Ever since its release in 1989, critics of "Henry V" felt the obligation to draw a comparaison with the classic 1944 adaptation of the war-driven Shakespearian play by Sir Laurence Olivier; the legend had died that same year and I suppose couldn't watch Kenneth Branagh's vision and compare it with his own as a sort of final full-circle life satisfecit.
I can see where reviewers are coming from from but then again, I feel the film deserves to be judged on its own standards and be at least compared with the original material. Besides, Olivier's film was released in 1944 when British morals asked for more boosting and the flamboyant play could clearly exploit the audiences' need for patriotic uprising to accompany Churchill's calls of collective efforts and sacrifices. Branagh didn't have such a context to sustain his film, he was simply a Shakespearian actor who understood the timeless appeal of the play and decided to direct it with his boiling and proud Irish soul emphasizing the war aspect and the impetuousness of the king, reacting with irreverence to French condescendance.
And what he came up with is simply a captivating and gripping war-movie with a special uses of lights and darkness to isolate the earlier moments with shades of solemnity. Roger Ebert complained that the bishops' part, handled by Olivier with a little comical approach, was too talkative and needlessly expositional in the film. Personally, I feel that Branagh wanted to point out that the sort of tacit pressure exercised on the fresh shoulders of the Prince creating a rather stressful situation, Henry V who was in his late twenties wasn't a reknown warmonger but if any war against France could be tainted with legitimacy (the famous Salic wars) he would at least consider it.
The real trigger is the provocation from the Dolphin and the infamous tennis balls destined to mock his inexperience; that moment is the first hint that Branagh had nothing to envy from Olivier and would make him rather proud: the small grin that draws in his face before he can finally decide to turn the provocation back to the French throne is one of the first acting punches he hits and the best is still to come. Branagh might have intended to make a character study out of the play, an indication of the ordeal being a king in war times is, with the whole self-questioning about worthiness of war, when you're left with the Cornelian choice between war and dishonor.
"Henry V" is a legitimate film and the only concession to the play is the chorus (Derek Jacobi) who reveals his modern clothes in the exterior parts. For all its realism, "Henry V" had to open with the iconic "muses of fire" tirade, it lacks the surprise effect of Olivier's film where stage slowly turns into a real background but Branagh opts for these lyrical interludes to keep in line with the play's spirit, a little concession to story before embracing history. The chorus is more a narrator than a ringmaster here.
So the film displays a VIP gallery of British actors: Judi Dench, Robbie Coltrane as Falstaff, a young Christian Bale as the luggage-boy, Emma Thompson as Katherine, Maggie Smith and Paul Scofield who played the tired and worn-down Charles VI. They're all great but the one bravura performance comes from Branagh who delivers the first rousing speech culminating with "To the breach" during the siege of Harfleur. Branagh passes the test wonderfully and at that time never fails to convince us that he's not only the true heir of his royal ancestors but of Laurence Olivier. But while Olivier put them battles in broad daylight emphasizing the naturalness of the location, Branagh turns them into mud and rain with black and brownish tones that make blood make one with dirt... as you would expect from a modern film, the fights are realistic,
The deaths are as impressive as in the most efficient war-movies culminating with a seemingly Pyrrhic victory when the British soldiers triumph but out of despair, French had all squires and page boys killed. The film provides us the most heart-breaking moment with 'Non Nobis and Te Deum' song performed by Patrick Doyle while Henry is carrying young Bale on his back. The track shot is long and the look and pain in his face is genuine but the scene marks the film's own personality and Branagh seems like carrying a legacy of hundreds of year (counting the 1944 adaptation) and he does with such an attachment to his role that he deserved the acting nomination.
He also was nominated for Directing (like Olivier) but didn't win. It's ironic that Mel Gibson would win for a similar film but maybe Gibson had the benefit of 'freedom' (no pun intended) by distancing himself from a previously existing work so he could throw some picturesque quality in the fights and make them look new, if not original. Branagh had no care about poetry in his fight scenes, it's just chaotic, furious, fiery and maybe closest to what the battle would have looked for real. It's still a wonderful tour-de-force from Branagh who revives the film by understanding the value of the play as a war-movie precursor:, as I sad in my review of Olivier's play, it set many templates of the genre and Branagh knew how to transcend them.
The concluding little romance with Emma Thompson is perhaps the one flaw I could agree with Ebert who said the characters weren't so romantically developed to make that ending emotionally rewarding and maybe Branagh would have better left it, but maybe he knew this is a part of the play audiences expect and needed to end his film with something more uplifting, allowing him to display a more relaxed range of emotion.
