SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

poly-nikes Reviewer "anne-25" from England was evidently so exercised by what she perceived as shortcomings in this excellent production of "Henry V" that she neglected to listen to the words. In the opening Chorus, we are advised that, since the entire combatants of Agincourt could not be incorporated into the production, we must "into a thousand pieces divide one man." A little further along, the Chorus enjoins us thusly: "O, pardon! since a crooked figure may attest in little place a million." Shakespeare obviously knew something that "anne-25" does not -- it's unfeasible to expect two medieval armies to be incorporated into a humble stage production; therefore, we must use our imaginations, as per, again from the Chorus, "upon your imaginary forces work." Even Olivier's and Branagh's film versions left a lot to be desired in this aspect. Olivier's Agincourt was confusing and brief (although the arrow flights, abetted by Walton's glorious music, were stunning); and Branagh's, although more realistic and bloody (fought in the rain as was the real Agincourt), made us suffer through excruciating and over-used slow motion, a device that never adds to action sequences. And by my count, there were far fewer than sixty thousand French soldiers in either production.So, "anne-25," a little advice -- listen to the Chorus next time, and perhaps you'll enjoy yourself much more.

sarastro7 BBC's Henry V is good, but not great. In comparison with the much superior Branagh movie, this one seems rather tame. The dialog is not spoken with the awe that the words deserve. I like David Gwillim a lot (esp. in the two preceding Henry IV productions, which were better than this), and all of the cast are consummate professionals with clear enunciation.As Shakespeare productions go, this Henry V is a worthy and adequate one, but it is something short of extraordinary. As is the case with many of the BBC Shakespeare productions, this too is marred by a lack of real drama in the performance, and when you combine this with the enormous, almost ridiculous prevalence of always stout, always bearded, always middle-aged men in always exaggeratedly ornate costumes, back-dropped by unelaborate and uninteresting sets, the result unfortunately tends to be tainted with a certain dull blandness. No offense to the actors, who are faultless in this. But at least the words come through clearly enough, and the actors, while not allowed much range, do as immaculate a job as they can under the circumstances, which is why productions like this are justified in spite of their shortcomings.My last complaint regards the French princess, Katherine. The French actress is stunningly good-looking, and I can find no fault with her acting, but the director seems to have overlooked the fact that Kate is supposed to evolve. She starts learning English because she takes an active interest in her forthcoming match with Henry, and as he finally convinces her to yield to him (which she has already decided to do, despite coyly spending the last moments playing hard to get), she should give herself over entirely. That's part of her development. If she doesn't do that, there's no point in the scenes where she has her maid teach her basic English. But here, Henry kisses her twice, and on both occasions she does not respond at all; she does not kiss him back. I believe that is a misconception on the part of the director, who must have wanted to portray her more "historically" and/or "realistically", as a victim of circumstance rather than as an active participant in her fate. But Shakespeare is not literal history. Shakespeare is art. The historical Henry V spoke French like a native. Shakespearean interpretations and dramatic decisions should not be too tainted with historicity, at least not in so literal a sense.7 out of 10.

Flash Sheridan I'll start with a correction to another review: Like most or all of the other BBC Shakespeare productions I've watched, this has some minor abridgments, e.g., the haggling about "Heir to France" in V.2. It's nothing like as extreme as the "Good Bits" approach that Branagh took, and indeed leaves in some passages that suggest that even Shakespeare nods, such as Fluellen's nattering about Macedonian and Monmouth rivers immediately after mourning the massacre of the boys.Like most of the other BBC Shakespeare I've watched, it's mostly competent, low-key, and not very dramatic. (After Olivier and Branagh, it was kind of interesting to see a sedate Crispin's Day speech.) There are some outright mistakes in the directing, at least in the light of Branagh. I don't see how anyone, for instance, could ever have directed Nym's leave-taking from Mistress Quickly as casual. But there are bits of Shakespeare here you won't see anywhere else, so it's worth watching, once you've seen Olivier and Branagh.

ikinal The complete Shakespeare set is now available at Amazon UK for a fairly low price of about $250 - depending upon exchange rates. Note the price they quote is NOT the price you pay, since it includes VAT. Shipping is only a few pounds, and takes less than a week. The amazing set includes ALL 37 plays in a compact box.The only SLIGHT problem is that it's REGION 2 encoded.To get around that problem, go to your favorite auction web site, and search for multi-region code free.There, you should find sales of instructions on how to convert MOST DVD players to region-free players -fairly simply, as part of setup.If for some reason, your player is not included in the list then consider picking up an inexpensive one -I managed to get one for $30, including shipping.