ada the leading man is my tpye

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Abegail Noëlle While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

floyd beck Yes, the acting is powerful; the costumes are very well done; the scenery is stunning; but can anyone understand what they are saying? The dialog is directly from Shakespeare and so it makes listening tortuous. No, I am not saying it is not artistic or not beautiful to listen to. If you know Shakespeare, you know that each sentence he wrote was replete with archaic and unending symbolic meanings. For example: "'Couple a gorge!' That is the word. I thee defy again. O hound of Crete, think'st thou my spouse to get? No; to the spital go, and from the powdering tub of infamy fetch forth the lazar kite of Cressid's kind, Doll Tearsheet she by name, and her espouse: I have, and I will hold, the quondam Quickly; For the only she; and-- pauca, there's enough. Go to." Can you understand this before the next person speaks in similar convolutions? So, when watching the movie, you stumble constantly trying to understand the ancient speech. It also does not help that the French speak with English accents, the English whom they despised utterly.

freemantle_uk Kenneth Branagh and Laurence Olivier are two men that have often been compared to one another. Both are Shakespearian actors with a love for The Bard and both made their directional debut with an adaptation of Henry V.In 1413 Henry V (Branagh) has ascended to the English throne. Worried that the King may take property from the Church The Bishop of Ely (Alec McCowen) and The Archbishop of Canterbury (Charles Kay) convince Henry V to claim the throne of France and go to war with their rival. The English storm through France, but with disease, fatigue and horrible weather Henry attempts to bring the army back to England, leading to the Battle of Agincourt.Branagh's version of Henry V has often been compared to Olivier version, for good reason. Olivier takes a more stylised approach, his art direction was routed in Medieval Art and his film started as a play and slowly become more realistic. Branagh takes a more realistic approach, setting his film in castles, halls and muddy fields and he uses darker, more natural lighting as places are lit by candles. The 1944 film was made as to be a pro-war film to help morale the British public, whilst Branagh takes a much more anti-war view, showing the horrors and hardships of Medieval war.Branagh gave a terrific performance as Henry V, someone with intensity behind him and quiet determination whilst still being able to deliver a speech. There is pain and doubt on his face as he sees the war at first hand, the death and destruction and even doubts about his mission. This is particularly the case during his monologue of self-doubt. Branagh is surrounded by talented actors, all giving excellent performances; the most surprising being Brian Blessed who is much calmer to his usual larger-than-life persona.Branagh's direction has a Kubrickian edge to it, sharing camera angles and movements and a visual look, having similar lighting and sets. There are many moments where Branagh he allows a long take when more are debating or monologuing and zones in very slowly. There is a gorgeous four minute tracking shot showing the aftermath of the battle whilst a Latin song is playing in the background.It was clear that the production was limited on the scope of the numbers of people it could, shooting very closely to mask this. But an advantage was that it show that the Battle of Agincourt was a very close, tough battle it really was as it was fought on a muddy, wet, narrow field. The 1989 version got the tactics right but the costumes wrong and the 1944 got the costumes right but the battle wrong.The 1989 Henry V is a great adaptation of one of Shakespeare's most quotable plays. It is a great realisation of the play and one of Branagh's best films.

clwydjones A Good "Televised" Play (i.e. a British film) For a master class on adapting Shakespeare to cinema you need to watch Akira Kurosawa's seminal "Throne of blood".This film is entertaining, but it's not cinema it's a very long TV drama (if you liked the BBC's Robin Hood series you'll love this).For anyone who's coming to Shakespeare for the first time I'd recommend Olivier's version. It's not a 'complete' version of the play, but it has the wit, subtlety and invention missing in Branagh. Olivier is much truer to the spirit of Shakespeare - it's playful and funny in parts (for example the lovely scene where Catherine is learning English). Most importantly Olivier brings out the beauty of Shakespears words (the spine tingling soliloquy in Henry's nighttime tour of the camp?).Branagh's version is neither a film or a play. It unfortunately the throttling of language for dramatic effect. Drowned in muzak and delivered with holly-pine-wood whispers or "You slag!" shouting. And kicks the crap out of the language with odd action film stresses and punctuations. Making the whole play difficult to listen to and understand.There's nothing playful or subtle about it - it's wall to wall drama - which inevitably gets a bit tedious after a while. The lines seem to be there more for pulling faces than for pleasure. A bit like being server a steak you really wanted to tuck into, but cant as someone's covered it in tomato sauce and half a pound of salt.Although there are some funny bits e.g.Derek Jacobi doing Marty DiBergi "introduction to Spinal Tap" at the start.It's also very 80's (e.g. Branagh's hair cut) - When he's asked if he's Cornishman I half expected him to answer, "No I am from Hampstead"Derek Jacobi (with thespian scarf) on the White Cliff of Dover doing Michael Palin's Ripping Yarns "You know, I think it was G.K. Chesterton, who once said..." (Tomkinson's schooldays)Required watching I imagine for all those poor high school students who are forced to learn Shakespeare...(I award it 1 only to try and introduce some sanity to the overall rating. As an adaptation of Shakespeare - 6.5/10. As a general film - 6/10. as a serious cinematic film - 1/10)

dougmcnair This is the best on-screen rendition of a Shakespeare play that I'm aware of. The acting talent that Branagh brought to bear here is stupendous, with Derek Jacobi doing the best job ever as Chorus, Ian Holm representing the men in the trenches with wicked wit, and Branagh himself delivering a St. Crispin's Day speech for the ages. But... the most innovative aspect of this film is the cinematography used at the Battle of Agincourt, with most of the actual battle shot in close-up rather than the sweeping vistas we've come to expect from such films. We never see the ranks of the two sides drawn up for battle, nor do we see massed troop movements. All we see is the unforgettable looks on the Englismen's faces as they stand waiting to receive the initial French cavalry charge, followed by utter mayhem as the individual characters fight it out in the rain. This is a perfect device, since at the end of the battle Henry screams at the French herald that he knows not whether the day is his. At that point, neither do we, meaning Branagh has hit the nail on the head.The only reason I'm not giving this film ten stars is because the play itself is flawed. The scene in the middle with the French princess is a non sequitur, as she serves no function in the film but to be married off to Harry at the end. That ending could have been eliminated and would have made the play (and thus the film ) much better, because with it the last fifteen minutes feel anticlimactic. Had we simply ended it with the end of the battle, leaving the stage littered with bodies as in so many other Shakespeare plays, it would have been far better. Still, the rest of the film is so brilliant that the movie as a whole rates nine stars.