks of flowery text? Shakespeare needs to be seen, performed by actors who understand the cadence and meaning of the language, in order to be appreciated. Like most other people, I was forced to read plays like "Julius Caesar" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in high school, and I just DIDN'T GET IT at the time. It was only until I was an adult and saw Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of "Henry V" that I realized what a genius William Shakespeare really was.

  For some odd reason videotape copies of this excellent film have been virtually impossible to find in recent years, so imagine my delight when I found out it soon to be re-released on DVD. I was quick to place my advance order, for "Henry V" is one of those rare films that one can watch repeatedly and appreciate even more after each viewing. Older film adaptations of this play, such as the one featuring Laurence Olivier in the title role, seem to pale in comparison, if only because of the gritty realism Branagh brings. King Henry's threats outside the gates of Harfleur border on horrific, and his "Feast of St. Crispian" speech to his men before the battle of Agincourt is perhaps the most soul-stirring call to arms I have ever heard. In contrast is a funny and charming scene in which Henry attempts to win the heart of the French Princess Catherine (Emma Thompson). Yet for all the hard-fought and glorious victory Shakespeare presents, he concludes his play with a subtly-worded indictment of war and an afterword about how so much of what Henry conquered was lost in later years.

  This is one of my favorite movies. If you have never given that much thought to the works of William Shakespeare, watch this movie. I am confident you'll realize what a truly remarkable literary voice he was.
  
  

• Stunning

  
  By A1K6SZ8L5Z2UXT on 2002-09-16
  This may be the best Shakespeare film ever made. In 1942, Laurence Olivier delivered a jingoistic, stylized wartime production of "Henry V" that nonetheless stood as the standard interpretation. Nearly fifty years later, Kenneth Branagh's film appeared not only as a powerful and amazingly accessible recasting of the text, but a serious examination of the nature and the costs of the war that was Henry the Fifth's only real achievement.

  Although studded with a fine array of subsidiary characters, "Henry V" is essentially a one-man play, and Branagh's performance informs and naturally influences all of the rest. His character has most of the lines, and he delivers them with a refreshing naturalism and candor that re-infuses the humor into the funny bits and cuts a lot of the potential for stilted jingoism out of the patriotic and warlike ones. If the real Henry's delivery of the St. Crispin speech was anything like Branagh's, it's no wonder the English won.

  Slogging through the mud and rain of Harfleur and Agincourt with Branagh is a masterful supporting cast, including the incomparable Judi Dench as Mistress Quickly, Brian Blessed as a marvelously solid Exeter, and Ian Holm, wonderful as the irreverent and sarcastic Fluellen. On the French side, Paul Scofield's King is weary and indecisive rather than weak and mad; Michael Maloney's Dauphin is entertainingly arrogant, and Emma Thompson delivers a small but charming performance in playwright-broken English and much better French than Shakespeare likely spoke. Tying it all together is Christopher Ravenscroft, who invests the herald Mountjoy with a sympathy that extends to both sides, and a phenomenal showing by Derek Jacobi as the earnest, mocking and informative Chorus.

  "Henry V" was released and went to video before the heyday of production for DVD, and as such, a "deluxe edition" has not been produced- this disc contains no making-of documentaries, no in-depth interviews with the cast, no online screenplay. But at least in this case, that's all for the best. The film is stunning enough on its own to need no such accompaniment, and its magic is thereby undiminished.
  
  

• Branagh at his best!

  
  By APRU373UYVK2Y on 2001-01-23
  Unfortunately, Kenneth Branagh's career thus far has been somewhat hit or miss, but "Henry V" is a solid hit. In fact, it is far and a way the best film adaptation of Shakespeare I have ever seen, surpassing even Polanski's "Macbeth". Through the use of lavish sets, beautiful costumes and old fashioned blood and guts battle scenes, Branagh brings the work alive in a way no one else could have. I particularly enjoyed his conception of the narrator as a modern day man wandering around the sets in between takes. Furthermore, the cinematography, is outstanding. By using many tight shots, Branagh captures the feel of a play being acted out. Branagh himself offers a mind-blowing performance as Henry, bringing tremendous emotion to the role. Finally, "Henry V" features, to my mind, the greatest original score ever recorded for a movie.

  While the DVD doesn't offer much in the way of features, it does bring you the film in beautiful widescreen with outstanding sound, so you can experience the film the way it was meant to be. This is a must have for any DVD collection.
  
  

• Here's Where The Real Shakespeare Lives

  
  By A3DWXVGOE2XZIQ on 2002-07-05
  The brilliance of this version is that those who have not yet found Shakespeare can do it in this one. The fidelity to the original script actually transports the viewer from the modern stage into the past (just as Branagh intended when Chorus opens the off stage door). The action, the human drama, the SHAKESPEARE comes roaring through just as the man himself intended when he wrote it. I've seen Henry done dozens of times (including at Stratford, the RSC, at the new Globe, etc.) and they are all lacking by comparison to this film. So if you only have one life to live, put this film into it.

  OK...but here's the critique...You absolutely must agree that Henry V is a front runner for the best film interpretation of any Shakespearian play. And of course Chorus is probably the best ever in any version, stage or screen (in fact better than I was ever able to imagine him). Plus I agree that Branagh's genius set the modern standard for all Shakespeare with this one. And yes, Agincourt is done so well that you can cry at the St. Crispian's speech and again when Branagh carries the boy through the killing field during the hymn....in fact it's good enough that it makes you want to sing God Save The King all by yourself.

