Henry V

Starring: Laurence Olivier, Robert Newton, Renee Asherson, et al.

Product Description

Shakespeare's king attacks France in a drama that begins at the old Globe Theatre, becomes a movie and ends back on stage. Directed by Olivier.

• Format: DVD
• Language: English
• UPC: 037429128527
• Release Date: June 1999
• Rating: Unrated (Not Rated)
• Publisher: Criterion Collection
• Director: Laurence Olivier
• Starring: Laurence Olivier, Robert Newton, Renee Asherson, Leslie Banks, Esmond Knight, Leo Genn, Felix Aylmer, Ralph Truman, Harcourt Williams, Ivy St. Holier
• Runtime: 2 hours, 17 minutes
• Number of Disks: 1
• Other Video Info: multiple_formats
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

Keep watching – it gets better.

Original title: The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fifth with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France 1944. A newly anointed king must prove his mettle, weed out treachery, and go to war to gain his just territory. It gets a tad more complex as the bulk of the story is told by Chorus (Leslie Banks). The first time through the play, I was surprised to find the content of the treasure chest given to Henry V by Lewis (Max Adrian), the French Dauphin. The director and actor of Henry V is Laurence Olivier. You will have fun on the side, trying to remember where you saw all the main actors before in other movies. I am glad this is not my first exposure to Henry V, or I may not have finished the film. We start with miniatures of London and zoom in on what is recognizable as the Globe Theater. It starts out as a play that is a farce of the play. It is presented as a comedy. We wait patiently through the bulk of the introductory scenes, just knowing that any minute it will become a movie. O.K., any minute now. Come on, you can do it. And just as you are about to give up, it finally becomes a movie with exaggerated backdrops. By this time, the dramatic introduction that should be set up has passed. Still, even as a movie, all the main characters (especially the French) are portrayed as props. The narrator, then again, is supposed to be moving the story along; he is short for an orator. We finally saw our first horse. While waiting for someone to act, we have time to think about where we have seen the actors before, such as The Constable of France (Leo Genn) in “Green for Danger” (1946). Finally, they forget that this is a farce, and just before the dawn of the battle of Agincourt, Laurence Olivier actually acts and is in great form. You can really feel that you are there with Henry, planning the battle. At least Henry comes alive and saves the film after wasting the introduction and build-up. There are sections of the play missing, but that is understandable given the brief time of the film. When the French attacked Henry’s luggage, the pre-announcement was left out. After which, his horsing around with the Constable of France was put in (maybe it is some version of the play, but I do not recall). Again, Laurence does an excellent job of wooing Princess Katherine, played quite well by Renee Asherson. I still find myself watching the film over and over again. --------------- For those people interested in media, I watched the Criterion version. They did not clean up all the scratches and dings. The voice-over commentary gives value to the film. One point they make is that a little over half of the play was cut out. Olivier also added a touch.