Watch Henry V For Free

Purely Joyful Movie!

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

I want to reply to one of the claims made by the 2010 reviewer (who puerilely refers to Shakespeare as "Will"). This reviewer states that the play is presented "with minimal, if any cuts." If the reviewer takes the time to read the play instead of making uninformed pronouncements about it, he or she will discover that numerous cuts have been made in the BBC's production. To be sure, most of the abridgments are pretty well judged, and there are considerably fewer abridgments than in the Olivier and Branagh versions. Nonetheless, the claim that the BBC's production presents the text uncut or nearly uncut is flatly incorrect.As for the production itself, it's quite a good rendering of an uneven play. I agree that David Gwillim is too "weepy" and "whispery", but he performs several of his scenes well (for example, the scene with the tennis balls -- until he starts to throw them -- the scene of the exposure of the traitors, and the scene in which he woos Katherine). His rendering of the magnificent St Crispin's Day speech is very disappointing, but his rendering of the riposte to Montjoy shortly after that speech is excellent. Likewise, although he starts the great "Once more unto the breach" speech quite lamely, he finishes it well. Other members of the cast are generally proficient. In particular, the actors who appear as the French nobles seem to enjoy their roles, and they perform those roles adeptly.

This splendid adaptation of "Henry V" caps off the first part of Shakespeare's eight plays Histories Cycle.The recently crowned Henry V (David Gwillim) continues the legacy of his late father, and plans an invasion of France to advance his kingdom and consolidate his family's hold on the English throne.It is worth watching for Gwillim's performance alone. He handles the play's memorable lines and speeches with dexterity and exuberance; 'once more unto the breach', the St Crispian's day speech and the concluding courtship of Katherine (Jocelyne Boisseua) are all alive in his hands. Some of the speeches in Act IV (where Henry describes his inheriting his father's guilt about usurping the throne from Richard II) could have been cut for this version, as they heavily slow the pace here.Alec McCowen is the Chorus for this play and although he botches the famous opening speech "O for a muse of fire..." he delivers all his other lines well and brings the story together. Bryan Pringle's Pistol and Brenda Bruce's Hostess are very well played, the latter delivering a touching 'adieu' to the camera before departing.There is a chronological break of several years before Shakespeare picks up the story of Henry's son and successor Henry VI.

The complete Shakespeare set is now available at Amazon UK for a fairly low price of about $250 - depending upon exchange rates. Note the price they quote is NOT the price you pay, since it includes VAT. Shipping is only a few pounds, and takes less than a week. The amazing set includes ALL 37 plays in a compact box.The only SLIGHT problem is that it's REGION 2 encoded.To get around that problem, go to your favorite auction web site, and search for multi-region code free.There, you should find sales of instructions on how to convert MOST DVD players to region-free players -fairly simply, as part of setup.If for some reason, your player is not included in the list then consider picking up an inexpensive one -I managed to get one for $30, including shipping.

Alec McCowen's Chorus triumphantly opens the play with a summons for a Muse of Fire, but unfortunately someone handed this Muse a fire extinguisher, and flashes of insight, or even energy, are few and far between. The usual small budget and brief shooting schedule forced videotaping in the studio, but the absence of grand vistas and real battles is not really a problem. Shakespeare's text has the Chorus apologizing for the inadequate scale of combat simulation in the confines of the Globe, and we are instructed to use our imaginations.This video is a distinct notch below the preceding two Henry IV plays, even though it shares the same director, David Giles. Playing off Anthony Quayle and Jon Finch, David Gwillim's Prince Hal was forced into some level of theatrical vitality. Here Gwillim's weepy, whispery Henry is the whole show, and he doesn't carry it comfortably on his shoulders. The supporting cast is notably weak, with such accomplished scene stealers as Thorley Walters, Julian Glover and Anna Quayle uncharacteristically ineffective. And both the Fluellen and Pistol are actively annoying.Individual scenes may work well, like the exposure and condemnation of the regicide plotters or the final scene with Henry and Katherine, but all too often the pulse stops completely, and we sit there with mild hostility, waiting until someone finds a way to switch it on again. Not recommended for classroom use, as it may provoke small arms fire and lifelong hostility to the Bard.