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List Price: $39.95Amazon.com's Price: $35.99 You Save: $3.96 (10%)Prices subject to change.
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
Brand: Image Entertainment
EAN: 9780780021327
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Special Edition, NTSC
ISBN: 0780021320
Label: Criterion
Manufacturer: Criterion
Number Of Items: 1
Picture Format: Academy Ratio
Publisher: Criterion
Region Code: 1
Release Date: June 22, 1999
Running Time: 137 minutes
Sales Rank: 18585
Studio: Criterion
Theatrical Release Date: June 17, 1946
Editorial Review:
Description:
Olivier mustered out of the navy to film this adaptation of Shakespeare's history. Embroiled in World War II, Britons took courage from this tale of a king who surmounts overwhelming odds and emerges victorious. This sumptuous Technicolor® rendering features a thrilling recreation of the battle of Agincourt, and Sir Laurence in his prime as director and actor.
Amazon.com essential video:
If Kenneth Branagh's 1989 version of Shakespeare's tale of conquering greed reflects the post-Vietnam era, Laurence Olivier's version very much mirrored his time. When Olivier gave us his colorful adaptation in 1945, it was vivid, full of pageantry, and most definitely geared toward war. Pretty flags and white steeds, shining armor and theatrical emphasis figure into Olivier's attractive but decorous version, liberally adapted for a pro-war stance. He used the French as comic relief; they appeared foppish and foolish. Their presence implied no threat. If you had not read the play, you would not have to wonder who was going to win. Of course, Olivier wanted England to believe in the justness of war--his country was in the midst of one. The propaganda gets in the way only because it has been filtered through so many decades. His Henry remains, however, a handsome cinematic spectacle. Olivier's performance is gentle and elegant, his imagery rich and colorful. It was considered such a superb film he was awarded an honorary Oscar. He followed this with adaptations of Hamlet and Richard III. --Rochelle O'Gorman
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Great film,but poor color.
I tried three different copies of the Criterion "Henry V." In each one the colors kept fading in and out. This is the fault not of Olivier's film (whose Technicolor was superb) but of Criterion's transfer from film to DVD. Very disappointing!
Rating: - Highly Subjective Interpretation
This is a highly subjective, heavily edited version of the Shakespeare play. The playtext was cherry-picked to portray Henry as a pure, virtuous, patriotic leader. However, Shakespeare's Henry was very, very different. In addition to his good qualities, Shakespeare's Henry also made political deals with the clergy, executed enemy prisoners (and his own soldiers), threatened innocent people with rape and plunder, and threw his soldiers headlong into battle for highly questionable reasons--all while ... Read More
Rating:  - Henry V (1944)
Olivier inhabits the role of Henry with dazzling gusto in this rousing, energetic adaptation of William Shakespeare's play. The world was at war in 1944, and the gifted actor/director hoped the Bard's climactic tale of beat-the-odds triumph would comfort and inspire embattled England. Filling shoes once meant for William Wyler, Olivier's direction of his actors and the Technicolor battle scenes is sharp and inspired (with help from editor Reginald Beck). The movie's stylized opening in a re-created ... Read More
Rating: - Unique
I read the play "Henry V" earlier this year and found parts of it very stimulating and other parts somewhat distracting. I looked forward to see the Olivier film version but I was concerned that it might move along too quickly for me to follow. As I sat back to watch the movie on TCM, I was treated to some background on how the film was produced in England at the height of WWII where just about everything was in scarce supply. The many innovation that enabled the film to come off were impression ... Read More
Rating: - Sir Laurence Olivier. What Else Need Be Said?
Besides Sir Laurence Olivier of course, the best thing about this movie is that it alternates between appearing as real and as a play in the Globe Theatre. Only Sir Laurence Olivier could manage this so smoothly and convincingly. That said, it may help to understand what happened before Henry V. Henry IV usurped the crown from Richard II. (Henry IV is of course Henry V's father.) Well, the eventual Henry V had spent a lot of time with rogues Bardolph, Pistol, Nym, and Falstaff (whose death we see in ... Read More
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