I love this movie so much

What a waste of my time!!!

Excellent, a Must See

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

It's kind of weird how what many people consider to be one of the best Shakespeare movies ever made was actually based on one of his lesser known plays. Scratch that. It was based on a true story based on one of the lesser known kings. To be fair, I'm pretty sure Henry V was probably the second most famous kind to bear that title, after of course Henry VIII. This is a story about the Hundred Year's War. Most people are probably unfamiliar with this apart from the fact that it made Joan of Arc famous. It was known for how the English won most of the battles, but the French won the war.Historically, that actually does happen sometimes. This movie/play focuses on pretty much every historical aspect you could imagine. I thought that the only thing it was truly missing was some sort of romance and at the end, guess what I got? What makes this film a classic is how beautiful everything looks. It makes you appreciate everything about Shakespeare and classic literature in general. Well, classic theater. I guess that can count as literature, right? I've noticed that Shakespeare used the word "thrice" a lot. People should use that more! It's quite long, but it's worth every minute. For all the drama, we also get some great authentic action scenes. The slow motion is used very well and it's great to see it being used in a battle before guns were invented. That was quite unique. We get a lot of discussions about royalty, religion, and many other relevant topics. It's great that there's so much going on. This is a great representation of history and all its violence. I'm still going to say the 1948 Hamlet version was my favorite Shakespeare film but this is the second. ****

Kenneth Branagh and Laurence Olivier are two men that have often been compared to one another. Both are Shakespearian actors with a love for The Bard and both made their directional debut with an adaptation of Henry V.In 1413 Henry V (Branagh) has ascended to the English throne. Worried that the King may take property from the Church The Bishop of Ely (Alec McCowen) and The Archbishop of Canterbury (Charles Kay) convince Henry V to claim the throne of France and go to war with their rival. The English storm through France, but with disease, fatigue and horrible weather Henry attempts to bring the army back to England, leading to the Battle of Agincourt.Branagh's version of Henry V has often been compared to Olivier version, for good reason. Olivier takes a more stylised approach, his art direction was routed in Medieval Art and his film started as a play and slowly become more realistic. Branagh takes a more realistic approach, setting his film in castles, halls and muddy fields and he uses darker, more natural lighting as places are lit by candles. The 1944 film was made as to be a pro-war film to help morale the British public, whilst Branagh takes a much more anti-war view, showing the horrors and hardships of Medieval war.Branagh gave a terrific performance as Henry V, someone with intensity behind him and quiet determination whilst still being able to deliver a speech. There is pain and doubt on his face as he sees the war at first hand, the death and destruction and even doubts about his mission. This is particularly the case during his monologue of self-doubt. Branagh is surrounded by talented actors, all giving excellent performances; the most surprising being Brian Blessed who is much calmer to his usual larger-than-life persona.Branagh's direction has a Kubrickian edge to it, sharing camera angles and movements and a visual look, having similar lighting and sets. There are many moments where Branagh he allows a long take when more are debating or monologuing and zones in very slowly. There is a gorgeous four minute tracking shot showing the aftermath of the battle whilst a Latin song is playing in the background.It was clear that the production was limited on the scope of the numbers of people it could, shooting very closely to mask this. But an advantage was that it show that the Battle of Agincourt was a very close, tough battle it really was as it was fought on a muddy, wet, narrow field. The 1989 version got the tactics right but the costumes wrong and the 1944 got the costumes right but the battle wrong.The 1989 Henry V is a great adaptation of one of Shakespeare's most quotable plays. It is a great realisation of the play and one of Branagh's best films.

Henry V is a film based on William Shakespeare's play The Life of Henry the Fifth about the famous English king.Kenneth Branagh stars in the title role,wrote the screenplay and directed the movie.It also features Paul Scofield,Ian Holm,Emma Thompson,Alec McCowen,Judi Dench and Christian Bale. It is frequently compared with the 1944 film of the play directed by and starring Laurence Olivier. The visual style of former is grittier and more realistic than that of the latter.The movie has a narrator with the name Chrous.After the he introduces the play, young king of England Henry V begins an angry dialogue with King Charles of France. The king's son, Dauphin,insults Henry and the argument escalates into war. In flashback, Henry is seen as a young man drinking in a tavern with Falstaff, Bardolph,Nym,Pistol, and Mistress Quickly. Meanwhile, Henry and his captain, Fluellen, assemble an army and invade France. The French greatly outnumber the British troops, yet Henry leads them to victory in the Battle of Agincourt after delivering his famous St. Crispin's Day Speech. Throughout this struggle, Henry also courts Katherine and eventually wins her over.Henry V is definitely an absorbing and entertaining film for it was updated for modern viewers.It was also an energetic,passionate,and wonderfully acted as well.Apart from that,it was a triumphant adaptation of Shakespeare's play and it brought about the playwright's timeless talent and appeal.Overall,it is a wonderful film not only for the fans of Shakespeare but anyone who loves great film.

A Good "Televised" Play (i.e. a British film) For a master class on adapting Shakespeare to cinema you need to watch Akira Kurosawa's seminal "Throne of blood".This film is entertaining, but it's not cinema it's a very long TV drama (if you liked the BBC's Robin Hood series you'll love this).For anyone who's coming to Shakespeare for the first time I'd recommend Olivier's version. It's not a 'complete' version of the play, but it has the wit, subtlety and invention missing in Branagh. Olivier is much truer to the spirit of Shakespeare - it's playful and funny in parts (for example the lovely scene where Catherine is learning English). Most importantly Olivier brings out the beauty of Shakespears words (the spine tingling soliloquy in Henry's nighttime tour of the camp?).Branagh's version is neither a film or a play. It unfortunately the throttling of language for dramatic effect. Drowned in muzak and delivered with holly-pine-wood whispers or "You slag!" shouting. And kicks the crap out of the language with odd action film stresses and punctuations. Making the whole play difficult to listen to and understand.There's nothing playful or subtle about it - it's wall to wall drama - which inevitably gets a bit tedious after a while. The lines seem to be there more for pulling faces than for pleasure. A bit like being server a steak you really wanted to tuck into, but cant as someone's covered it in tomato sauce and half a pound of salt.Although there are some funny bits e.g.Derek Jacobi doing Marty DiBergi "introduction to Spinal Tap" at the start.It's also very 80's (e.g. Branagh's hair cut) - When he's asked if he's Cornishman I half expected him to answer, "No I am from Hampstead"Derek Jacobi (with thespian scarf) on the White Cliff of Dover doing Michael Palin's Ripping Yarns "You know, I think it was G.K. Chesterton, who once said..." (Tomkinson's schooldays)Required watching I imagine for all those poor high school students who are forced to learn Shakespeare...(I award it 1 only to try and introduce some sanity to the overall rating. As an adaptation of Shakespeare - 6.5/10. As a general film - 6/10. as a serious cinematic film - 1/10)