  But nothing is perfect and neither is the DVD version of this great one. I was absolutely disappointed with the lack of a thundering soundtrack for the French knights' charge at Agincourt. Obviously Branagh wrote the script to build to what could be the greatest anticipatory moment in modern film....the chance to actually put every viewer onto the field at Agincourt was so well done that it has always leaped at you from the screen.....but without that thunder on the DVD audio mix, it's lost. Let's hope Branagh can become the anti-Spielberg and actually get this remixed with a crisp digital thunder on the next version.....and this may be the only film where a Director's cut dialogue would actually add insight into the interpretation (since most of us seem to agree that his debut as a Director was as good as his debut as an actor). Personally, I get a better sound from my VHS copy than the DVD (and I'm using $20K of equipment).
  
  

• Brilliant
  By A321ZSDAMPMS9V on 2000-09-29
  Branagh combines the best with the best. Shakespeare's brilliant writing is combined with Branagh's brilliant directing, and cinematography; and Doyle's superb music is combined with the superb acting of Derek Jacobi, Kenneth Branagh, Brian Blessed, Paul Scofield, and Christoher Ravenscroft to make this history come alive on the screen.

  If you don't know the play, this production will introduce you to one of the most inspiring of Shakespeare's histories, Henry V. It is a story of a warrior king, who initially appears to be manipulated by 2 clergy (Canterbury and Ely) into asserting England's claim on France. As the story unfolds, it becomes uncertain as to who has manipulated whom. Perhaps, Henry, the pious king, needs the blessing of the church; perhaps, Henry, the clever king needs the financial backing of the church; perhaps Henry, the politician, needs a scapegoat if things don't go well.

  He hardly seems weak, manipulated, and reluctant as he delivers the Stint Crispin's day speech.before the battle of Agincourt. His 12,000 men are outnumbered 5 to one; they are tired, and face fresh French troops on the morrow and Shakespeare has King Hal say.

  "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers For he today that 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 accurs'd they were not here And hold their manhoods cheap while any speaks

  That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."

  The battle that ensues is as bloody and confusing as D-Day. No one is sure who has won the day until the herald, Montjoy, approaches King Henry to request a truce so that the French claim their 10,000 dead. The English have lost only 500.

  I think that Shakespeare is always about character. This is what can make us care about a long dead king whose triumphs did not extend beyond his reign. It can make us tune in a 20th century ear to a beautiful speech pattern that is long gone. And, when Shakespeare is brought together with the considerable talents of the film makers involved in this Henry V, it is genius in motion.
  
  

• Kenneth Branagh brings us the post-Vietnam "Henry V"
  By A2NJO6YE954DBH on 2001-09-17
  Kenneth Branagh makes an astounding directorial debut in this acclaimed adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hank Cinq." For his efforts in this 1989 film, Branagh was nominated for Oscars as both Best Director and Best Actor. The rest of the cast is comprised of the finest contemporary stage actors in England: Derek Jacobi (Narrator), Brian Blessed (Exeter), Alec McCowen (Ely), Ian Holm (Fluellen), Judi Dench (Mistress Quickly), Paul Scofield (French King) and Emmas Thompson (Katharine). Robby Coltrane even makes a brief appearance as Falstaff. This is clearly the anti-war version of "Henry V," where the stirring oratory of the St. Crispin's Day speech is washed away by the memorable tracking shot as Henry carries the body of one of the dead English boys across the bloody field of Agincourt to the sound of the "Te Deum." Even at 138 minutes much of the play is omitted in this film, including much of the comic interplay between the four soldiers (who have English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh accents), but that is to be expected. Branagh filmed all of "Hamlet," and that did not exactly go over well.

  Whenever I would teach Shakespeare I would devote a class period to showing my students the Prologue and first two scenes from the Olivier and Branagh versions of "Henry V." The purpose was not only to show them what a performance of the play would have been liked when staged in the Globe Theater (how Olivier opens his film), but to show the range of dramatic interpretation of the film. Olivier's Henry is full of flowery eloquence, while Branagh offers a quiet intensity instead. Just compare the difference in the entrance of Henry in each film. Of course, if you look at both films in their entirety you cannot help but realize that Olivier's version was made during the Second World War, when England was again facing a powerful enemy, while Branagh's version is just as clearly a post-Vietnam film, where war is a bloody business and heroism a matter of simply surviving. Obviously my suggestion for a double feature is going to be both versions of "Henry V."
  
  

• Branagh does Shakespeare: Outstanding!
  By AZLQWBS6HTSFK on 2003-01-29
  It takes a bit of pretentious audacity to take on a play that William Shakespeare penned. It takes further boldness to undertake this production and transform the play to a motion picture. But, in 1989, a full 380 odd years after Henry V was written, Kenneth Branagh managed to pull it off with grace, class, and style! Both directing and starring as Henry V, Branagh makes an absolutely brilliant debut in this incredible film.

  Branagh has three other outstanding Shakespearian actors in this film that most certainly aided him, and probably helped inspire him, to make this film. They are Derek Jacobi, who plays the narrator Chorus, and Brian Blessed, who plays Henry V's uncle Exeter , and the aged John Scofield, who plays the French King. All of their performances, espeically Branagh's and Jacobi's, are some of the most inspired and brilliant that I have ever seen! Emma Thompson plays the French princess, and does a fine job as well.

  I went back to see Sir Lawrence Olivier's performance of Henry V, and this compares very favorably with it. I would venture to say that Branagh does a better job than Olivier, but maybe that would be debatable and going a bit too far. Remember that most Shakespeare plays put to motion picture aren't the entire play, they are edited, and this is no exception.

  All in all, this is one of my all time favorite movies, and I highly recommend it. If you like this, check out Branagh in the 1995 version of Hamlet, and the other Shakespeare plays Branagh has put to film, including Much Ado About Nothing, and Othello.
  
