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Henry V
(1989) - Directed by Kenneth Branagh
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War / Historical Drama / Epic / Medieval
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War / Historical Drama / Epic / Medieval
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"And we were there, your mother, you too."
My third and final review of the day! I wasn't going to post three today, but that first Akerman one didn't get posted last night, and I actually have some things I really want to say about this movie. Now I don't spend enough time with Shakespeare films and have been meaning to. And one of the most notable names in modern-day Shakespeare entertainment is bookworm Kenneth Branagh, who's pretty much the movie counterpart to bookworm band Blind Guardian, who wrote about The Witcher, American Gods, and other classics modern or elderly.
King Henry V of England feels that the crown of France is his right, and takes offense at any attempts to get him to back off. Declaring war against France, he begins a violent reign of terror to enemy lands, spreading steel, blood and poetry as his loyal but tired army follows him to achieve the claim he demands.
Now the only Shakespeare play I've ever seen was Twelfth Night, and I laughed my ass off. First time I ever saw a person jump into someone's arms Scooby-Doo style. But anyone knows that Shakespeare wrote for 50 different genres, and would've written 51 had the western been invented then. And if the tones of this movie prove anything, it's that both Shakespeare, and Branagh, understood / understands the power of wartime thrills. Much of this is told through expertly-crafted dialogue that can be expected from a proper Shakespeare play (I had the subtitles on). The tension between any two people speaking just took over my body on a regular basis.
Branagh was able to grab a star-studded cast for this piece of work, one that features personal favorites like Judi Dench and a very young Christian Bale. Dench's speech at Sir John's death was absolutely hypnotic. And of course, there's quite some delight from seeing Emma Thompson just nail a charming young French made trying hard to learn English. And then she ends up doing Cruella. We also have giants like Brian Blessed, Derek Jacobi, Paul Scofield and the late yet immortal Ian Holm.
HOWEVER, there's a major problem with this movie that must be addressed: the character development is weak for so many grand actors. Many of the ones played by actors I mentioned are absent for the second and third acts or only have a few minutes onscreen. I really do have a problem with that. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the tone, the perfect acting, the beautiful dialogue and the overall story. I'll definitely be chacking out more Branagh and Shakespeare films for some time starting now.
= 91
Kenneth Branagh needs 1 more film to qualify for a Directorial Score.
King Henry V of England feels that the crown of France is his right, and takes offense at any attempts to get him to back off. Declaring war against France, he begins a violent reign of terror to enemy lands, spreading steel, blood and poetry as his loyal but tired army follows him to achieve the claim he demands.
Now the only Shakespeare play I've ever seen was Twelfth Night, and I laughed my ass off. First time I ever saw a person jump into someone's arms Scooby-Doo style. But anyone knows that Shakespeare wrote for 50 different genres, and would've written 51 had the western been invented then. And if the tones of this movie prove anything, it's that both Shakespeare, and Branagh, understood / understands the power of wartime thrills. Much of this is told through expertly-crafted dialogue that can be expected from a proper Shakespeare play (I had the subtitles on). The tension between any two people speaking just took over my body on a regular basis.
Branagh was able to grab a star-studded cast for this piece of work, one that features personal favorites like Judi Dench and a very young Christian Bale. Dench's speech at Sir John's death was absolutely hypnotic. And of course, there's quite some delight from seeing Emma Thompson just nail a charming young French made trying hard to learn English. And then she ends up doing Cruella. We also have giants like Brian Blessed, Derek Jacobi, Paul Scofield and the late yet immortal Ian Holm.
HOWEVER, there's a major problem with this movie that must be addressed: the character development is weak for so many grand actors. Many of the ones played by actors I mentioned are absent for the second and third acts or only have a few minutes onscreen. I really do have a problem with that. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the tone, the perfect acting, the beautiful dialogue and the overall story. I'll definitely be chacking out more Branagh and Shakespeare films for some time starting now.
= 91
Kenneth Branagh needs 1 more film to qualify for a Directorial Score.