Of all Shakespeare's famous history plays about the intrigues, scheming and war-mongering that infest the ruling classes of his native land, only two are continuously revived on stage or screen as stand-alone productions. One of these is "Richard III", and the other is "Henry V". The latter gets a superlative treatment here from Shakespeare maestro Kenneth Branagh, in his first treatment of the Bard for the silver screen.
Henry V (Branagh) must consolidate his claim to the throne against those who do not see him fully fit to be a monarch and may plan his downfall. To this end, he invades France but is faced with with heavy opposition and betrayal in his quest...
Even in 1989 Branagh was already established as a major talent capable of drawing a lot of big names to work with him on his projects. This is very much the case with this production, with Derek Jacobi making a delightful, really involved Chorus plus Judi Dench as Mistress Quickly and Philip Schofield as the King of France.
He makes interesting use of flashbacks to illuminate Henry's character, notably in his friendship with and eventual rejection of Falstaff (played here by Robbie Coltrane). That said, he doesn't go far enough with it. He could have used this technique in Act IV, when Henry meditates on the responsibilities of kingship and the guilt inherited by his father on usurping Richard II. Some flashbacks about the latter event would have helped enormously here.
As Henry, Branagh plays him as a considerate monarch only fully roused in the heat of battle and delivers all his speeches with ferocity and gusto. As Katherine, Henry's trophy on defeating the French forces, Emma Thompson is pretty but sadly, vapid and there is no real chemistry in the concluding courtship scene.
The location shooting is highly effective and although the battle scenes are not gory or too violent, you do get a realistic sense of the muddy, rain-drenched atmosphere of it all.
Definitely worth looking at, especially as Branagh seems to have abandoned his Shakespeare screen adaptations for now.
Henry V (Branagh) must consolidate his claim to the throne against those who do not see him fully fit to be a monarch and may plan his downfall. To this end, he invades France but is faced with with heavy opposition and betrayal in his quest...
Even in 1989 Branagh was already established as a major talent capable of drawing a lot of big names to work with him on his projects. This is very much the case with this production, with Derek Jacobi making a delightful, really involved Chorus plus Judi Dench as Mistress Quickly and Philip Schofield as the King of France.
He makes interesting use of flashbacks to illuminate Henry's character, notably in his friendship with and eventual rejection of Falstaff (played here by Robbie Coltrane). That said, he doesn't go far enough with it. He could have used this technique in Act IV, when Henry meditates on the responsibilities of kingship and the guilt inherited by his father on usurping Richard II. Some flashbacks about the latter event would have helped enormously here.
As Henry, Branagh plays him as a considerate monarch only fully roused in the heat of battle and delivers all his speeches with ferocity and gusto. As Katherine, Henry's trophy on defeating the French forces, Emma Thompson is pretty but sadly, vapid and there is no real chemistry in the concluding courtship scene.
The location shooting is highly effective and although the battle scenes are not gory or too violent, you do get a realistic sense of the muddy, rain-drenched atmosphere of it all.
Definitely worth looking at, especially as Branagh seems to have abandoned his Shakespeare screen adaptations for now.