  

• Superb Shakespearean Movie, so-so DVD
  By A3M3FG82ZE1J8I on 2000-08-06
  "Henry V" was Kenneth Branagh's first adaptation of a Shakespearean play to screen. In fact, the success of this film led to the increased number of Shakespearean movies that we've seen in the last 10 years. With the exception of perhaps Branagh's own "Hamlet," it remains the best of the lot. The film has a gritty, realistic feel to it and demonstrates very well that Shakespearean films can be much more than just dull, stuffy words delivered with a British accent. The film is exciting and thrilling to watch and is very accessible to even those not familiar with Shakespeare's works. The film, of course, concerns the English King Henry V's struggle to claim his rightful throne in France, leading to the climactic, fateful battle at Agincourt. Those who have seen Braveheart or Gladiator can see the influence of this movie on these latter films. There is plenty of action, and Branagh does a superb job maintaining the suspense and level of anxiety throughout the film.

  That's all I'll say about the movie because I don't like to give away movie plots. However, I do have a few words about the DVD. While the film merits 5 stars, the DVD is lacking somewhat. The image quality is slightly soft, more like super-VHS rather than DVD. Still, it is in widescreen, and the image is better than regular VHS. Sound quality is on par with any average DVD and nothing spectacular. As for extras...there aren't any, really. There is a trailer and French/Spanish subtitles, but that is it. That is disappointing, as the film certainly deserves more. I would have liked a commentary by Branagh himself or maybe a bio about the real Henry V or Shakespeare. Oh well.

  Also, there are 2 passages (with Emma Thompson) in the film in which French is predominately spoken. If you can understand French (like me), it is not a problem, but if you don't, it can be a little frustrating (unless you can understand Spanish subtitles). These passages are played for comic effect and are quite amusing, so it is not really a big deal. But the lack of English subtitles is really strange for any Shakespearean movie. On the bright side, if your TV is capable of close-captioning, you *CAN* use this feature for English subtitles; it is not the ideal solution but better than nothing.

  So, while this film is truly a masterwork, the deficient DVD rates only 4 stars. Nonetheless, the DVD is absolutely worth owning, and I recommend it to anyone interested in the Bard's works.
  
  

• Post Vietnam, Post Let's-make-HenryV-A-Really-Nice-Guy
  By A2NWWA3YPJHMR4 on 2000-08-25
  Shakeseare knew about expediencey. He knew of brutality and treachery, of open conflict and the ways in which royalty can become prisoners of the juggarnaut of war.

  Shakespeare's *Henry V* is a miracle of a play, in which Shakespeare both caters to an audience expecting a model Henry and incorporates his own knowledge of what kings become under the pressure of historical circumstance. With music and lighting, Brannagh shows us the boy-king as a formidable and feared presence, but we are not invited, at the beginning, to question his goodness. As the play progresses, however, we see Henry's multidimensonal personality. He is one man to his old tavern friends, and quite another to those same friends in times of war. Henry knows he must shed his past. He does so brutally. Bardolph is hanged as the king watches, and even in the flashbacks to the tavern scenes, we see Henry's calculating nature. He can never afford to become part of one world, much less a raucous one: he is a chameleon.

  And it is that that makes him a good king, and it is that which makes him frightening. Brannagh gives us no easy solutions. He shows us a king who is more than his body, but who inhabits a sometimes weak and frail carcass. And Branagh shows us the mud and blood and casual slaughter of war, as York, in battle, is mobbed, and slain by blows that seems almost to crucify him. This is most definitely a post vietnam film. But even Brannagh cannot have Henry recite Shakespeare's most chilling lines: "Kill all the prisoners." Ambiguity is ambiguity, but apparently the idea of Henry having his troops cutting the throats of the French taken prisoner was too much even for Branagh.

  For its faults and its merits, this film sucks the viewer in. We care. We almost care too much, because war destroys the innocent as well as the guilty. The abrupt courtship between Henry and Katherine (of France) at the end is shown very clearly as Henry's attempt to turn tragedy into comedy, but Henry is no longer the king that he was. He is too stained with blood. The marriage comedy, except for a few laughs, falls flat. It may be said that Henry, the victor, knows that he has somehow failed. And history (sadly) has the final word.

  But Brannagh here is at his best; his shoe-string budget simply makes the film free of flab and full of imagination. Henry's frailty, pain, need to protect a country, desire to triumph and at the same time remain human lift this film above everything else Brannagh has done. Although it may pretend to, this film gives us no easy answers. See it and weep.
  
  

• A Brilliant Interpretation of the Shakespearean Masterpiece
  By A1GTA8YYXULNQU on 2001-08-15
  Henry V -- the story of the brilliant young warrior King, hero of Agincourt and the semi-delinquent Prince of Wales from Shakespeare's Henry IV -- has always been one of the Bard's greatest plays. Now, Kenneth Branagh's debut as both screenwriter and director revitalizes that work, bringing to life a four-century-old play as if newly written, and presenting to modern moviegoers a heroic film in the class of Braveheart and Gladiator. This 1989 work is full of fire and life, not least because of a truly moving soundtrack by Patrick Doyle, as well as outstanding cinematography, Oscar-winning costume design, and world-class performances by Branagh (Henry), Emma Thompson (the French Princess Katherine), and a host of England's finest from both screen and stage.

  And yet it is the story which compels, and with a little concentration, even the youngest novice quickly gets into the 17th century English and the compelling plot it reveals. Shakespeare takes us through the manipulation of King Henry into war with France (one of the later conflicts of what is collectively called The Hundred Years War), ostensibly to assert his rightful claim to the French crown. We see the increasing maturity of the young King (and the effect of that growth on his friends from Henry IV), the rooting out of treason in the camp, the initial invasion ("Once more into the breach...!"), the march across Northern France toward Calais, and then the trapping of the English army by a French force three times its size at Agincourt, where Henry's army slays 10,000 Frenchmen, losing only four knights and 25 regular troops of its own. The result of Agincourt (not so tidy in real life, but close enough) plays out as well, as Henry negotiates a treaty which gives him the throne of France (lost later by his son, Henry VI) and the hand of his love, Princess Katherine.

