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Henry V Customer Reviews (31 - 33 of 38 Reviews)

Stunning
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.

Great Film
I've always been a fan of Branagh's work, so I had been looking forward to watching his film interpretation of Shakespeare's "Henry V." After watching the film, I had several conflicting opinions about the film in general. While I enjoyed much of the acting and the choices Branagh made with the flashbacks, I still found some of it to be boring and it seemed like Branagh didn't really deliver the character the way I thought he would. I'm used to Branagh showing more of a variety of emotions and facial expressions, but in this film he seemed to portray King Henry as a brooding individual that only changes character when he needs to boost the moral of the army. This seemed to be a bit of a contradiction in the character, and I was disappointed to some extent. However, his decisions regarding the chorus make up for any flaws I found with his acting.

Probably my favorite part of the film was played by Derek Jacobi...I thought the chorus was the most interesting and unexpected part of the film. From the beginning scene when he's walking around backstage to the battle scene where he was walking in front of the wooden spikes, the chorus added background and clarity to everything that was happening in the play/film. I'd always pictured the chorus as having an off-stage presence that lacked emotion and was simply providing the facts, but Branagh far exceeded by expectations for the Chorus. By using a strong actor and fitting him into and amongst the scenes, the chorus seemed less of an impartial observer and more of a passionate historian or story-teller. While Jacobi walked amongst the troops and scenery of the film, he was still obviously separated by his more modern clothes and apparent lack of fear regarding his surroundings. This gave the film more life and was an excellent way to incorporate the chorus directly into the film rather than having a narrator or voice-over giving us the information.

Besides the chorus, my other favorite part was played by Emma Thompson. The scene between Katherine and Alice was one of my favorites from the movie. I know very little French, but I still think they communicated the scene very well through their expressions and movements. The scene was very amusing, and I enjoyed it a lot. I think I'll probably enjoy the scene between Katherine and Henry, but I can't pass judgment on it until I've seen it.

Overall I think I liked the film a lot, it really helped me understand the emotions and reasons behind many of King Henry's decisions and it definitely gave me a better and more complete understanding of the play as a whole. This probably isn't a film I'd watch for fun on a weekend with friends, but it is a film that I'd like to own to help complete my Branagh collection.

"We happy few."
This is the greatest film version of any Shakepear play yet made. Kenneth Branagh is truly inspired. As both the director and lead actor he is simply superb. Of all the Oscars this was nominated for, including Best Actor and Best Director for Branagh, all it walked away with was Best Costume Design. The costumes are great, by the way. But what makes this film work is the authentic emotional element that all the actors bring to their roles. This is a far cry from the days of simply mastering the language, hoping to make it coherent for the common man. Tears fall, hearts soar, and blood flows! This is easily my favorite film from director/actor Kenneth Branagh, it's just too bad he was never this inspired thereafter. This movie is brilliant, simply brilliant!

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