Henry V (2012) was directed by Thea Sharrock. This movie is the final episode of Season I of The Hollow Crown TV Series. As with all the previous episodes, the BBC has brought great production values to to the screen.
The acting is excellent. Tom Hiddleston, who starred as Prince Hal in Henry IV parts 1 and 2, stayed on to portray King Henry V. Henry V will stand by itself, and another actor could have portrayed Henry V. However, it worked better to keep the same protagonist in all three plays. Hiddleston is a great actor, and it's a pleasure to watch him bring his role to life.
Edward Akrout as Louis the Dauphin and Mélanie Thiérry as Princess Katherine were also excellent.
Henry V is a brilliant war story. (Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 are dominated by Falstaff's story. Henry V is about war.) As with most war stories, the play works well in a movie.
The scenes between battles are part of theater history--the tennis balls, "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more . . .", St. Crispin's day, Princess Katherine learning English, the wooing scene, and on and on. Shakespeare was truly a genius, and the becomes even clearer when you watch a play like Henry V.
At the beginning of Shakespeare's play, an actor called Chorus tells us that we have to rely on our imaginations to see great battles, castles, and warships. If I had been director Sharrock, I would have deleted that part.
Shakespeare was writing for the theater, and his audience needed their imaginations to see what we can see on screen. We can see the scenes that Shakespeare envisioned. Absolutely true, but I still prefer the stage for Shakespeare.
This film was made for TV, so of course it works well on the small screen. Henry V has an impressive IMDb rating of 8.4. I thought it was even better than that and rated it 9.
The acting is excellent. Tom Hiddleston, who starred as Prince Hal in Henry IV parts 1 and 2, stayed on to portray King Henry V. Henry V will stand by itself, and another actor could have portrayed Henry V. However, it worked better to keep the same protagonist in all three plays. Hiddleston is a great actor, and it's a pleasure to watch him bring his role to life.
Edward Akrout as Louis the Dauphin and Mélanie Thiérry as Princess Katherine were also excellent.
Henry V is a brilliant war story. (Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 are dominated by Falstaff's story. Henry V is about war.) As with most war stories, the play works well in a movie.
The scenes between battles are part of theater history--the tennis balls, "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more . . .", St. Crispin's day, Princess Katherine learning English, the wooing scene, and on and on. Shakespeare was truly a genius, and the becomes even clearer when you watch a play like Henry V.
At the beginning of Shakespeare's play, an actor called Chorus tells us that we have to rely on our imaginations to see great battles, castles, and warships. If I had been director Sharrock, I would have deleted that part.
Shakespeare was writing for the theater, and his audience needed their imaginations to see what we can see on screen. We can see the scenes that Shakespeare envisioned. Absolutely true, but I still prefer the stage for Shakespeare.
This film was made for TV, so of course it works well on the small screen. Henry V has an impressive IMDb rating of 8.4. I thought it was even better than that and rated it 9.