  It is hard to imagine a more compelling tale, and Branagh's presentation is nothing if not a masterpiece. If you are inspired by real-life heroes and truly majestic film, Henry V, already a classic, will surely become one of your favorites.
  
  

• Oh, for a muse of fire...
  By A2VE83MZF98ITY on 2004-06-04
  For a first effort at feature-film direction, now-veteran director/writer/actor Kenneth Branagh provided an astonishing introduction to his many talents in filmmaking with his 1989 production, 'Henry V'. There is a gritty realism brought to the screen in this production that combines in dynamic and interesting ways with the Shakespearean dialogue and situations. The battle scenes are some of the best in cinema for depicting the kind of royal and knightly battles. A special commendation goes to cinematographer Kenneth MacMillan, art directors Martin Childs, Norman Dorme, John King, and costume designer Phyllis Dalton for combining elements of stage and screen together to complement the story perfectly without overpowering it. Indeed, the picture won the Oscar for Best Costumes; Branagh was nominated for Best Leading Actor and Best Director. The film and crew were nominated for and won many other awards as well.

  One of the problems of Shakespeare on the silver screen is that the situations, settings, and acting often ends up somewhat contrived. That rarely happens here, because of this remarkable team.

  The principle writing credit of course goes to William Shakespeare, but as is always the case, the play is recast to make the film medium more natural for the story. Kenneth Branagh is the one credited here, and has shown himself several times after this film as a master of adapting Shakespeare faithfully to the screen.

  The play itself is one of Shakespeare's history plays -- remember the broad three categories of Shakespeare: history, drama (some say tragedy), and comedy. Like most of the history plays, there is creative license taken with the actual history, as it is invariably adapted to make the present regime look good, credible and more legitimate. This explains why Richard III in Shakespeare is far more villainous than in actual life; in Henry V, the country had a great and (for the period) uncontroversial hero - the last king of England to be acknowledged the dominant power in Britain and in France, succeeding in unwinnable situations, and, as befits a good historical hero, dies young before he has the chance to destroy his image. The play has always been popular in times of national crisis - see Olivier's production of Henry V during World War II depicting the king as a national saviour against continental foes.

  The action of the play and film turns on the legitimacy of Henry's rule in France (an issue still for Elizabethan audiences, as Elizabeth was crowned with supposed rights to France). The French are depicted as haughty and disdainful of the young king (interesting how some things don't change), and the battle lines are drawn. The film here sets the stage for a far more ambiguous justification for war than is often depicted in the play, leaving the viewer wondering if, for all the glory of the battles, was there a real point, or was it legalistic/diplomatic trickery?

  There is also the interesting scene with the conspirators against the king, unmasked as the forces are about to depart for France. Cambridge, Scrope and Grey are exposed, but the dialogue and acting hints as a more intimate relationship with Henry V - possibly this references obliquely the rumours of homosexuality, or at least bisexuality, in the historical Henry.

  The players are excellent here, from Branagh himself as Henry V, and Brian Blessed his strong right arm Exeter. Paul Scofield (Thomas More in 'A Man for All Seasons') plays the ancient French king, Charles VI, and his son the Dauphin is played by Michael Maloney. This is, on the whole, a rather 'young' film, as Branagh himself was not yet 30 at the time of production, and most of his aides and friends in the play are similarly young, save for a few senior advisors. Emma Thompson, a staple in Branagh's films, plays the only significant female role, the princess Katherine, to whom Henry will be wed. Her part is almost entirely in French. Her maid, Alice, is played by Geraldine McEwan (perhaps best known from 'Mapp & Lucia').

  The famous speeches here are preserved; Branagh does a fantastic job with his spirit-raising monologue for the troops prior to the battle of Agincourt, on Crispin Crispian day. The speech on horseback in the early seige of Harfleur, 'once more into the breech!' is also remarkable. The lines delivered by all the actors are done with care and precision - Exeter's report to Henry at the opening ('tennis balls', said with great sneer) and to the French party ('scorn', said with so much scorn the word need not be spoken) are but a few examples of this.

  The film expands upon the play's use of Falstaff's companions as a comic relief, by incorporating what would be flash-back scenes from events in the Henry IV play cycle, premonitions of events currently in the play. Robbie Coltrane turns in a good performance as Falstaff; look for Judi Dench in a minor role as the Mistress, and a very young Christian Bale as the boy.

  The music for the film is triumphant, foreboding and dark. This is a wonderful score produced by Patrick Doyle, known for work on other Branagh films such as 'Dead Again' and 'Much Ado about Nothing', as well as other films such as 'Indochine' and literature-based films like 'Gosford Park' and 'Great Expectations'.

  Derek Jacobi, veteran Shakespearean, portrays 'Chorus', the narrator of the action, one who casts the right spirit from beginning to end, and appears throughout. There are few Shakespearean asides done by the actors here (a few under-the-breath comments that might qualify), but Jacobi's role is always directly to camera, directly to us as the spectators. The ending portrayed by Chorus is both victorious and tragic, much as the cycle of history must be.

  This is a glorious film.
  
