Synopsis
Gritty adaption of William Shakespeare's play about the English King's bloody conquest of France.
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Cast
- Kenneth BranaghHenry V
- Derek JacobiChorus
- Brian BlessedExeter
- James LarkinBedford
- Paul ScofieldFrench King
- Emma ThompsonKatherine
- Judi DenchMistress Quickly
- Simon ShepherdDuke Humphrey of Gloucester
- James SimmonsDuke Edward of York
- Charles KayArchbishop of Canterbury
Recommendations
- 100
TV Guide Magazine
Straightforward, energetic, updated Bard. 28-year-old star-director-adapter Kenneth Branagh's spellbinding version of Shakespeare's Henry isn't superior to Olivier's 1944 version - it's different, and complementary to it. - 90
Time
Big and pretty, vigorous, thoughtful, this Hamlet expands the story with helpful flashbacks. - 90
Washington Post
Most astounding, though, is the power of the film's leading actor. While Branagh's direction is forthright and articulate, his acting is brash and flamboyant. - 88
Chicago Sun-Times
What works best in the film is the over-all vision. Branagh is able to see himself as a king, and so we can see him as one. - 88
Boston Globe
One of the things that make [Branagh's] Henry V so thrilling is his audacity in trying to turn it into an antiwar play - a view that would have astounded Shakespeare. Astonishingly, he pretty much brings it off, emerging with steadily growing power as the young king who isn't afraid to bloody his hands. [15 Dec 1989] - 80
Chicago Reader
The cast - including Derek Jacobi as the modern-dress chorus, Paul Scofield, Judi Dench, Ian Holm, Emma Thompson, and Robbie Coltrane in an effective cameo as Falstaff - is uniformly fine without any grandstanding. - 80
Empire
Branagh's Henry V must, however, be counted a success - it might never be as famous as Olivier's, but it should carry considerable clout for years to come. - 80
The New York Times
Mr. Branagh has made a fine, rousing new English film adaptation of Shakespeare's ''Henry V,'' a movie that need not apologize to Laurence Olivier's 1944 classic.
