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The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France (1944)
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Overview
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View company contact information for The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France on IMDbPro.Release Date:
17 June 1946 (USA) moreTagline:
Laurence Olivier's Presentation in Technicolor of Henry VPlot:
In the inspired Olivier concept, Shakespeare's play begins as a performance in the Globe Theatre, shifting... more | add synopsisAwards:
Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 6 wins moreNewsDesk:
(4 articles)
Seven Scores: Michael J. Lewis - Upon This Rock (From Daily Film Music Blog. 4 February 2009, 8:31 AM, PST)
The Ultimate Guide to TCM's 31 Days of Oscar Begins Here
(From Rope Of Silicon. 31 January 2009, 5:56 PM, PST)
User Comments:
The Gold Standard more (40 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Leslie Banks | ... | Chorus | |
| Felix Aylmer | ... | Archbishop of Canterbury | |
| Robert Helpmann | ... | Bishop of Ely | |
| Vernon Greeves | ... | The English Herald | |
| Gerald Case | ... | Earl of Westmoreland | |
| Griffith Jones | ... | Earl of Salisbury | |
| Morland Graham | ... | Sir Thomas Erpingham | |
| Nicholas Hannen | ... | Duke of Exeter | |
| Michael Warre | ... | Duke of Gloucester | |
| Laurence Olivier | ... | King Henry V of England | |
| Ralph Truman | ... | Mountjoy - The French Herald | |
| Ernest Thesiger | ... | Duke of Berri - French Ambassador | |
| Frederick Cooper | ... | Corporal Nym | |
| Roy Emerton | ... | Lieutenant Bardolph | |
| Robert Newton | ... | Ancient Pistol |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Henry V (UK) (short title)Henry the Fift (UK) (short title)
Henry the Fifth (USA) (trailer title)
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Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
137 minCountry:
UKColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoCertification:
UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #10900) | West Germany:16 | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | Argentina:AtpFun Stuff
Trivia:
The most significant cuts to the text - the ones which generally provoke criticism at Henry as a king - were reputedly made at Winston Churchill's request. moreGoofs:
Factual errors: In the scenes taking place in the Globe Theatre, signboards are used to indicate changes of scene. Shakespeare's theatre wouldn't have used signboards because most of his audience could not read. moreQuotes:
[first lines]Chorus: O! for a Muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention; a kingdom for a stage, princes to act and monarchs to behold the swelling scene. Then should the war-like Harry, like himself, assume the port of Mars; and at his heels, leashed in like hounds...
[...]
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Soundtrack:
Agincourt Hymn moreFAQ
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This is a brilliantly conceived movie-within-a-play-within-a-movie that showcases the genius of Laurence Olivier. Today's audiences are exposed mainly to Olivier the movie actor. But if you want to see a purer form of acting, see Olivier the stage actor. This is possible by watching his Shakespeare plays on film. And these films are by Olivier the "auteur," long before the term was coined. Olivier's is the legacy to which Branaugh and others, who essay Shakespeare on film, must live up to.
And lest you're expecting a camera pointed at a stage, don't worry. Olivier, who produced and directed most of his Shakespeare films, has actually used the film medium to enlarge his plays' visual scope, while maintaining the intimacy that is the essence of live theatre. Also, Olivier is mindful of how daunting the language of Shakespeare is for modern audiences and has modified much of the original script to be more comprehensible, while preserving the feel of Elizabethan English.
Olivier's "Henry V" was to England what Eisentein's "Ivan the Terrible" was to Russia a familiar history rendered as a national epic, for morale purposes, while audiences were fighting off the Germans during World War II. There are other parallels. For example, both use static, formalized composition, in Henry V's case meant to resemble the images in medieval illuminated manuscripts and books of Hours. (In Ivan's case, according to Pauline Kael, like Japanese Kabuki.) Thus, a sound stage "exterior" backdrop becomes a tableau that serves to enhance, with its flat perspective and subjective scale, the view we have of that fabulous Age of Chivalry for which the play's Battle of Agincourt was the closing act.
I've always scoffed at the extravagant accolades which show business gives its own. But after seeing this film, or his equally brilliant "Hamlet," I can understand why Laurence Olivier was so good, that a knighthood wasn't enough, and so he was raised to the peerage.