  

• Terrible and great
  By A31O7B59DW7OHR on 2000-09-07
  Henry V was never one of my favorite Shakespearean plays, both because of Henry's own considerable faults and because of the ending of the play. Henry's claim on the French throne is pretty shaky, legally, and he pretty much decides to head off to war because of an insult to his ego. Then there is the matter of Henry ordering the massacre of the French prisoners taken during the battle, which Branagh doesn't address in this film. It's a horrific act, impossible to reason away. And then you have the fifth act, with Henry trying to woo Catherine in broken French, which is an odd change of tone after the murder and slaughter of the first four acts.

  But there's no denying Henry's charisma, and Branagh makes you understand why Shakespeare thought Hal a hero as well as a scoundral. This version is memorable for the showing the terrible violence of Agincourt, that the affront to Henry's ego meant that thousands died horribly on the battlefield (John Keegan's book "The Face of Battle" brilliantly describes what the fighting at Agincourt was like. And it was horrible).

  Branagh does not shy from that horror. The scene where he carries a boy killed in the fighting to a wagon carrying the dead away, with a sad, mournful song in the background, is heartbreakingly beautiful.

  And of course there is the speech Henry gives before the battle, stirring his soldiers that years from now other men will envy them for being by his side on this day, St. Swithen's day (I may have misspelled that, sorry). It is perhaps the greatest battlefield speech recorded in the English language, and when I heard Branagh say the words, those beautiful words, it was all I could do to stop myself from grabbing a sword and slaughtering Frenchmen.

  Those two scenes alone make this movie worth seeing, and those two scenes will have you hitting the rewind button and grabbing the tissues. They are remarkable.
  
  

• Still Among The Finest Film Adaptations of Shakespeare
  By AKT8TGIT6VVZ5 on 2001-06-02
  Kenneth Branagh's directorial debut is one of my favorite films of the past twenty years. His "Henry V" is a profound, meditative polemic against war, quite unlike the equally acclaimed version with Laurence Olivier. Branagh portrays Henry V as a young, moody king who emerges as a heroic figure while he leads his ragtag English army to victory against the French, only to realize towards the film's end how brutal and horrible his campaign has been. Branagh's brief addition of scenes from "Henry IV" shows us how rapid Henry V's transformation from a gentle, moody youth to a stern, iron-willed general has been. In addition to Branagh's electrifying performance, there are fine performances too from Judi Dench, Paul Scofield as the King of France, Brian Blessed, Ian Holm, Emma Thompson, Christopher Ravenscroft, Derek Jacob as the narrator, among others. You are guaranteed to see some of the finest acting of Shakespeare ever recorded on film. And it is accompanied by novice film composer Patrick Doyle's elegant score (He also acts in the film.); rich in pathos and lyricism.
  
  
• An undiscovered classic
  By A3IL5ZAFAJEW9T on 2000-06-30
  I consider this film to be the best of Branagh. I own Much Ado About Nothing, which is also excellent, but this film tops them all. I have read the play, and Branagh brings it to life exactly. I became immediately engrossed in this film as a 6th grader...odd as it IS a historical drama, rather than a comedy or a tragedy. However, I consider it to be the best production of Shakespeare. Recognize that this is a completely different type of play and production from Taming of the Shrew (which competes with this as the best production). It is dark and brave, strong and full of hope. Branagh is simply amazing as Henry V. The final battle, with the speech on St. Crispen's day is thrilling, and I am not a big one on battles...although my brothers are and they love it, too. The Duke of York, the King's uncle, Christian Bale's character...they all demand your attention. The acting, the costumes, the directing, the score, everything calls for acclamation. I can't wait to get this DVD, I love the video.
  
  
• Best Shakespeare, Best Henry, Best Branagh!
  By A23OLHL5RPQKLP on 2000-11-17
  I first saw this on PBS, and that was years ago. Ever see a movie, which no matter how many times you have seen it you just have to sit down and watch it if you come across it again. This is probably the most prominent movie in this category. As a Deaf person, buying videos is not high on my list of "I want.." However, I am a voracious reader, and I read Shakespeare early on in my life. This video stayed true to the story, and is Branagh's best work to date. I enjoyed Hamlet and Much Ado, but not to the extent of this movie. The acting was superb, the scenery glorious, and every thing was as close to perfect as I've ever seen in an adaptation of any book or play to movie format. This is the classic that will outlive all others. This will be the movie I will encourage deaf students to see with the captioning so they understand what Shakespeare was trying to say. I have always said I really do not have a favorite movie, since as a Deaf person I cannot enjoy them if they are not captioned and there are so many I have not seen. However, now that I think about it...this movie is definitely in my top five. Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh
  
  
• Utter Brilliance
  By A3GQKB1KF0CRPE on 2004-09-19
  Shakespeare is a beautiful form of drama. It speaks to human emotions on all level, from blithe humour to darkest evils within soul. But in today's INTERNET, hip-hop world, the appeal fades for the general masses. The Hard-Core Will addicts still treasure his tales, his prose, but younger generations think they should be modernised because it's too hard for their patience. Well, I saw 12-year-olds adoring this Branagh's Henry, and with just cause. When you find 12 and 13-years-olds watching this movie without being "forced", it tells you something of Branagh's power. The man was born to speak the words, and lead the way for others to suspend the "its too hard". Suddenly the KEY is there. Under Branagh's magic, the words have their full power, their majesty, their impact. Branagh speaks Will's words as Will intended them, with a natural ease that makes one question why we don't still speak this way!

  The movie is brilliant from start to finish. Branagh is magic, a sorcerer conjuring in others the ability to follow "his pied piper". It just does not get any better than this. And Derek Jacobi is Branagh's match.

  Sigh, why can they not do all Shakespeare's works on film with the same power?
  
  

• MGM kicks the hearing-impaired in the teeth
  By A1EAFFJQ2NDHGC on 2005-01-14
  This is a great film. A classic. Incomparable acting and staging. Blah blah blah.
  
