Henry V

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Andy F A stunning version with an all star cast. Beautifully done but the Olivier film still just wins the day. Marvellous stuff. Comments written today on the 609th anniversary of the Battle Of Agincourt Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 10/25/24 Full Review DE S Excellence in Shakespeare and war movie making and a phenomenal soundtrack. Best of 1989. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 10/21/24 Full Review Richard N St Crispins Day! The greatest speech by the most outstanding actor of the last 50 years. Next to Olivier, Branagh is KING! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/18/24 Full Review Blu B A Classic War Drama of a Shakespheare play. Everything is really well done with the standout being Kenneth who commands every scene he is in. Sometimes the flashbacks can be a little abrupt and this seems very faithful to the source material. Perhaps a little too faifthful at times. For me the dialouge is over my head but I could follow it very well because of the acting and production value really immersing me quite well. I will say despite how good this is it defintely is an acquired tase and isn't necessarily for everyone. Anyone who is a big fan of Shakespheare or Branagh will like this a lot. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/24 Full Review Robert H Incredibly moving. A masterpiece. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member In the midst of the Hundred Years War, the young King Henry V (Kenneth Branagh) of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415... Henry V received near-universal critical acclaim for Branagh's Oscar-nominated performance and direction, for the accessibility of its Shakespearean language, and for its score by Patrick Doyle. Rotten Tomatoes consensus reads: "Pehaps Kenneth Branagh's most fully realized Shakespeare adaptation, Henry V is an energetic, passionate, and wonderfully acted film." On Metacritic it has a score of 83 out of 100, based on 17 reviews, indicating "Universal acclaim". Henry V also ranks #1 on the Rotten Tomatoes list of Greatest Shakespeare Movies, beating Akira Kurosawa's Ran (1985) and Branagh's own version of Hamlet (1996), respectively ranking in second and third place. Roger Ebert, noted critic of the Chicago Sun-Times, gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, praising Branagh's performance and writing, "There is no more stirring summons to arms in all of literature than Henry's speech to his troops on St. Crispan's Day, ending with the lyrical 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.' To deliver this speech successfully is to pass the acid test for anyone daring to perform the role of Henry V in public, and as Kenneth Branagh, as Henry, stood up on the dawn of the Battle of Agincourt and delivered the famous words, I was emotionally stirred even though I had heard them many times before. That is one test of a great Shakespearian actor: to take the familiar and make it new." Variety magazine also gave the film a positive review, calling Henry V "A stirring, gritty and enjoyable pic which offers a plethora of fine performances from some of the U.K.'s brightest talents." Kenneth Branagh´s 1989 adaptation of Shakespeare´s play feels pompous, theatrical and stiff today. Branagh himself feels as well as pompous as possible as Henry V and he really does everything he can to look like the ultimate Shakespeare interpreter in this film. It becomes silly and overacted in my opinion plus the film simply doesn´t hold up today in terms of the direction, look, feel and vibe. The film did receive worldwide critical acclaim and has been widely considered one of the best Shakespeare film adaptations ever made. For her work on the film, Phyllis Dalton won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design and Kenneth Branagh, in his directorial debut, received Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Best Director. I am afraid I can´t agree to this acclaim. I personally think that Justin Kurzel`s "Macbeth" from 2015 with Michael Fassbender is one of the best Shakespeare film adaptations. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Henry V

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