Tom BlaichProf. Marc Hudson04 November 2013English 216

Henry V Response

As I have mentioned before, the written works of Shakespeare pale in comparison with their on-

screen/on-stage companions, if for no other reason than the ability that they have to fully capture the

beauty and romanticism of the dialogue that each character has. And to say that Henry the 5th was an

exception to this rule would be as far from true as possible. This is now one of my favorite adaptations

of the work of Shakespeare, if for no other reason than it is a work other than a romance for once.

Kenneth Branagh as the titular character is simply fantastic, and he did a great job at adapting

the play for the screen, even when he decided to change things with the incorporation of flashbacks into

the plot of the movie. For me, this served to deepen the character of Henry, and helped me to better

connect with him, and the "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" speech will never fail to raise

the hairs on the back of the neck (thanks mostly to former President White and his love of using it

whenever he could) but this film version will now always hold the top spot in my heart for the way the

words just cut into you to pierce you to the core. It is fantastic.

This is still not my favorite scene though, that would be taken by the gruesome and brutal Battle

of Agincourt, in which we subvert the traditional battle scene in favor of dealing with the more honest

violence of war. The scene takes place in the mud and rain and slop and gore, with soldiers attempting

to rob enemy corpses within the midst of battle, and horses trampling those that have fallen down, and

hundreds of arrows mercilessly raining down atop the advancing army without quarter. It is a brutal

massacre that takes no prisoners in the style that it is shot, which is refreshing to see, especially in our

culture of glorifying violence for entertainment.

If we compare this to the earlier Laurence Olivier version of the movie, in which this scene was

shot of a bright, sunlit field, you can really see the differences between the two movies and how they

want to portray themselves to the viewer. Much of the comedy was portrayed in a less overly comedic

way. It is a darkly serious movie, but I do not think that we should hold this against it. Instead, it is a

quality for praise, as this might not be issues that benefit from the addition of hilarity, and instead are

complemented much more by a more serious tone being taken with the scenes.

This movie continues on with my tradition of loving the live version of a Shakespeare play than

the written version, as it is portrayed in its intended way, where the beauty and rhythm of the language

can really come alive and have an effect on the watcher, instead of it just being a passive experience of

reading it.