  This film has an English language soundtrack. It also contains two options for subtitles. French, and Spanish. HUH???
  
  I thought in the 21st century it was standard for major motion pictures released by major studios to have a closed-caption or subtitle option for English speaking persons who are hard of hearing. My hearing is quite good, but to understand the odd language of Shakespeare delivered with British accents of varying clarity is not something one can count on 100%. To say nothing of my parents, who are getting on in years and do not always understand dialog completely in the absence of subtitles.
  
  This oversight is inexcusable. And this being Shakespeare, the lack of English subtitles is far more galling than it would be on another release.
  
  MGM, confess your sin. Remaster this superb movie -- I agree it is Brannagh's best so far -- with English captions and I will recommend that EVERYONE who values culture the least little bit buy a copy.
  
  
• Would subtitles in *English* be too much to ask for?
  By A3FUAGZZ6AF8XM on 2000-07-21
  I am so angry I am ready to *strangle* whoever produced this DVD!

  This is, without a doubt, the finest "Henry V" ever made. Superb acting, sound, direction, script... I could go on for an hour.

  And then some dweeb produces the album with Subtitles in French, and Spanish, but *NOT* English!

  Don't bother with this one and protest this travesty to the studio!
  
  

• Movie - 5 stars / DVD - 1 star
  By A1TSBRVWU6HGPO on 2000-12-09
  Branagh's Henry V was the movie that put him in the forefront of Shakespearean movies and helped bring about a resurgence in Shakespearean productions. The cast consisted of some of the finest actors and the movie was done in a way that swept the viewer swiftly from scene to scene, without losing any of the depth invoked by the words and images. Unlike Olivier's Henry V (which, although great in its own right, was essentially a propaganda movie for World War II), Branagh paints Henry V as a dark and somber picture of what leaders must give up for the good of the people and the awful tragedies of war. I would certainly rank this as one of the top movies of all time.

  That being said, the dvd left a great deal to be desired. Although it was in widescreen and in stereo, both were also available on the videotape version. The sound has not been enhanced at all (only offering stereo sound rather than digital surround), which is a tragedy, as Patrick Doyle's score for the movie is both beautiful and haunting. No additions were made to the dvd other than the theatrical trailer (which I'm glad I didn't see before the movie - the music used in it was laughable). Cut scenes or Branagh explaining why he did certain things in the film (as he did in Dead Again) would certainly have added value to this. I can only hope that an enhanced version will be released at some later date.

  The only reason I can find to suggest buying this dvd over the videotape is that it is on dvd and will not wear like a videotape. This movie is certainly worth having and keeping and I encourage people to buy this, but do not expect any extras over the videotape version.
  
  

• One of my top 3 movies of all time.
  By A2HBRINA3F9YHV on 2005-09-04
  There isn't a flaw in this film, from top to bottom, from the incredible interpretation of the Shakespeare lines, recited in top form by an incredible cast of talented British actors, to the most intense battle scene in any period movie, bar none. This came out several years ahead of all the popular later period piece movies such as Braveheart, Gladiator, Rob Roy, etc., yet there hasn't been a film to match it yet.
  
  Kenneth Branagh should have won the Oscar that year, but he was an unknown, young director/actor, so Hollywood and the Academy would have never cast such a risky vote at that time (1989).
  
  From Kenneth Branagh's incredible debut acting work, to the already seasoned actors such as Judi Dench and Brian Blessed, the cast is one of the best in British film history. Watch for a young Christian Bale and one of Emma Thomspon's early film roles (not sure if this was officially released before The Tall Guy or not, but if it was, it would make it her first film role).
  
  Movies like this are rare, and I can't believe it is out of print in it's current form. It screams for a complete special edition release!
  
  
• A Stunning Adaptation - I'm just wild about Harry
  By A1WU4A3CEGFBCK on 2000-08-15
  Kenneth Branagh breathes new life into "Harry". Branagh both
  directed and stars in the film - a feat easily comparable to Orsen
  Welles creating Citizen Kane - Branagh pulls it off as well (or should
  I say - pulls it off as Welles).

  The supporting cast was made for
  this film. The use of a modern Chorus on a soundstage draws the
  viewer into a voyueristic struggle for the soul and "heart"
  of France.

  Yes, there is strong visual atmosphere; but, the scenery
  never detracts from the delivery of the dialogue or storyline. Branagh
  takes the Bard's words, makes them his own and fills the screen with
  his own style of visual magic. He creates the world of King Henry by
  using the simplest of sets - but yet it doesn't lose the complexity of
  the text.

  The feel good movie of the summer, winter, spring and
  fall. "Let it be a muse" of film that fires the soul - and
  let your imagination follow "Harry" as he become Henry the
  fifth.

  The music soars and feels as natural as if Shakespeare also
  wrote the score. A soundtrack must for the collector.
  
  
  
  

• Awesome movie, but DVD no better than VHS version
  By A7T9TIE8NHR0J on 2001-04-17
  This is one of my favorite movies. Of course, Branagh cannot take credit for the work, but he does credit to the author in the production.

  We have waited for this production on DVD for too long, but the end product is not any better than the original VHS, which was dropped from production (for too long!) by Sony.

  The DVD, however, is not any better than the original VHS version which was owned by Sony. I wish the producers of this work might have had some influence in re-producing the video for DVD, but that does not seem to be the case.

  The only advantages of owning the DVD are the inclusion of the trailer and the fact that the media will not suffer from magnetic deterioration as the VHS media will.

  I suppose there was little that could have been done due to the time it was made, etc...but it would have been nice if the producers of the DVD could have remastered the original or improved the quality of the picture in some fashion.

