HENRY V Movie Review

If greater joys await, this will do nicely until they come along. Conceived with the goal of building morale among a beleaguered, Nazi-bombarded British public, Laurence Olivier also knew that the mounting of this film was a rare opportunity to bring Shakespeare to the screen with an audacity and freshness that could make it accessible to millions. Olivier sought other directors before accepting the task himself, but the final, glorious result looks like anything but the work of a director selected by default. The ingenuity of every aspect of this chronicle of the events leading up to the (stunningly recreated) Battle of Agincourt in 1415 is still astounding, particularly the ingeniously fashioned screenplay. The film opens by placing the viewer in London's Globè Theatre at a 16th-century performance of Henry V; we get a feel for the original conception of the play's staging, followed by Olivier's fantastically exciting “full-dress” interpretation. Everything works, and, blessedly, the color film materials used in Henry V have been restored and preserved for future generations. That it will ever lose its captivating power, or will ever become “dated,” is unimaginable. If nothing else, its restoration will prove that. With Renée Asherson as Princess Katherine (Olivier wanted Vivien Leigh, but couldn't get her out of her Selznick contract), Robert Newton, Leslie Banks, Leo Genn, and Felix Aylmer. Robert Krasker filmed the magnificent color images, and William Walton composed the rousing score. Olivier received a special Oscar in 1946 for outstanding achievement for creating Henry V.

NEXT STOP … Henry V (1989), Richard III, Ran

1945 136m/C GB Laurence Olivier, Robert Newton, Leslie Banks, Esmond Knight, Renee Asherson, Leo Genn, George Robey, Ernest Thesiger, Felix Aylmer, Ralph Truman; D:Laurence Olivier; W:Laurence Olivier, Alan Dent; C:Robert Krasker; M:William Walton. National Board of Review Awards ‘46: Best Actor (Olivier); New York Film Critics Awards ‘46: Best Actor (Olivier); Nominations: Academy Awards ‘46: Best Actor (Olivier), Best Interior Decoration, Best Picture, Best Original Dramatic/Comedy Score. VHS PAR, HMV