Henry V
Henry V, British dramatic film, released in 1944, that was an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s historical play of the same name. It marks the triumphant directorial debut of Laurence Olivier, who also coproduced and starred in the film. It is widely considered among the best film adaptations of Shakespeare’s works.
The film, shot in Technicolor, opens with a panoramic view of Elizabethan London and then narrows to the Globe Theatre, where a performance of Henry V is about to begin. The film gradually dissolves into a cinematic depiction of the play instead of the Globe performance. Henry, king of England (played by Olivier), proves his mettle by leading a weary, divided, and vastly outnumbered English army of unarmoured archers to victory over the French knights of Normandy at the Battle of Agincourt (1415) in the Hundred Years’ War. On the night before the decisive battle, Henry delivers his stirring “Saint Crispin’s Day” speech, inspiring his men with the promise that “the fewer men, the greater share of honour.” Upon achieving victory, Henry courts Princess Katherine (Renée Asherson), the French king’s daughter, whereupon the film returns to the setting of the Globe Theatre.
The movie was filmed in war-torn Britain, and, because of the frequent air raids in England, Olivier shot the battle scenes in Ireland. The film was released just months after the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944, nicely paralleling the 15th-century invasion of Normandy depicted on the screen. To maximize the film’s obvious propaganda value during wartime, Olivier purposely left out the more vicious aspects of Henry’s nature dealt with in Shakespeare’s play. The film earned Olivier an honorary Academy Award for “outstanding achievement as actor, producer, and director.”
Production notes and credits
- Studio: Two Cities Films
- Director: Laurence Olivier
- Producers: Laurence Olivier and Filippo Del Giudice
- Writers: William Shakespeare (play), Dallas Bower (adaptation, uncredited), Alan Dent (adaptation, uncredited), and Laurence Olivier (adaptation, uncredited)
- Music: William Walton
- Running time: 137 minutes
Cast
- Laurence Olivier (King Henry V of England)
- Leslie Banks (Chorus)
- Robert Newton (Ancient Pistol)
- Renée Asherson (Princess Katherine)
Academy Award nominations
- Picture
- Lead actor (Laurence Olivier)
- Art direction–interior decoration (colour)
- Score
- Olivier was awarded a special Academy Award “for his outstanding achievement as actor, producer and director in bringing Henry V to the screen.”