  But as to the 'extra features'...the trailer is a nice addition, but was nothing to brag about when it was made. Finally, the introduction/menu theme, borrowed from Patrick Doyle's excellent musical arrangement, is horrible. I love Mr. Doyle's music in the film, but to have his best piece cut short for the menu part of the DVD is a travesty.

  To sum up, I am happy that the movie has been re-released, and that I own it on DVD, but there is nothing gained by the DVD production.
  
  

• It's the acting
  By AX48VTPRCSPMW on 2003-07-06
  Searching for a simple message in Shakespeare is the pastime of lazy intellectuals and their innocent, impressionable students. Why it would be important that this movie either glorifies or vilifies "war" escapes me. It simply depicts it, in a certain time, place, and method. Feel about it what you will.

  But this movie is great because of the acting. Every part is filled by amazing and professional actors, not by narcissistic, preening Hollywood weenies. That, along with the language, and the mature themes can be daunting at first, but it's so thoroughly satisfying and transporting.
  
  

• NO closed-captioning option in ENGLISH!
  By on 2003-09-22
  This *HENRY V* DVD lacks both English closed-captioning -OR- subtitles as a menu option, yet they are offered in French & Spanish! -- Therefore, we whom are disabled by being hard-of-hearing, completely deaf, and others who MUST rely on DVDs or VHS-tapes to *ALWAYS* contain an English-language closed-captioning or a subtitle option: this DVD was a VERY BITTER purchasing disappointment. Moreover, here's yet another *MGM Studio* DVD release -- that's completely lacking any kind of English closed-captioning or subtitles option! ****CAVIAT EMPTOR!******
  
  
• Turning the accomplishment of many years into an hour-glass
  By ARA8SJ6IQZ1Q on 2003-02-26
  There are plenty other reviews which here display enthusiasm, so I may skip the display and go straight to the (more obvious) reasons for my enthusiasm. This is partly simply what is in Shakespeare's text, but in large part Branagh's brilliance as actor/director in setting them off in such dramatic clarity:

  Derek Jacobi's Chorus ... the opening moment, "O for a Muse of fire!" must be a joint Jacobi/Branagh creation, and then when he throws the lights on to backstage.

  The fire smoldering in Branagh's voice and eyes when Henry tells Mountjoy, "We are glad the Dauphin is so pleasant with us."

  The entire scene in which the treachery of Scroop, Grey and Cambridge is exposed; "I will weep for thee; / For this revolt of thine, methinks, is like / Another fall of man."

  Brian Blessed as Exeter, throughout, but particular when in audience with the King and Dauphin.

  Both Henry's speeches before Harfleur; "Defy us to our worst: for, as I am a soldier, / A name that in my thoughts becomes me best, / If I begin the battery once again, / I will not leave the half-achieved Harfleur / Till in her ashes she lie buried."

  Katherine learning English; Emma Thompson is a breath of fresh air in all the war-funk.

  The grim irony, when Henry must hang Bardolph, of the punning flashback: "When thou art king, do not hang a thief." "No; THOU shalt."

  "Indeed, my lord, it is a most absolute and excellent horse."

  The whole Crispian's Day speech, of course ... "We would not die in that man's company / That fears his fellowship to die with us."

  "I was not angry since I came to France / Until this instant."

  Henry and Fluellen embracing, and the prefatory discussion of the leek.

  The reckoning of the fallen after the battle.

  All the closing scene, but particularly, "Can any of your neighbours tell, Kate?" and "Here comes your father."

  The whole cast is fabulous, not a weak performance in all the film.

  And Patrick Doyle's music; always perfectly suited to the action or mood of the scene, and well written. Simon Rattle and CBSO.

  This is the movie Hollywood wishes it had the talent to make. This is the talent for which Hollywood wishes all its riches might substitute. This is an ancient tale told in a half-strange tongue, which somehow you discover to be your true native language.
  
  

• NOT Anamorphic?!?!?!
  By on 2003-11-14
  This GREAT film version of Henry V deserves a better video presentation! I love this film, but I will NOT buy a DVD with the degraded image inherent to NON-anamorphic Letterbox formatting. What kind of idiots does MGM take us for??? There is simply no way that I will pay good money for an intentionally defective product.
  
  
• Great Film, Less than Great Transfer
  By on 2004-05-01
  Kenneth Branagh's splendid Henry V is the best Shakespeare film of the last forty years. Unfortunately, the picture quality of this DVD is only so-so. MGM really needs to do a better job than this.
  
  
• Superior Presentation of Classic Patriotic Hurrah. Buy It.
  By A20IIR0422G3A5 on 2005-09-11
  Shakespeare's `Henry V' as directed by Kenneth Branagh is a Shakespearean version of the great patriotic film such as Sergei Eisenstein's `Alexander Nevsky', `Patton', or Darryl F. Zannuck's `The Longest Day'. In fact, the parallels with `The Longest Day' go far beyond mere patriotism. Both movies deal with the invasion of France where, if you limit yourself to Rommel, von Rundstedt, and Blumentritt on the German side, both sides are treated fairly sympathetically. An even closer connection is based on the fact that the `Band of Brothers' quote naming a group of troopers of the 101st airborne division in the Tom Hanks / Steven Spielberg production about D-Day and other battles in World War II is taken from `Henry V'.
  
  My Shakespeare professor claimed that one could do worse than learn their English history from Shakespeare's history plays, of which this falls just about in the middle, of the series covering the War of the Roses, beginning with `Richard II' and ending with `Richard III'. In fact, this play could be considered the third leg of the trilogy formed by `Henry IV Part I', `Henry IV Part II', and `Henry V', as the king of `Henry V' appears as an important character in the two parts of `Henry IV'. On the other hand, as I said at the outset, `Henry V' is less a history than it is a great patriotic cheer.
  
