Henry V

(Great Britain, 1989, 136 minutes)

King Henry V leaves for France to conquer the land he claims was rightly his. Adequate, occasionally stirring filming of one of Shakespeare’s most popular tragedies; at times it does seem a vanity project for its star, who also adapted and directed in the first (and possibly the best) of his Shakespeare film adaptations, but the text, the performances and the understated handling carry it through. Winner of the Academy Award for best wardrobe; received two nominations (both to Kenneth Branagh, for best actor and best director).

A Renaissance Films presentation/production, in association with the BBC and Curzon Film Distributors. Starring Christian Bale, Kenneth Branagh, Brian Blessed, Richard Briers, Robbie Coltrane, Judi Dench, Richard Easton, Ian Holm, Geoffrey Hutchings, Derek Jacobi, Charles Kay, Alec McCowen, Geraldine McEwan, Michael Maloney, Paul Scofield, John Sessions, Robert Stephens, Emma Thompson, Daniel Webb, Michael Williams, Jimmy Yuill. Directed by Kenneth Branagh; produced by Bruce Sharman; adapted for the screen by Kenneth Branagh from the play by William Shakespeare, Henry V; music by Patrick Doyle; director of photography (Rank Film Laboratories), Kenneth MacMillan; production designer, Tim Harvey; costume designer, Phyllis Dalton; film editor, Michael Bradsell.

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