Henry V
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VHS Tape Cover Information
Actor: Brian Blessed, Fabian Cartwright, Ian Holm, Patrick Doyle, Richard BriersPrimary Contributor: Derek Jacobi
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog; French (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Original recording reissued
Release Date: 2000-10-03
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
VHS Movie Reviews of Henry V
Movie Review: An enduring Masterpiece by a genius director and actor
Summary: 5 Stars
It is difficult to sum up the power of a genius such as Kenneth Branagh. One thing that he accomplishes is that he speaks the immortal lines of Shakespeare with such gentleness and clarity that we Americans can understand him, and even young people, or people not accustomed to Shakespeare can respond wonderfully to his films. In addition, he is an actor of limitless talent and unforgettable power. He is surely the greatest producer of Shakespeare in our time, and I pray every day that he gives us more and more of the bard. ---- This film is in every respect beautiful, brutal though it is, and candid as it is about the violence of war. I cannot recommend it too highly especially to young viewers or viewers who have found Shakespeare too difficult in the past. Branagh's Hamlet is just one more of his many works of pure genius. I look forward to the Blu Ray of this film. I hope we see it soon. Let me say in conclusion that this film is not entirely free of the charge of glamorizing war. Almost all good war films do that somewhat. However the film is certainly more about peace and love than it is about battle. And it is Shakespeare at its very finest. A work for all time.
Summary of Henry V
Very few films come close to the brilliance Kenneth Branagh achieved with his first foray into screenwriting and direction. Henry V qualifies as a masterpiece, the kind of film that comes along once in a decade. He eschews the theatricality of Laurence Olivier's stirring, fondly remembered 1945 adaptation to establish his own rules. Branagh plays it down and dirty, seeing the bard's play through revisionist eyes, framing it as an antiwar story. Branagh gives us harsh close-ups of muddied, bloody men, and close-ups of himself as Henry, his hardened mouth and willful eyes revealing much about this land war. Not that the director-star doesn't provide lighter moments. His scenes introducing the French Princess Katherine (Emma Thompson) are toothsome. Bubbly, funny, enhanced by lovely lighting and Thompson's pale beauty, these glimpses of a princess trying to learn English quickly from her maid are delightful.What may be the crowning glory of Branagh's adaptation comes when the dazed, shaky leader wanders through battlefields, not even sure who has won. As King Hal carries a dead boy (Empire of the Sun's Christian Bale) over the hacked-up bodies of both the English and French, you realize it is the first time Branagh has opened up the scenes: a panorama of blood and mud and death. It is as strong a statement against warmongering as could ever be made. --Rochelle O'Gorman
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