Henry V [Blu-ray]

Director: Kenneth Branagh Kenneth Branagh

Overview

Kenneth Branagh makes his feature-film directorial debut with this adaptation of William Shakespeare's +Henry V. After the Chorus (Derek Jacobi) introduces the play, young king of England Henry V (Kenneth Branagh) begins an angry dialogue with King Charles of France (Paul Scofield). The king's son, Dauphin (Michael Maloney), insults Henry and the argument escalates into war. In flashback, Henry is seen as a young man drinking in a tavern with Falstaff (Robbie Coltrane), Bardolph (Richard Briers), Nym (Geoffrey Hutchings), Pistol (Robert Stephens), and Mistress Quickly (Judi Dench). Meanwhile, Henry and his captain, Fluellen (Ian Holm), assemble an army and invade France. The French greatly outnumber the British troops, yet Henry leads them to victory in the Battle of Agincourt after delivering his famous St. Crispin's Day Speech. Throughout this struggle, Henry also courts Katherine (Emma Thompson) and eventually wins her over.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/27/2015
UPC:	0826663155907
Original Release:	1989
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Shout Factory
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	2:18:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Kenneth Branagh	Henry V
Derek Jacobi	Chorus
Brian Blessed	Exeter
Ian Holm	Fluellen
Simon Shepherd	Duke of Gloucester
James Larkin	Bedford
James Simmons	York
Paul Gregory	Earl of Westmoreland
Charles Kay	Archbishop of Canterbury
Alec McCowen	Bishop of Ely
Fabian Cartwright	Cambridge
Stephen Simms	Scroop
Jay Villiers	Grey
Edward Jewesbury	Sir Thomas Erpingham
Daniel Webb	Capt. Gower
Jimmy Yuill	Jamy,Child
John Sessions	Capt. MacMorris
Shaun Prendergast	Bates
Pat Doyle	Court,Court,Composer
Michael Williams	Williams
Richard Briers	Lt. Bardolph
Geoffrey Hutchings	Cpl. Nym
Robert Stephens	Ancient Pistol
Robbie Coltrane	Sir John Falstaff
Christian Bale	Falstaff's Boy
Judi Dench	Mistress Quickly
Paul Scofield	French King
Michael Maloney	Dauphin
Richard Innocent	Duke of Burgundy
Richard Clifford	Duke of Orleans
Colin Hurley	Grandpre
Richard Easton	Constable of France
Christopher Ravenscroft	Mountjoy
Emma Thompson	Princess Katherine
Geraldine McEwan	Alice
David Lloyd Meredith	Governor of Harfleur
David Parfitt	Messenger
Nicholas Ferguson	Warwick
Tom Whitehouse	Talbot
Nigel Greaves	Duke of Berri
Julian Gartside	Bretagne
Mark Inman	Soldier #1
Chris Armstrong	Soldier #2
Simon Rattle	Conductor

Technical Credits

Kenneth Branagh

Kenneth Branagh	Director,Screenwriter
Vic Armstrong	Stunts
Stephen Evans	Executive Producer
David Crozier	Sound Mixer
Bruce Sharman	Producer
Ian Wingrove	Special Effects

Scene Index

Introduction     iv
A 'History' Play     iv
The Plantagents family tree     vi
Leading Characters in the Play     viii
Synopsis     ix
Henry IV Part 1: Commentary     xi
Sir John Falstaff     xxvi
Sir John Falstaff: An Appreciation   Dr Samuel Johnson     xxx
Shakespeare's Verse     xxxi
Source, Text, and Date     xxxii
Characters in the Play     xxxiv
Henry IV Part 1     1
The Historical Background     126
Selections from The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland     128
Background     133
England in c.1592     133
Government     133
Religion     133
Education     134
Language     134
Drama     134
Theatre     135
William Shakespeare, 1564-1616     137
Approximate Dates of Composition of Shakespeare's Works     139
Exploring Henry IV Part 1 in the Classroom     140
Ways into the Play     140
Setting the Scene     142
Keeping Track of the Action     143
Characters     144
Themes     145
Shakespeare's Language     146
Exploring with Drama     146
Writing about Henry IV Part 1     147
Further Reading and Resources     149

Editorial Reviews

A triumphant, audacious film, Henry V marked an auspicious beginning for the career of director and star Kenneth Branagh. Somber, gray, and bearing none of the jingoistic glory of Laurence Olivier's 1944 version, Branagh's Henry is a muddy, bloody affair more interested in the complexities of the king himself than in his historic defeat of the French. As such, the film is largely composed of close-ups of its characters, rather than wide angle shots emphasizing the grandly political scale of the events at hand. The only shot of the latter nature is the remarkable eight-minute tracking sequence that follows a blood- and mud-spattered Henry across the field of Agincourt, carrying a dead boy over his shoulder and picking his way through the countless corpses. Virtuoso tracking shots aside, Henry V's strength rests on Branagh and company's ability to make a much-told Shakespeare story seem fresh and innovative. What impresses above all else are the film's emotional inlets, from Henry's rousing, poignant St. Crispin's Day speech to Mistress Quickly's (the formidable Judi Dench) eulogy for the dead Falstaff. A film endowed with both tremendous soul and Branagh's own assurance, Henry V is an exhilarating, sobering experience from beginning to end.

Materials such as eye-witness accounts, additions, rewrites, criticism, and promptbook marginalia are presented alongside the New Cambridge Shakespeare text of the play. Emma Smith's (Hertford College, Oxford) introduction discusses in detail some of the major productions of the play from its debut at the Globe Theater in 1599 to the 21st century. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

"So let me say flat out that I like everything about Branagh's film. I like the adaptation, the cast, the direction, the cinematography and the music. In fact, I like it so much I don't even want to write about it. I would prefer to leave my desk right now and watch it again."

Nation - Stuart Klawans

"Kenneth Branagh's Henry V, magnificently cast, passionately played, is stirring and deeply humane. Reality is his mode."

New York Magazine - David Denby

"As a director, as artistic entrepreneur, as sheer charge of film-world energy, [Branagh] has won his own Agincourt."

New Republic - Stanley Kauffmann

Gorgeous new Shakespeare paperbacks.” 
—Marlon James, author of A Brief History of Seven Killings

“I have been using the Pelican Shakespeare for years in my lecture course—it's invaluable, the best individual-volume series available for students.”
—Marjorie Garber, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of English and Visual and Environmental Studies, Harvard University 

From the Publisher