All in all, this is a glorious superproduction and a wonderful consecration of Branagh as the Olivier of his times.... And I guess I'm also guilty of reviewing by comparaison.
I can see where reviewers are coming from from but then again, I feel the film deserves to be judged on its own standards and be at least compared with the original material. Besides, Olivier's film was released in 1944 when British morals asked for more boosting and the flamboyant play could clearly exploit the audiences' need for patriotic uprising to accompany Churchill's calls of collective efforts and sacrifices. Branagh didn't have such a context to sustain his film, he was simply a Shakespearian actor who understood the timeless appeal of the play and decided to direct it with his boiling and proud Irish soul emphasizing the war aspect and the impetuousness of the king, reacting with irreverence to French condescendance.
And what he came up with is simply a captivating and gripping war-movie with a special uses of lights and darkness to isolate the earlier moments with shades of solemnity. Roger Ebert complained that the bishops' part, handled by Olivier with a little comical approach, was too talkative and needlessly expositional in the film. Personally, I feel that Branagh wanted to point out that the sort of tacit pressure exercised on the fresh shoulders of the Prince creating a rather stressful situation, Henry V who was in his late twenties wasn't a reknown warmonger but if any war against France could be tainted with legitimacy (the famous Salic wars) he would at least consider it.
The real trigger is the provocation from the Dolphin and the infamous tennis balls destined to mock his inexperience; that moment is the first hint that Branagh had nothing to envy from Olivier and would make him rather proud: the small grin that draws in his face before he can finally decide to turn the provocation back to the French throne is one of the first acting punches he hits and the best is still to come. Branagh might have intended to make a character study out of the play, an indication of the ordeal being a king in war times is, with the whole self-questioning about worthiness of war, when you're left with the Cornelian choice between war and dishonor.
"Henry V" is a legitimate film and the only concession to the play is the chorus (Derek Jacobi) who reveals his modern clothes in the exterior parts. For all its realism, "Henry V" had to open with the iconic "muses of fire" tirade, it lacks the surprise effect of Olivier's film where stage slowly turns into a real background but Branagh opts for these lyrical interludes to keep in line with the play's spirit, a little concession to story before embracing history. The chorus is more a narrator than a ringmaster here.
So the film displays a VIP gallery of British actors: Judi Dench, Robbie Coltrane as Falstaff, a young Christian Bale as the luggage-boy, Emma Thompson as Katherine, Maggie Smith and Paul Scofield who played the tired and worn-down Charles VI. They're all great but the one bravura performance comes from Branagh who delivers the first rousing speech culminating with "To the breach" during the siege of Harfleur. Branagh passes the test wonderfully and at that time never fails to convince us that he's not only the true heir of his royal ancestors but of Laurence Olivier. But while Olivier put them battles in broad daylight emphasizing the naturalness of the location, Branagh turns them into mud and rain with black and brownish tones that make blood make one with dirt... as you would expect from a modern film, the fights are realistic,
The deaths are as impressive as in the most efficient war-movies culminating with a seemingly Pyrrhic victory when the British soldiers triumph but out of despair, French had all squires and page boys killed. The film provides us the most heart-breaking moment with 'Non Nobis and Te Deum' song performed by Patrick Doyle while Henry is carrying young Bale on his back. The track shot is long and the look and pain in his face is genuine but the scene marks the film's own personality and Branagh seems like carrying a legacy of hundreds of year (counting the 1944 adaptation) and he does with such an attachment to his role that he deserved the acting nomination.
He also was nominated for Directing (like Olivier) but didn't win. It's ironic that Mel Gibson would win for a similar film but maybe Gibson had the benefit of 'freedom' (no pun intended) by distancing himself from a previously existing work so he could throw some picturesque quality in the fights and make them look new, if not original. Branagh had no care about poetry in his fight scenes, it's just chaotic, furious, fiery and maybe closest to what the battle would have looked for real. It's still a wonderful tour-de-force from Branagh who revives the film by understanding the value of the play as a war-movie precursor:, as I sad in my review of Olivier's play, it set many templates of the genre and Branagh knew how to transcend them.
The concluding little romance with Emma Thompson is perhaps the one flaw I could agree with Ebert who said the characters weren't so romantically developed to make that ending emotionally rewarding and maybe Branagh would have better left it, but maybe he knew this is a part of the play audiences expect and needed to end his film with something more uplifting, allowing him to display a more relaxed range of emotion.
All in all, this is a glorious superproduction and a wonderful consecration of Branagh as the Olivier of his times.... And I guess I'm also guilty of reviewing by comparaison.