  And yet, it is pretty accurate. Based on no less an authority than John Keegan's book, `The Face of Battle', I find that Shakespeare's description of the Battle of Agincout, plus Branagh's interpretation of Shakespeare, is, as far as it goes, an excellent depiction of the weather, the battlefield, the disposition of the forces, and the state of the two combatant armies. Shakespeare is even accurate to the relative strengths of the two armies that he puts at five to one in the French favor. Keegan explains that part of this accuracy is due to the fact that this battle was remarkably well documented from contemporary sources, and Shakespeare, as an educated man of his day, would certainly have access to all this information, AND, his audience would have known these things as well, so he couldn't afford do play fast and loose with the truth.
  
  While this play can certainly be enjoyed as is, it will be far more enjoyable if you know a fair amount of the history behind the events and the principle characters. Most especially puzzling to people who know nothing of the earlier plays may be the appearance of Sir John Falstaff and his motley band of soldiers in this play. Their entire role throughout `Henry V' seems to demonstrate how Henry has changed from the boy, Hotspur, Prince of Wales, who appears in the earlier two plays. It is also important to place the events of this play as falling a few generations after the 100 years war between England and France, or, possibly more exactly, between the Norman Plantagenets and the French nobility in Paris, both of whom had claims to substantial portions of what is now modern France.
  
  It is also somewhat important to know of the seething embers of the internal English War of the Roses between the Yorkists and the Lancaster factions. One may hypothesize that Henry V's campaign in France may be exactly like Napoleon's conquests following the French Revolution where Napoleon wanted to take people's minds off of internal strife by turning that energy outward to a hegemony over Europe. Henry IV deposed Richard II, so Henry IV could be seen as a usurper of the crown, but if his son succeeds Henry IV, Henry V would be seen as having an aura of legitimacy, as he ascended the throne by legal means.
  
  Almost all the actors in this play are members of young Branagh's Shakespearean stage company, and Branagh himself played Henry V hundreds of times on the stage. We also see many familiar faces from English drama such as Derek Jacobi and Brian Blessed from `I, Claudius', Richard Briers from BBC sitcoms, Ian Holm (lately the performer of Bilbo Baggins in `Lord of the Rings'), and Paul Scofield, a major English actor if there ever was one. This would probably be deemed a really great interpretation of `Henry V' if it were not for the pesky little fact that Sir Lawrence Olivier also did a movie version of this little play about forty years ago, and that version was truly great. One problem Branagh faced was that he was probably constrained to avoid duplicating any of Sir Larry's business. So, where Olivier opens on a Shakespearean stage, Branagh opens on a modern backstage with all the dressing you would expect of in a film sound stage.
  
  And yet, Branagh is not able to top Olivier's show stopper when he films the initial volley of English arrows fired at the French lines and demonstrates just how great a medieval `Shock and awe' this volley represented.
  
  This film version of the play is probably much easier to obtain than the Olivier performance, but I recommend you see both. Shakespeare's language is so rich, you will not even notice that you are watching the same words twice over. And, while some of Branagh's other renditions of Shakespeare, such as his `Much Ado About Nothing' may be more entertaining, this one is certainly among the most stirring patriotic movies ever done.
  
  Highly recommended.
  
  
  
• Maybe The Best Film Adaptation of William Shakespeare Ever Done
  By A28WJUJF6D2ULA on 2006-09-18
  As a purist, first, let me get it off my chest that the heroic king Shakespeare created for his play isn't entirely in keeping with the actual character of the sickly, violent, theocratic young man whose brief reign concluded nearly two-hundred years before this story was written. It also strikes something in my twenty-first-century American heart that this martial event we're roused to root for is actually a hostile invasion of a sovereign foreign nation carried out in the name of a tenuous, anachronistic claim. Also, if I were one of Henry's soldiers, outnumbered six to one and wading homeward waist-deep thru mud, I think I might've said, "I know we're English and we have a hard time keeping out of other countries' lands, but couldn't we sort of let the French keep France?" But noooo, so inspiring is Henry with his Saint Crispin's Day spiel that all the soldiers are positively leaping and cheering to be off about the battle, long odds or not. Good story, bad history. That said, as far as fictional constructs go, this play is beyond brilliant!
  
  Kenneth Branagh is a genius as a director and as an actor. He is a visionary and a man whose presence and range instantly wed him to the role of England's last great warrior king. Drawing all the elements together (while Branagh was still in his twenties) and turning out a film that got everything right, from Patrick Doyle's score---well worth owning in itself ---to the casting of one of the greatest acting troupes ever assembled, to somehow, miraculously, always getting the best shots for each scene, be it rain and mud and breaks of sunlight through clouds, to dismal forests, shadowy castle chambers and elegant royal halls, Branagh pulls it all together to the envy of directors everywhere.
  
  This film works in so many ways and on so many levels. Its violent depiction of Medieval warfare is far more brutally tragic than that it was six years later in Braveheart or ever was before. Its courageous depiction of the dirt and muck of fifteenth-century daily life is striking in itself, as it is meant to be. It is a tale which draws on universal emotions and stirs an audience to blood-boiling readiness for the fight we know is coming, but which in its grittiness shocks us nonetheless. And most of all in giving the great, show-stealing Derek Jacobi the role of the chorus, here played as a modern, omniscient figure in a black trench coat and a Rod Serling-like capacity to be ever at-hand while remaining unseen in the shadows, Branagh achieves his greatest effect of all.
  
  This film is one for the ages!
  
  

• William Shakespeare's Hamlet (Two-Disc Special Edition)
• Much Ado About Nothing
• Hamlet
• Richard III
• William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice