Henry V (1989 film)
Henry V is a 1989 British historical drama film written and directed by Kenneth Branagh in his feature directorial debut, based on William Shakespeare's history play of the same name. It stars Branagh in the title role of King Henry V of England, with Paul Scofield, Derek Jacobi, Ian Holm, Brian Blessed, Emma Thompson, Alec McCowen, Judi Dench, Robbie Coltrane, and Christian Bale in supporting roles.
Henry V
Kenneth Branagh
Bruce Sharman
- Kenneth Branagh
- Paul Scofield
- Derek Jacobi
- Ian Holm
- Emma Thompson
- Alec McCowen
- Judi Dench
- Christian Bale
Derek Jacobi
Kenneth MacMillan
Michael Bradsell
Renaissance Films
- 6 October 1989 (London)
137 minutes[1]
United Kingdom
English
French
$9 million[2]
$10.2 million (US gross only)[2]
Henry V received widespread critical acclaim and is considered one of the best Shakespeare screen adaptations ever produced. Among its numerous accolades, the film received three nominations at the 62nd Academy Awards, two of which went to Branagh (Best Director and Best Actor). Henry V won with its other nomination, Best Costume Design for Phyllis Dalton.
Production[edit]
Screenplay[edit]
The text of the play is heavily edited. Additionally, Branagh incorporated flashbacks using extracts from Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2 in which Henry interacts with the character of Falstaff, who, in Shakespeare's Henry V, is never seen, merely announced to be deathly ill in Act 2 scene 1, and dead in Act 2 scene 3. The scenes involve a brief summary of Henry's denouncement of Falstaff primarily with lines from Act 2, scene 4 of Henry IV part 1 and a brief though important utterance of Henry's final repudiation of Falstaff in Part 2, "I know thee not, old man." The film also uses Falstaff's line "do not, when thou art King, hang a thief" from Henry IV Part 1 but gives it to Bardolph, in order to highlight the poignancy when Henry later has Bardolph executed.
Filming[edit]
Henry V was made on an estimated budget of $9 million.[4] The film was produced by Bruce Sharman with the British Broadcasting Corporation and Branagh's company Renaissance Films. Principal photography commenced on 31 October 1988 and concluded 19 December the same year. Sixty per cent of production was shot on sound stages at Shepperton Studios, while many of the battle sequences were shot on fields adjacent to the Shepperton complex.[5]
Style[edit]
Branagh's film is frequently compared with the 1944 film of the play directed by and starring Laurence Olivier. The visual style of Branagh's film is grittier and more realistic than that of Olivier's. For example, his film avoids Olivier's use of stylised sets, and, where Olivier staged the Battle of Agincourt on a sunlit field, Branagh's takes place amid rain-drenched mud and gore. Nearly all of the scenes involving the comic characters were also staged as drama, rather than in the broad, more slapstick way in which Olivier staged them, because Branagh felt that modern audiences would not see the humour in these scenes. There is a historical inaccuracy in that Charles VI of France was played by 67-year-old Paul Scofield, perhaps to enhance the effect of the historical king's mental illness that he had already been suffering for twenty years, but Charles VI was only 46 years old at the time of Agincourt. Olivier's movie also uses an older actor to play Charles VI (Harcourt Williams, who was 66 years old at the time of filming).
While the text of the Chorus' monologues are the same, the setting for them has been adapted to reflect the nature of the motion picture adaptation of the play. Unlike the other performers, who are dressed in clothing contemporary to the actual Henry V to reflect their characters, the Chorus is dressed in modern 20th century clothing. The opening monologue, originally written to compensate for the limitations of a theatre-staged production to represent the historical scenes presented, is delivered on an empty motion picture sound stage with unfinished sets. The other chorus monologues are delivered on location where the relevant action is taking place. In all cases, the chorus speaks directly to the camera, addressing the audience.
Archives[edit]
Online versions of the digitised script and storyboards from the film are part of the Renaissance Theatre Company Archive held at the University of Birmingham.[9]
Release[edit]
Home media[edit]
CBS/Fox Video released a pan and scan VHS edition in 1990 and a widescreen LaserDisc edition in 1991. MGM Home Entertainment later released Henry V on DVD 18 July 2000, also preserving the widescreen format of the original theatrical presentation.[10] The film was released on Blu-ray on 27 January 2015 by Shout! Factory.[11]
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
Henry V received near-universal critical acclaim for Branagh's Oscar-nominated performance and direction, for the accessibility of its Shakespearean language, and for its score by Patrick Doyle. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 98% based on 41 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The site's critics' consensus reads: "Pehaps [sic] Kenneth Branagh's most fully realised Shakespeare adaptation, Henry V is an energetic, passionate, and wonderfully acted film."[12] On Metacritic it has a score of 83 out of 100, based on 17 reviews, indicating "Universal acclaim".[13] Henry V also ranks #1 on the Rotten Tomatoes list of Greatest Shakespeare Movies, beating Akira Kurosawa's Ran (1985) and Branagh's own version of Hamlet (1996), respectively ranking in second and third place.[14]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, praising Branagh's performance and writing, "There is no more stirring summons to arms in all of literature than Henry's speech to his troops on St. Crispan's [sic] Day, ending with the lyrical 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.' To deliver this speech successfully is to pass the acid test for anyone daring to perform the role of Henry V in public, and as Kenneth Branagh, as Henry, stood up on the dawn of the Battle of Agincourt and delivered the famous words, I was emotionally stirred even though I had heard them many times before. That is one test of a great Shakespearian actor: to take the familiar and make it new."[15] Variety magazine also gave the film a positive review, calling Henry V "A stirring, gritty and enjoyable pic which offers a plethora of fine performances from some of the U.K.'s brightest talents."[16]