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Amazon.co.uk Review
Very few first-time film directors would have been capable of making such a triumphant adaptation of Henry V; but a still-youthful Kenneth Branagh's years of stage experience paid off handsomely and his 1989 version qualifies as a genuine masterpiece, the kind of film that comes along once in a decade. He eschews the theatricality of Laurence Olivier's stirring, fondly remembered 1945 adaptation to establish his own rules: Branagh plays it down and dirty, seeing the Bard's play through revisionist eyes, framing it as an anti-war story in contrast to Olivier's patriotic spectacle. Branagh gives us harsh close-ups of muddied, bloody men, and of himself as Henry, his hardened mouth and wilful eyes revealing much about the personal cost of war. Not that the director-star doesn't provide lighter moments: his scenes introducing the French Princess Katherine (Emma Thompson) trying to learn English quickly from her maid are delightful.
What may be the crowning glory of Branagh's adaptation comes when the dazed leader wanders across the battlefield, not even sure who has won. As King Hal carries a dead boy (a young Christian Bale) over the hacked bodies of both the English and French, a panorama of blood and mud and death greet the viewer as Branagh opens up the scene and Patrick Doyle's rousing hymn "Non nobis, Domine" provides marvellous counterpoint (like the director, the composer was another filmic first-timer). A more potent expression of the price of victory could scarcely be imagined. --Rochelle O'Gorman, Amazon.com
Special Features
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Stereo English
Dolby Digital Stereo
Scene Selection
Trailer
None
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Stereo English
Dolby Digital Stereo
Scene Selection
Trailer
None
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
40 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
Branagh's Henry V is very conscious of Olivier before him in the heroic mould. This time the budget does not permit a full scale cavalry charge and armies thousands strong at Harfleur and Agincourt. But then, Shakespeare himself had to represent these battles with fewer resources even than Branagh. In Branagh's case (as in Shakespeare's) the answer was to focus on the inidviduals. He conveys the visceral fear of battle against a superior enemy very well. We are touched by Mistress Quickly's farewell to Falstaff, and Nym/Bardolph/Pistol/Boy's farewell to the Boar's Head to which none will return unchanged. Branagh's production never forgets the gritty reality of personal grief, fear and tragedy (viz the hanging of poor old Bardolph), but still allows us the jingoistic buzz of the Agincourt scorecard 10,000 French to 29 English. Branagh's Henry V is on a much smaller canvas than Olivier's, but Shakespeare's was smaller still. Good job.
39 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I adore this film. The acting is outstanding, particularly that of Kenneth Brannagh. The way Brannagh has adapted Shakespeare is a little bit risky, particularly when he imports a bit of another play (Henry IV) to explain how the king has "broken the heart" of Sir John Falstaff - but some explanation had to be made. He also cuts out some other stuff that a 20th century audience might not find very appealing in this King whom Shakespeare wants to practically canonise: like the king's order for all French prisoners' throats to be cut at Agincourt (act IV scene 7). I think the alterations are acceptable. He leaves out one bit of gruesome dialogue I'd rather he had left in, when Henry makes a little speech to the French herald to emphasize the fact that he will not be ransomed and the only profit they'll get out of him are his "joints" (act IV scene 3). He goes on to say that any English corpses left on the field will kill twice over because "the sun shall greet them", they'll rot and choke the air, "killing in replapse of mortality". Neat!
Shakespeare's king is an ambivalent figure, and Brannagh brings this out well, although not in quite the same way as does Shakespeare. I particularly like the scene after the battle, when Henry carries a dead boy off the field, through the scene of carnage where the muddy puddles are red with blood, passing a group of three French princes, one dead, kneeling in a way that refers to a pieta.
Shakespeare/Brannagh's Henry seeks war, but sees it as his duty. The reasons he has for seeing war as his duty relate to a particular kind of naked patriotism that does not appeal to me, but that does not detract from the attractiveness of the character: it gives a sense of "otherness", of time having moved on: and actually you get the feeling that Henry himself has "moved on" by the end of the film. There's a sensitive portrayal of human behaviour in the face of death. And on the eve of Agincourt, Henry has an ethical discussion with some of his soldiers: if soldiers kill on the orders of the king while doubting the justice of his cause, do they stand exempt from blame?
Oh, I do like this film!
Shakespeare's king is an ambivalent figure, and Brannagh brings this out well, although not in quite the same way as does Shakespeare. I particularly like the scene after the battle, when Henry carries a dead boy off the field, through the scene of carnage where the muddy puddles are red with blood, passing a group of three French princes, one dead, kneeling in a way that refers to a pieta.
Shakespeare/Brannagh's Henry seeks war, but sees it as his duty. The reasons he has for seeing war as his duty relate to a particular kind of naked patriotism that does not appeal to me, but that does not detract from the attractiveness of the character: it gives a sense of "otherness", of time having moved on: and actually you get the feeling that Henry himself has "moved on" by the end of the film. There's a sensitive portrayal of human behaviour in the face of death. And on the eve of Agincourt, Henry has an ethical discussion with some of his soldiers: if soldiers kill on the orders of the king while doubting the justice of his cause, do they stand exempt from blame?
Oh, I do like this film!
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
An excellent blend of tradition and innovation. Highly accessible. Branagh is occasionally over-exuberant (which is where it wears thin). But well worth seeing and owning.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Shakespeare with balls.
If you're familiar with the Olivier version, you may think this is the story of a revered and lovable Kingly King, secure and easy in his kingship, all thigh slapping bonhomie with... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Romola
Bit of Culture
BIT O' CULTURE.Impress your mates(who'll think yer dead posh,{Not to be confused with POSH SPICE,if she's posh i'm F****** ROYALTY}), by pretending you can understand a word of... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Awfully nice chap
Henry V
Mr Branagh's Henry V succeeds in his portrayal of the Soldier King, and carries intellectual weight. It is the best budget film I have purchased this year from Amazon. 10/10. Read more
Published 6 months ago by ctumezza
Magnificent
Maybe Kenneth Branagh is like marmite, you either love him or hate him! I love him and this is amongst his finest works in my opinion. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mr. Christopher Harris
Well worth it
Beautiful adaptation of Sheakspear I would almost go as far as to say it comes very close to 1940's film
Published 9 months ago by John Casey
Great Service
I had a copy of this film, but a friend borrowed it and I never had it back. I have been after another copy for a long time, I finally checked on Amazon, they had it, I ordered it,... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mrs. C. S. A. Lockley
Can this cockpit hold the vasty fields of France?
In Branagh's gritty adaptation, yes it can. Shakespeare's play transforms Tudor propaganda into a study on comradeship and leadership, and Branagh's intelligent film achieves the... Read more
Published 15 months ago by The Big Pink One
Classic, Entertaining, Epic.
The problem with most `Shakespeare movies' is pretty simple, they were written for the theatre and it is difficult to make them work on the screen. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Thomas
shakespeare lovers only
good costumes, good story, lots of well known actors, but i could not get in to the shakespeare way of speaking, shame because everything else is good but if you understand olde... Read more
Published 20 months ago by captain dad
Good film
I am strange in that I actually think Shakespeare is really good. This is a good movie. I am baffled as to why no-one yet has also seen the comic value of some of the lines,... Read more
Published 20 months ago by T. M. bowkett
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