WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

classicsoncall I'm not a big fan of period costume dramas (or musicals for that matter), but what Kenneth Branagh did here as screenwriter, actor and director served to bring Shakespearean verse to life in a way that would have made using modern dialog an injustice. I'm not that familiar with Shakespeare apart from cursory study in high school, and with that being so far in the past, the film was a welcome departure from more traditional movie fare for this viewer. One mention in particular was surprising to hear, that of a 'band of brothers' referred to in Henry's St. Crispin's speech, only to learn a short time later that the verse actually inspired the title of that acclaimed World War II mini-series. I thought Branagh's Henry was quite eloquent in motivating his men to battle, and no less so in wooing the French Princess Kate (Emma Thompson). The film itself and Branagh's delivery is decidedly pro-England, but then again, so was William Shakespeare, and with this film one gains a measure of the bard's rich language and emotion.

Miguel Neto film is well told , Kenneth Branagh directs and acts in the film, and he's excellent at both , he drives with competence, more emphasis is his role , he acts passionate way, the speech is chilling , and the phrases he speaks very good , Kenneth Branagh surprised me , ta great , the cast is great in this movie we have the young Christian Bale , photography is very good, and the costumes are great , the dialogues are good , and the makeup is good , the film has only a battle scene that is very good, the pace of the film is a problem , even if not so long, the dialogues are quite long , there can be tiring , and the soundtrack is a strong point of the film is very good, with a flawless performance of Kenneth Branagh , Henry V is a great movie with a great battle scene , a chilling speech and a good soundtrack. Note 9.8

Red-125 Henry V (1989) was adapted for the screen and directed by Kenneth Branagh. And, naturally enough, Branagh stars as Henry V.This is an excellent version of Shakespeare's most famous history play. Branagh is an extremely talented Shakespearean actor, and, as a director, he was given the financing he needed to make a film with superb production values. (The film won an Oscar for best costume design.)Branagh's Henry V--unlike Sir Laurence Olivier's--is less about patriotism and more about leadership. Every monarchy fares better with a capable king, and Shakespeare wanted us to know that Henry V, after a misspent youth, had become a capable king. Henry's leadership is demonstrated by his prowess in the war against France. The play is about the great English victory at Agincourt. However, unlike Olivier's Agincourt, this battle is portrayed as a bloody, muddy mess. Surely, this is the more historically accurate version. The charming scene when Henry woos Princess Katherine de Valois (his wife Emma Thompson) comes off pretty well. Thompson was 30 at the time, so she didn't try to play the role as a blushing ingenue. She's a real princess, who realizes that she will have to marry Henry in any event, but who maintains her dignity by making him work for her consent.Olivier dropped any scenes in which Henry might appear cruel, but Branagh keeps them in. Naturally, the hanging of Bardolph isn't shown onstage in a theater. But Branagh the movie director shows it to us in graphic detail. Henry agonizes as he watches the execution, but he lets it go forward.Branagh is astute enough to know that audiences love to see stars in cameo roles. We get Derek Jacobi as Chorus, Ian Holm as Captain Fluellen, Christian Bale as Robin, Judi Dench as Mistress Quickly, and Paul Scofield as King Charles VI of France. Obviously, they can all master these roles without even trying, and they do.We saw this movie on a "classroom-sized" large screen. It would work better in a theater. Something will be lost if you see it on DVD. However, if you love a great story, great acting, and great directing, you owe it to yourself to see this film. You won't be disappointed.

bkoganbing Some years ago I read a history of the 100 Years War and it was by a British author named Desmond Siward who advanced the notion that Henry V was one of the great tyrants in making of English history. Had it not been for his early death that's how he would have gone down in history. Thinking on it, imagine if you will how history might have regarded him had he lived another decade and had been in power for the British occupation of over half of France and had been the man in charge when Joan Of Arc was burned at the stake?When Winston Churchill gave all aid and assistance he could to Laurence Olivier;s Henry V during World War II it was to show the glory of English arms at a high point in their history. Even if it was at the expense of France whom the British were now allies with. Olivier played Henry V in true heroic mold, but in this production of Henry V, Kenneth Branagh gives Henry V a touch of the tyrant as in current historiography.This Henry V was not guided by wartime necessity, but could be closer to the truth. I did like the inclusions of those flashback scenes from Henry IV where we see merry Prince Hal cavorting with his low companions like Sir John Falstaff. Those might have been some invention of Shakespeare, but certainly the man who was Henry V was all business when he was on the throne.This newer Henry V received several Oscar nominations including one for Kenneth Branagh to match the one that Laurence Olivier got over 40 years earlier for Best Actor. It's certainly a different Henry that Branagh gives us. You can hardly see a Prince Hal in this king.